Most of us can attest to the fact that looking for an internship or full-time job can be quite painful, especially in a down economy. However, there are many tools on the internet that can help ease the pain. The following are some common and not so common tools that aided me in my search.
Boolean Searches – Not all search engines are created equal, especially when it comes to complex Boolean searches. For me, I found exalead (http://www.exalead.com/search/web/) to be a very powerful Boolean based search engine.
In deriving my search string, I first thought about what values I wanted in a company to work for. I most valued innovation and the ability to creatively solve problems. Working off of these ideas, I derived the following search string: (innovation OR innovative OR "creative solutions" OR "idea generation" OR "idea evolution" OR "idea company" OR "big ideas" OR strategic OR "problem solving") & ("employment opportunities" OR "career opportunities" OR "current opportunities" OR "career possibilities") & ("about us" OR "core strengths" OR "core values" OR "company values") & marketing & .com NOT .org NOT .edu
Some of the hits I got included: Toyota, John Deere, Alcatel-Lucent, Levi-Strauss, P&G, DuPont, Coca-Cola. I knew I was on the right track since I had applied to four of these companies already.
[Note: This may seem very complex to some of you, so I would be glad to help you with any searches you would like to do.]
Twitter – First, I would recommend getting a Twitter account today and start following @MBAHighway (https://twitter.com/#!/MBAHighway). MBA Highway posts lots of MBA internships and full-time positions throughout the day, every day.
Second, I started using Twitter because I am a career changer with fewer connections in the marketing world that I have recently entered. So, I began following marketers, who would tweet the latest trends. However, more importantly, I posted in my profile that I was into marketing and began tweeting on marketing topics, which resulted in marketers following me—an easy way to expand my network. Additionally, I began following companies that I am interested in, who in turn will sometimes follow you back.
Local Newspapers’ Business Section – One of my internship offers was with Rockfish Interactive, a fast growing privately held, online advertising and marketing firm. Being from Cincinnati, I continue to read through the Cincinnati Enquirer on a daily basis. Several months ago, I ran across an article about efforts to establish Cincinnati as a marketing hub, and Rockfish Interactive was listed as a major contributor to that effort. As I mentioned above, I love innovation and Rockfish looked like a great option to look for an internship. Through LinkedIn I discovered that Rockfish Interactive’s Chief Marketing Officer graduated from my undergraduate university and had common connections. I reached out to him, and before I knew it I had phone interviews and ultimately an offer.
LinkedIn Amazon ReadingList App – The Amazon ReadingList application on LinkedIn allows users to list the books they are reading and to leave reviews. More importantly, however, you can see who else on LinkedIn is reading or has read the same books. Especially if they leave a review, this may give some insight into the person’s interests and values. Look to see where they work and what they do…it may end up being something that matches your career interests, and you now have a new person with whom to connect and network.
Undergraduate Symplicity – So you have exhausted the job listings on BYU’s Symplicity site, and you hunger for more options. If you did your undergraduate studies at somewhere other than BYU, you may be in luck. Many schools allow alumni access to their Symplicity sites, and many of the jobs/internships will be unique to that school or area of the country. Certainly many of the job/internship listings will be for undergraduate positions; however, if you see a company that interests you, many listings will include a recruiter’s name and contact information. I reached out to many recruiters, who in turn gave me information on graduate opportunities. If you did go to BYU for your undergraduate, just ask someone like me to give you leads from their undergraduate Symplicity site.
These are just some of the tools I found helpful, and I hope many of you find value in them as well. I would also encourage others to share their toolkit as well. We should all be in this together, so let’s help each other reach our respective career goals and dreams.
David Williams, Class 2012, Marketing
Upcoming Internship: Cummins
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