Toward the end of my Spring 2015 semester at ASU, I set up a meeting with a career advisor to get tips on landing an internship. I had been actively looking for an internship within the nonprofit sector (particularly in fundraising or grant writing, since that was a gap in my resume) or CSR work, which I was deeply passionate about.
The first thing I realized during my meeting was that I really needed to focus in on what I wanted to do. If I was not as passionate about landing a nonprofit internship, I should focus all of my time and energy on CSR-related jobs. Furthermore, I also needed to zero in on which city I would like to work in. While I was willing to move away for three months for an internship, I knew Phoenix would be the ideal city to gain work experience. I wanted to remain in Phoenix after graduating in December 2015, so finding an internships in the same city would be beneficial. After realizing which type of internship I wanted over the summer and where I wanted to live, the next step was to find companies that have CSR programs in Phoenix or individuals within Phoenix who are in CSR-related positions.
The best way to do this, according to the career advisor, was to use LinkedIn. The business networking tools enables individuals to connect with professionals within different industries, showcase talents and skills, and look for jobs. Although I have had a LinkedIn account for a few years now, I never really used the tool to its fullest capacity. I've regularly updated my professional and educational experience on LinkedIn and connected with people I knew through school or work. However, what I learnt during my meeting with my career advisor is that there several other ways I could used LinkedIn. It was important for me to not only showcase my experience but to also connect with people who could be important in furthering my career.
By using key words such as "corporate social responsibility", "corporate responsibility", and "corporate affairs" I was able to find professionals within the Phoenix area in the field I was most interested in. Finding these individuals also gave me a better idea of which companies valued CSR. Similarly, I was able to search ASU alumni in the same field, who could offer their advise as I looked for an internship.
Although I ultimately did not find my current internship through LinkedIn, I learnt a tremendous amount about the online tool through my meeting with my career advisor. Since then, I have been careful to regularly update my profile and routinely search for companies, jobs, and individuals within the CSR field.
To learn more about my educational and professional experience and see how I've used linked in please have a look at my page, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nehalshah1990.
Hello Nehal, I totally agree that it is so important to use LinkedIn to find jobs and even connect with alumni. I recently attended a LinkedIn Career Services event and was amazed to see how many resources are on there. I think many undergrads shy away from using it because it is not like traditional social media.
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