Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Link yourself ... literally

Are you stressed yet? I know I am. Spring semester means great weather, exciting spring break plans and the ever-dreaded job/internship search.

Everyone goes through it, so there must be an easier way to deal with the unwanted stress.

Unfortunately searching for a job or internship is never completely stress free. However, there are wonderful Web sites that connect you to internship opportunities and professional contacts that most college students don't know about.

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking Web site. Through a network of business professionals, members of LinkedIn are able to gain introductions to employment opportunities and advances through mutual contacts, also known as second-degree contacts and third-degree contacts. LinkedIn also supports employment search engines such as Monster, CareerBuilder and Craigslist , providing job opportunities in more than 150 industries in 400 economic regions.

LinkedIn is not the only social network Web site devoted to success in the business world. Doostang is another Web site targeted primarily to those just graduating college.

As a wonderful professor once told me in my class, Public Relations is not just about communicating with publics, it's about creating knowledge and pushing forward. We are the tech-savvy, business leaders of tomorrow. It just makes sense to use new technology to find future employers, they might be impressed you contact them through one of these Web sites.