InternMatch Student Blog

Could Greek story telling classes be more important for your social media future than a marketing or communication class?  Why  do some companies want you to apply using Twitter while others require a full application online?  What does the future of social media look like and what tools should you be learning to be ahead of the curve?  What’s a KPI and why is data science an important part of social media marketing?

Last week, hiring managers and thought leaders from Olgivy + Mather (and InterviewingU), Google+, Nestlé Purina, and ClippPR spent over an hour dissecting the future of the social media industry and how you as a student can break into it.  The result was one of the most in-depth videos ever on the subject and a most watch panel for any students interested in social media.

If you have any more questions about the topic, please leave them in the comments below and we will forward them on to our speakers and get back to you asap.  Now, without further ado, please enjoy our panel below on “How to Become a Rockstar Social Media Professional!”

Questions we didn’t get a chance to answer:

If you want a role that asks for 2 years of experience but you don’t have it (but you have 1 to 1.5 yrs), should you still apply?

Amanda Pirtle, Nestlé:  I think this depends on the type of company you are applying to. For example, a large corporate company, like Purina, sticks very close to the minimum qualifications listed on the job description. If you do not have two years of experience, you will not be passed to the next phase of our resume review process. However, many smaller or startup companies may look over that you don’t meet the minimum qualifications exactly and take into consideration the type of projects you’ve worked on or the amount of school/type of courses you’ve taken. It is really important to consider the type of company you are pursuing before applying to determine how strict they will be on the minimum qualifications listed.

Nathan Parcells, InternMatch:  I agree with Amanda’s response above, although would add that the vast majority of SMBs and even medium sized businesses have some flexibility when it comes to these requirements, especially if you do have some experience that you can back up as being valuable.  These companies certainly do not want to hear from someone with no experience, but many will set a high initial bar to express their desired candidate, but remain open to someone who has close to the required skills and can adequately show in their resume, cover, letter and application why they are still the best fit or why other skills more than make up for the gaps they are lacking in the requirements.

I’ve drafted social media plans before but since I don’t currently work in a company with a social media role, I have not been able to execute them. What’s the best way for me to get someone to review them?

Amanda Pirtle, Nestlé:  I would recommend trying to make a connection with someone who has some experience in a social media role and work on developing a mentorship type relationship with them. Having a career mentor is a very important part of growing in your field. They can help you understand things within the field and in the business world that the classroom can’t. One way to go about that is to talk with your professors to see if they have any connections, go through any groups you are involved in at school or even look at your parents friends to see if any of them could provide any insight. You could also use LinkedIn to try to find someone in your local area that could help. Once you identify a potential mentor, you can set up informational interviews with those people to learn more about them and their roles. Building connections is a very important part of building your career.

Nathan Parcells, InternMatch:  I again agree with Amanda on this question.  One of the keys to building strong mentors is showing a deep interest in a field that they are currently a professional in.  Crafting a marketing plan and walking through it with them is an ideal way to spend a mentorship meeting and build a relationship   Family and friends are great people to check with to see if they know any social media professionals.  If not, you can talk to your marketing professors and TAs who typically have some industry experience/connections and can help make introductions.  Lastly, cold emailing can also work in particular if you email professionals who you are already following on Twitter and who you are truly interested in speaking with.

Any advice for students who want to start their own social media company?

Nathan Parcells, InternMatch:  Having started a company, albeit not a social media company, I commend you on the initiative!  Starting a company takes tremendous effort and work but the rewards in terms of personal growth and potential return are worth it.  The most important first step here is to build real relationships with mentors in the space.  Don’t build these relationships by pitching them on your idea, but instead mention that you are interested in the space and look to learn as much as possible about the process of starting, running, growing and succeeding in the field.  That’s the best advice I can give on what is ultimate a very large question!

LinkedIn remains the social networking site that most baffles Gen Y, and that’s to be expected: optimizing your LinkedIn profile means that you’re thinking about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and personal branding, two concerns that don’t always factor into your Facebook update or lunch break tweet.

Luckily for you, Social@Ogilvy has created 5 Ways to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Irresistible, an infographic that makes sure you’ve covered the bases for recruiters and employers to approach you. Are you scattering keywords into your profile? Good. Are you calling yourself a “guru” or “ninja” in your headline? Not so much. Are you linking to your profile on your resume, and if so, are you using the correct, shortened URL? Have we made you anxious about your LinkedIn presence now? Relax. We have the resources to sort you out.

Read the full post on Social@Ogilvy! 

Bonus tip: The creator of this infographic, Nando Rodriguez, has teamed up with Charlene Narcelles to bring you InterviewingU, a new student site full of resources, tips, and workshops for job seekers. Check it out!

Social media jobs are among the top 10 fastest-growing careers in the United States, and for good reason: networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have been community-building and marketing powerhouses for nonprofits, small businesses, and corporations alike. As employers realize this, they’ve been hiring students to fill internships and entry-level positions in social media–who better to take these jobs than Gen Y-ers?

Are you prepared to start a career in social media? What kind of jobs exist across the different networks, anyway? Answer these questions and more during our event, ”How to Become a Rock Star Social Media Professional“! Join our panel of experts and get a head start on the pertinent topics:

• What companies look for in a digital marketer
• How to manage your online presence for recruiters and hiring managers
• How to use social media to apply for jobs
• What roles exist and what they entail, from community management to content creation

Event Details

Expert Speakers:

• Nando Rodriguez and Charlene Narcelles, Senior Social Media Recruiter for North America and Talent Acquisition Manager for North America at Olgivy and Mather and co-founders of InterviewingU
• Amanda Pirtle and Emily Cloud, Director of University Relations and Marketing Associate, Nestle Purina
• Will Houghteling, Education and Community Partnerships Lead, Google+
• Thomas Knoll, CEO of ClippPR, former Community Architect at Zappos

When:

Wednesday, May 1st at 3 pm PST

How to Participate:

Join our Google+ event here!

After the event, you’ll gain access to a list of companies participating in “Kill the Cover Letter.” These employers want to hear from–and hire!–you, but only through social media. Stop reworking that tired cover letter and start brainstorming 140 characters to get you hired!

This is a guest post by Madeline Leahy from Emmanuel College.

I had slept a total of 8 hours in the past three days, leaving me at work downing a five-hour energy and praying that I didn’t fall asleep on my desk. If you are a college student, you can most likely relate to this scenario.  I accepted it as an inevitable part of the college lifestyle.

My internship last summer at New England Country Rentals taught me that this “unavoidable” situation is very much avoidable. I found that there are four things you can do to avoid a sleep-deprived, draining four years and instead have a fulfilling and energetic college experience. Using these four tips, I am now able to juggle being a Marketing Assistant at Argopoint, a full-time student, and captain of the varsity lacrosse team. (more…)

Over the past four years we’ve helped hundreds of thousands of students find internships and start their career on the right foot.  However, our goal with InternMatch has always been to be much bigger then the job space and to truly redefine the college experience.  Nothing is more critical to the college experience than building lifelong connections, and that’s why we couldn’t be more excited to announce that starting next month on May 15th, we are switching our focus from internships and re-branding as PetMatch.us!

Meet Brooke. She’s graduating college this May, and like many of you, she’s been on the hunt for a summer internship. She’s just heard from a local company that they would like to name her the new Product Development Intern, but there’s a catch–the position will pay $2,000 at the end of three months. Can she handle her expenses in the meantime?
(more…)

This is a guest post by Stephanie Wiriahardja, Community Manager at social media management platform HootSuite.

Dirty bikes, wandering dogs, men with beards. Not exactly my dream workplace, but after a short chat with the Director of Marketing then, Dave Olson, I was sold. It was pretty easy to convince to me to be a full-time intern at HootSuite because I was already an avid user and have always admired the tool and what it enabled me to do. So when Dave gave me the opportunity to be a part of it as an unpaid intern for Indonesian Community Ambassador and Design, I accepted without doubting myself for a second. (more…)

At just 28 years old, photographer Amber Venerable has already held multiple internships, freelance gigs, full-time jobs and a photojournalism fellowship—including her current position as Photo Editor at American Baby Magazine.

“Everything has an expiration date,” explains Amber of her zigzagging ascent through the ranks. “If you stay in positions for 4 or 5 years at this stage in your career, that doesn’t benefit you. You have to move around in [the publishing] business in order to move up—you have to take advantage of opportunities, you have to be passionate about what you do, and you have to keep growing.” (more…)

Millions of students and thousands of employers find each other on InternMatch every year. As a go-to resource for all things internship-related, we field plenty of questions from students and companies asking about post-collegiate career options. Today, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re answering the call and launching a site addition that caters specifically to new grads! (more…)

This is a guest post from Noodle Education, a life-long education related search company by the founder of The Princeton Review.

We get it; school can be a drag. Between the all-night study sessions, group projects, and research papers, it’s easy for even the most organized of students to burn out. To remind you of the wonders of collegiate academia, Noodle Education has compiled a list of courses that break the mold. (more…)