Networking & LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the most commonly used networking and internship/job search platforms among job seekers and recruiters. To optimize your use of this platform, consider the steps below:

1. Create a strong and compelling profile
2. Build Your Network Before You Need It
3. Reaching out to Professionals and Maintaining Relationships
4. Kickstart and Refine Your Internship/Job Search in LinkedIn

Build your network before you need it

Building any relationship takes time and effort—networking is no different. It is wise to organically incorporate networking into your daily lives (e.g. with peers, professors, guest speakers, family) and it is also necessary to be intentional with the process, especially if you hope to explore and discern a potential career path or eventually land an internship or job.

Your goal is both quantity and quality. Don't just randomly connect with lots of people on LinkedIn. Instead, be purposeful about who you are connecting with and why. When reaching out to a professional for the first time, your goal is to set up a career conversation (informational interview).

Here are several strategies to help you identify professionals you might want to connect with:

• Check out our LinkedIn Job Search Checklist .
• Join the Santa Clara University and Alumni Association (Official) LinkedIn group, which will give you access to contact thousands of members (your request may take some time to get approved).
• Identify SCU alumni to connect with through the LinkedIn Alumni Tool; follow along on our demo video below!
  
• Connect with people with similar interests by joining professional groups associated with your chosen industry and career. Get started by joining the SCU Career Center Jobs Network on LinkedIn.
• Learn a workaround—without Premium—for messaging folks whose message feature might be locked and/or have a strict character limit!

Reaching out to professionals and maintaining relationships

You might be thinking, OK, I've identified a couple of professionals I want to reach out to. What are my next steps?

Please refer to our Professional Communication resource for:

• A guide to crafting outreach messages, sample message included
• How to prepare for and act during a career conversation
• Questions to consider asking during career conversations (informational interviews)
• How to maintain a professional relationship once you’ve had that first conversation

Kickstart and refine your internship/job search in LinkedIn

• Follow the step-by-step guide in our LinkedIn Job Search Checklist