Every college student wants to gain experience. Whether it’s working for the summer, for a semester or throughout the school year. Of course there are jobs on campus through the Student Employment (or whatever it’s called at your school). There are even jobs that you can get through your school’s Career Services and Counseling (if that’s what it’s call where you attend college or university) with companies outside of your on campus options. They even offer help with building and writing resumes, cover letters and sometimes even curriculum vitaes. But what about those internships that your campus officials don’t know about?
Eventually you will need to know how to join the work force and enter the job market without someone doing it for you or helping you out with opportunities. You’ll have to find your own at some point. Here is a list of top sites that offer the same services with a greater variety and direct contact with potential employers along with a do it yourself approach that will give you some experience in preparation for when you do it on your own in the real world:
1. LinkedIn
Number one on our list is of course Linkedin. This social network is specifically tailored for a professional approach to social media and marketing. After all the product….is you! So job seekers, why not market yourself to potential employers?
The site has tons of features. Users start off by building a profile and as they go along a status bar on the side show the percentage of the profile that is complete and the percentage that needs completing. Here you can add experience, places you’ve worked at, schools you went to and any qualifications you have such as degrees, certificates or diplomas. There is also a skills section that you can add and your connections can endorse your individual skills. You can list awards, achievements, certifications, projects, test scores and publications. Connect with friends, colleagues, associates, acquaintances, family and just about anybody else. You can make connections through your connections, by being introduced, through your email contacts or just browsing the users on the site and add them to your network.
There is also a section for recommendations that you can post or have someone write one for you like a professor at your school or an employer at your job. When you’ve built a profile you can search for jobs and apply through the site and join groups you’re interested in to build your network of contacts. You can comment, post and send messages to chat it up with your peeps and keep them updated on what’s up with you and your career. They cater to practically every field or industry so go ahead and take it for a spin it’s a great tool to have in your job search arsenal
2. Internships.com
This one has personally helped me get a few pending internships & entry level jobs recently. Some might turn out to be full-time or part-time jobs so I would say this is a great tool for those looking to get into the workforce and be a part of the working world. I actually landed this job using this one. Here you can build a profile complete with a resume and even a video introduction. The site has a bar that measures the completion status as a percentage next to your resume and let’s you know how much you have completed and how much you have left to do. All that’s left for you to do is set the status of your profile for potential employers to see what you’re up to. With this you can let them know if you’re searching for work or not quite ready yet. From there you can search for internships that suit you and meet your criteria. There are tons of categories to choose from and narrow down your search. Search for jobs of all levels starting with internships and entry level jobs. The site uses symbols to tell you what benefits a job offers and features a legend to help guide you on what they mean.
A lot of virtual jobs are available meaning you can work from the comfort of your own home or wherever you choose without ever having to step foot in an office. Just click on the posting and read the description and other information, then just hit apply. From there you can copy and paste a cover letter into the textbox or type something in there to catch the eye of the person reviewing your application. You can speak to your prospective employers through the message system which displays any new messages you have in response to applications right at the top of the page. If you got a job you can click on the Just Got Hired button at the top and give feedback about the site, the job and how the site helped you to get it.
Those are the best out there that I’ve found and used. They work well for me but there are plenty of others out there that just require a simple search. I also recommend Glassdoor and Internshipmatch.com which offer similar services and features to users so check them out. You can even find some cool ways to make your documents and yourself stand out to suit the industry or field you’re in.
View all articles by Sean R. Benjamin Jr.
