The International Student Blog

Today, nearly everyone has some sort of online presence. It’s how everyone stays connected! But are you connecting on a professional level? Most jobs today are found through connections, like through a professional online profile that can help connect you to future employers, see the connection? Here are steps to connect with job opportunities with an online profile!

1: Choose a Platform

The social media platform you choose to showcase your skills and experience on can reach out to a specific or a broad range of professionals. The most common platform, and most recommended, is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an online resume used by many people to help them connect with professionals. Professional, or recruiters, will even seek out you with a job opening. Through LinkedIn, you can build a network, find common connections, join groups, and follow businesses and organizations!

If you are interested in a science career, ResearchGate is a network created just for scientists! Through ResearchGate you can access Q&A forums, read publications and reports, or anything else related to science. ResearchGate accepts all types of researchers such as medical, technology and even students! However, you must have an active university email to join.

2:  Build Your Profile and Keep Up with It!

Building your professional profile is just like creating your resume, except that it’s online! But unlike a resume, you can add as much content as you want. This is a great way to showcase any projects you have done, organizations you are apart of, awards received, your work experience, and skills. The best way to showcase your experiences is to have a short summary of the role and a description of your accomplishments. You can add media such as documents, links and photos to your profile too.

In your LinkedIn profile, under your name is your headline, both appear whenever your profile is searched. Your headline can be your title, memorable, or your goals. A good headline example is, “Forensic Chemistry Student at MSU/ Currently looking for job opportunities in Data Forensics.” Your profile is your brand, so make sure to stand out and show employers why they should hire you! Make sure to keep your profile professional and updated!

3: Start Connecting!

You never know what connections you make can help you later on! Start by adding anyone you feel comfortable talking to. It can be classmates, teachers, and people that you have worked with. You should also connect with affiliations, things or interest, and organizations  you are apart of.

Part of networking is also reaching out to people you don’t know. Connect with people that have a similar career choice, and are somehow connected to you, like people who  went to the same school or share a common contact. Write them a personalized message introducing yourself. Remember that you are trying to connect with people, keep in touch, and utilize your connections to land a job!

4: Job Searching

Start searching for jobs by following your favorite companies! That way you’ll know about a job opening or event as soon as it’s posted. Reach out to the hiring manager or anyone you know in the market who might be able to help you. When you do find a job that is open, personally address the company with a cover letter. If you receive any messages or comments on your profile always respond back and be polite and professional!

It takes time to find a job, but with these steps and hard work you can connect and land a job!

This entry was posted on Monday, May 16th, 2016 at 6:15 am and is filed under International Education, International Student. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Written by Rachel Rollins

Marketing Coordinator Rachel joined EIC in 2016 after graduating from the University of North Florida. Her engagements at her campus, and community have only influenced her to continuously learn and understand her surroundings and beyond.

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