For those students planning to secure a great internship next summer, or for seniors looking to graduate with a full-time job, the holiday break means time to get down to business.
Here are five tips for Longwood students that want to maximize time off and make the necessary preparations to land a rewarding job or internship by the end of the spring semester.
1. Make an “All-Star” level Linkedin profile
Students will need a good profile picture and should appear in the image dressed and groomed as though it’s the first day at a new job. Next, include an industry (aspirational is fine), and location. Using Farmville as the location will default to Richmond or a student can select her hometown. Add a current position and at least two past positions. Finally, add education details, at least three skills, and connect with 50 people -- start with classmates, professors and acquaintances.
Taking the time to work through these details will dramatically increase the number of Linkedin profiles, including alumni, that will be visible to students.
2) Practice an informational interview with a parent, relative, neighbor or acquaintance
The most important component to getting a great job or internship is being prepared and able to ask good questions and make a positive first impression. To practice, find someone that will agree without hesitation to go out to lunch or coffee. But before going out, write down a list of 10-12 questions designed to learn as much about that person’s professional path as possible. During the interview, really try to listen and ask follow-up questions.
Before going out, make it clear the goal is to practice interviewing skills so the guest will be prepared for a different sort of conversation.
3) Find five job or internship postings of interest and analyze them
To begin, students should find five job descriptions at companies in the city or region where they’ll be living, or hope to live, at the end of the spring semester. Read through each job description several times paying close attention to the responsibilities and any names or titles mentioned. Be a “detective” and look for clues in the description as to what’s happening at the organization and who does what. Write down thoughts and observations.
4) Use Linkedin profile and join the Longwood Network to find alumni willing to help
Visit longwoodnetwork.com and create an account. The Office of Alumni and Career Services has created this resource specifically so Longwood students can find alumni willing to help by sharing their professional path and offering advice. Use the directory and search for alumni by location, company or field. In some cases, there might be alumni that work in companies where students have found job postings. Reach out to ten alumni and ask for informational interview either by phone or in-person. After practicing with a family member, try to schedule at least one before returning to Longwood.
5) Dream bigger, plan to step outside comfort zone
One of the benefits of hosting the Vice Presidential Debate in October was name recognition for Longwood. Millions of people heard about us for the first time. There’s never been a better time to leverage the University’s brand and work towards obtaining a job or internship in a new place. Why not look for a job or internship in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami or abroad in cities like London or Sydney?
Employers love hiring students and recent graduates that have stepped outside their comfort zones and tackled new places and experiences. Print out a job description from somewhere really exciting and bring it to University Career Services. Schedule an appointment after the break and we can help turn a dream into a reality.
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