Using social media to network in college

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While college students may use social media for personal reasons, they can also use it for their careers. Social media allows students to find the right contacts and engage with them, which helps students build a professional network. This network can be an asset connecting college students to internships or entry-level job opportunities. Chaim Shapiro, Assistant Director of Career Services at Touro College, discusses building a network and how to use social media effectively to do so.

“The best time to build your network is before you need it. College students need a strong network when searching for jobs or internships.

It can be very difficult for college students to connect with established professionals because usually those requests are for “one-way relationships” from which ONLY the students stand to gain. That means there are no reasons or motivation for professionals to accept the requests.

LinkedIn is, by far, the best professional research tool in social media. Students can use LinkedIn’s “Advanced Search” feature to identify top networking prospects in their fields.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn is NOT a great engagement tool. Connection requests are easy to deny, and meaningful conversations are rarely on LinkedIn Groups. Twitter conversations, on the other hand, are much more natural and organic. That’s why a multi modal approach utilizing Twitter is so effective.

After identifying prospects on LinkedIn, find and follow their Twitter accounts. Wait until they tweet about an area of mutual interest to respond with a tweet meant to catch their attention. The conversation doesn’t even need to be about a professional topic. A shared interest in sports, movies, etc., can be a great entree into a conversation!

Responding to a targeted Tweet provides the opportunity to build a genuine two-way relationship. After engaging your target and building credibility, take it to the personal level and invite them to meet for coffee to introduce yourself and demonstrate your professionalism in person.”

Need more networking advice? Come to our blog and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Chaim Shapiro, Assistant Director of Career Services at Touro College & award-winning social media consultant

Chaim Shapiro, M.Ed. is the Assistant Director of Career Services at Touro College, a freelance writer, public speaker and social media consultant specializing in LinkedIn. He has presented his popular LinkedIn Workshop at National Conferences, Universities, Public Libraries and for communal organizations across the country. Chaim earned a Master’s Degree in College Student Personnel from Loyola University, Chicago, and also studied in the Institutional Leadership and Policy Studies Ph.D. program at the University of California, Riverside Graduate School of Education. He has more than 12 years of experience working in college administration.