Category Archives: Social Media

Entry by Lindsay Davis, Solutions Marketing Intern, Interactive Intelligence, Inc.

We live in a world where it is now socially acceptable to follow people, where “tweeting” is used in everyday language, and where we learn to describe any emotion we may have in 140 characters or less.

Thank you, Twitter.

Above all else, we live in a world where corporations can use this simple animated bird-themed website to reach out to their customers and employees while gaining feedback in return.  I gained firsthand experience of this during my first few weeks at Interactive Intelligence.

I’ve “tweeted” before, but it was always meaningless updates about my whereabouts, or what I was doing.  Never did I imagine Twitter as a marketing tool, until now. These days if you’re not up-to-date with the latest and greatest, you’re at a huge disadvantage, especially when it comes to company branding and customer service.

With “hashtags” …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

If you are not already on Twitter, then you are missing out on a huge, free opportunity to market yourself. Twitter, at its core, is a marketing tool. Companies use Twitter to market their goods and services; it only makes sense for you, as an internship/job seeker, to use Twitter to market your skills.

Since you do not include as much personal and professional information in your Twitter account, it is easier to create a professional Twitter profile. Here is a recap of the tips to build a professional Twitter profile, which I included in the July INTERNnetwork and last Friday’s blog:

Use your real name, use a head shot photo as your profile picture, create a Twitter name that is appropriate and easy to remember, list a website for yourself – a professional profile such as LinkedIn, an online resume, an online portfolio, or your …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

In the July INTERNnetwork, I included an article about social networking and how to create a “professional” Facebook profile. However, I am going to correct myself – since Facebook is less of a business-oriented site and more of a personal social networking platform, I think the word “respectable” more appropriately labels how you should represent yourself in your profile.

Let me explain what I mean by “respectable” – the content in your profile should not be content that you would not want an employer to view. Creating a respectable profile means including both personal and professional content. For example, you want to include your career goals and interests, but that does not mean you have to exclude your other interests as well. Take look at the Facebook profile I have included for your reference – For example, Anastasiya lists “journalism” and “public relations” as some of …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

In the July INTERNnetwork, I included an article about social media networking. Of all the current social media platforms, LinkedIn is the most obvious tool to use for professional networking because it was created for exactly that reason.

LinkedIn provides an easy to follow template to create a professional profile, but it is important to fill out your profile accurately and in detail.

Check out the included example of a professional, completed LinkedIn profile.

In addition, here are four key tips:

Make sure your profile is 100% complete – having a complete profile increases your search result rankings and shows that you took the initiative to complete your profile join groups that are related to your industries of interest and groups that are designed for networking, job, and/or internship searching, follow organizations of your interest, and take advantage of your network – on LinkedIn, you have …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

In the July INTERNnetwork, I included some tips on how to use Twitter for marketing, networking, and research.  Here is a recap:

Some tips to build a professional Twitter profile:

– Use your real name,
– use a head shot photo as your profile picture,
– create a Twitter name that is appropriate and easy to remember,
– list a website for yourself – a professional profile such as LinkedIn, an online resume, an online portfolio, or your blog,
– customize your profile with a clean, professional design, and
– tweet about your interests, internship/career search process, articles related to your industries of interest, opinion on current events in your industries of interest, etc.

Besides acting as a marketing tool, Twitter is great for networking and conducting research.  Some tips on how to use Twitter to network and research:

– Follow individuals with similar interests,
– follow Twitter …

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Entry by Pat Patterson

Although you may perceive Facebook as a personal social media tool, don’t think that your friends are the only ones searching for you.  I have heard countless “horror” stories of students who did not get a job or an internship or who have even been fired because of the content in their Facebook profile.  Many organizations also routinely search for students on Facebook after reviewing their resumes – this is becoming a more and more common practice. 

In the July INTERNnetwork, I included some tips on how to create a professional Facebook profile.  To recap:

– Use a head shot photo for your profile picture and delete, un-tag, or hide unprofessional/inappropriate pictures,
– in the “About Me” section, list networking as something you are interested in,
– include interests relevant to your career goals in the “Interests” section,
– join groups or “Like” pages that are related …

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Entry by Courtney Sampson, Marketing and Communications Intern, Indiana State Fair

Social media – talk about a “buzz phrase.” The mere thought of social media evokes some serious emotion from people – You either seem to love and embrace it, or you dread the thought of “tweeting,” “tipping,” or “tagging.”

NEWSFLASH! Here’s the thing: social media is not for every person or every single thing. Well, I guess that’s my opinion, but here’s why: You have to actively update your presence online! Online time = real time. If you’re not willing to update and participate, you might as well stay offline.

The best part about social media is connecting with a virtual community; granted, some of your “friends” and “followers” are neighbors, best buds, and co-workers, but face it, you probably haven’t met face-to-face with a significant portion of your social media community. Why then, would any person (or company, …

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Welcome to Indiana INTERNnet’s Blog, “Indiana INTERNnation”!  Our blog will feature internship related articles and advice for all Indiana employers, students, and educators.

Our blog will be updated three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  We will post employer related articles on Mondays, student related articles on Wednesdays, and educator related articles on Fridays.  We will also be featuring both student and employer reflections as students begin their internships and employers host and mentor their interns.

Each month we will have a theme for the blog’s content, which we will announce in the previous month’s newsletter.  Let us know if you would like to contribute to the next month’s blog.

Of course, don’t forget to use our free online database to post internships and search for internship opportunities in Indiana!  Visit <a href=”https://www.workandlearnindiana.com/”>www.workandlearnindiana.com</a>.

What exactly is Indiana INTERNnet?

Indiana INTERNnet is an internship-matching program linking employers, students, high …

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