Depending on how well the first weeks of your spring semester have gone, you may already be wishing for the lazy days of summer. For me, it’s just the opposite. In the McCombs Business School (as well as in many of the other schools at UT), it is customary for most students to intern during the summer vacations following their junior year. These internships are crucial for a student who’s looking to land on his or her feet when he or she graduates from college; they show that you have the work experience, qualifications, technical skills and real-world skills that would make you a valuable asset to any prospective employer. In many cases, at least in the business school, an intern who has performed especially well during his or her junior-year summer internship is invited to join the company after graduation with a coveted full-time offer.
The students at McCombs School of Business are blessed to have some of the best career placement services in the entire nation; many Fortune 500 companies come to recruit directly on-campus for these future financial consultants, investment bankers, accounting auditors, and marketing analysts. Unfortunately for me, not many of the companies showing up at the business school recruiting dinners, “meet and greet” receptions, and career fairs are looking for fashion marketing and merchandising interns. In fact, most of the major companies I would be interested in working with are not located outside of the fashion hubs of L.A. and New York.
This puts me in the same disadvantageous position of every small-town kid hoping to make it in the big city, and in an industry famous for its exclusivity, making it without knowing the right people is almost as impossible as not knowing anything at all. The truth is undeniable; networking skills are your most important tools in your arsenal. But the question still remains, how do you network and make the right connections when you feel like you’re stuck smack in the middle of Smallville, U.S.A.?
For those of you who are in the same boat as me, I’ve shared some of my favorite networking tips below. Likewise, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section if you’ve got some suggestions to share!
Don’t discount the recruiting scene at home
Although the vast majority of companies recruiting with my school are not in the industry I hope to work in, I was pleasantly surprised to see a handful of big names that I’d be happy to work for from my industry coming to our Career Fair next week (McCombs Undergraduate Career Expo on Feb 2. at the Recreational Sports Center). Unlike most students, I have my top choices pre-selected for me and can give them my undivided attention; view situations like this as an advantage, not a disadvantage.
Go see your career services advising office
Most people operate under the assumption that advising sessions are pointless due to unremarkable past experiences. However, in most cases, your school’s career advisors are passionate about what they do and have relevant industry experience. The best type of advisor is one that is familiar with working with students from your major and is familiar with your industry. You may be surprised with the advice they have about approaching networking and the connections they have. In my experience, I have had countless people read over my resume, but within a minute of looking at my resume, my advisor had caught a critical typo. Also, keep in mind, that your career advisors have seen countless classes of students before you, and your issue probably isn’t as unique as you think it is!
Utilize LinkedIn Groups to Build Connections
For those of you unfamiliar with LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com), it is a professional social media networking website. It allows you to search for and “connect” with people you have worked with and see their professional qualifications. LinkedIn also allows you to search for people you don’t know by position, company, past experiences and dozens of other characteristics. This means that you can actually find people with backgrounds that match your aspirations. There’s a catch though: unless you have a premium (paid) account with LinkedIn, it is nearly impossible to contact someone with whom you do not have a connection. It’s very much like “friends” on Facebook, except that you aren’t allowed to message a stranger, only a friend of a friend. However, last week, my advisor showed me a very useful loophole in this system. On the top of the LinkedIn page, there is a “Groups” section where you can join different interest groups. Joining an interest group on LinkedIn enables you to contact, message, and view the profile of every other member in that interest group. For example, two that I joined immediately were the McCombs Alumni and Texas Exes Alumni groups. Now, I’m connected to a huge network of Texas Longhorns all over the world.
Don’t ask for a job
The people that you are going to network with are probably not professional recruiters. They are simply busy and successful people, who might have some advice to give for where you’re going. Yes, you are hoping that they might need to hire an intern like you, but that’s not the reason you’re networking. You’re networking because you want to know more about the industry, gain insight into their work experiences, and learn from the lessons of others who have walked in your shoes before. Although the vast majority of individuals you contact will most likely ignore you, some will definitely be willing to lend a hand and talk you through their own experiences. Don’t expect a quick turnaround time. Most people, if they bother to respond at all, will put in the time to develop a thoughtful response. Do not abuse your privilege to contact these people, and always thank them for their time and effort in helping you.
Find a local internship and mentor
Although you’re aiming to get that coveted out-of-state internship, start at home first. While it may seem counterintuitive for you to need an internship to get an internship, employers don’t want to hire someone without proven experience in the industry. In many cases, the internships closer to home may be unpaid or for small companies. Although no one likes working for free, look at your unpaid internship as if it were a class. No one pays you to register for class, go to class, or do the work (in fact, you’re the one paying thousands of dollars to be there)! In an unpaid internship, you’ll learn the ropes, get training, and make contacts for free. If you’re working for a small company, you’ll learn even more from the experience because you’ll get the chance to take up more responsibility than a normal position would typically allow.
Check for online internship postings frequently
Since no one is going to come to you to give you a job, you’ll have to do most of the legwork. Brainstorm a list of companies that you want to work for and check their company websites. Most companies have a career website, HR page, or general internship email that you can send your cover letter and resume to. Other ways include checking internship posting websites such as internqueen.com and internships.com (our own Campus Correspondent Bernice is a blogger there!) to see which companies are actively looking for interns.
While I’m sure most of you have seen these tips before, it doesn’t hurt to read them again and think of new ways to incorporate them into your networking strategies and internship search. Keep in mind that getting the job you want is a marathon, not a sprint, so don’t be discouraged when things don’t start to look up right away. So whatever you do, don’t give up, because you never know when your persistence might pay off with a little career serendipity! Good Luck!
Sources
LinkedIn.com
InternQueen.com
Internships.Com
Special Thanks to the McCombs School of Business Career Services Office