Andrew Grossman is a social media evangelist, blogger, entrepreneur, student and intern ? all at the same time.
We sat down with Andrew to discuss the value of internships in early career development and how thinking with an entrepreneurial mindset sets you apart in your career. And, of course, we asked Andrew how best to leverage social media to secure an internship and build a solid personal network.
Please enjoy this installment of ?YouTern Interviews Interns?!
Q1. Andrew, you?re an entrepreneur and an intern. What advice do you have for other interns about ?thinking like an entrepreneur? (i.e. build your own internship)?
AG: Discover your niche ? be the best you can be at something highly specific. Your niche is what gets you seen and what separates you from everyone else. If you excel, you can generate a business-like approach, and create solutions, with this niche.
Research your target industry and target companies. Once you understand the goals of the firm, discover the goals of the person that will likely interview you. If you can find a way to contribute value to your audience via your niche or brand, you are in! Plant this idea, get yourself hired, and gain credibility for delivering on what you promised, and your potential.
Q2: What advice would you give to internship candidates who might apply to a company like yours?
AG: Internship applications and interviews are just like good marketing ? use them to convey your value to your audience. Discover the firm?s culture and consider how you could contribute to that culture. Know the company?s current business challenges and goals ? appeal to them. Learn as much as you can and articulate these things in your eventual meeting.
In large pools of applicants, dedication stands out. If you really care about the position, you will take the time to be thoughtful about articulating how you are too good to pass up. You?re helping the firm.
Q3: What are the Top 3 lessons you?ve learned from your internship experience that you didn?t learn in school?
AG: First, learning in school is so much different than field experience. When you think about how often we have to switch out textbooks now because they become obsolete, you can understand how fast-paced the business world is. For many students, being in school is like living in a time capsule.
If nothing else, I learned much in terms of openness. School is laser-focused on each course subject, but in a job, you wear so many hats at the same time. The most valuable and practiced skills from college are your abilities to think critically and learn independently. It?s all about how creative and effective you can be with the resources at hand.
Q4: What are your suggestions for internship seekers that are using social media to develop their careers?
AG: Most big businesses now provide a forum for advocates, customer service inquiries, and an overall sense of community ? through social media. For intern candidates, these outlets are fabulous opportunities for insight into company culture and communications with the company directly through those social media channels.
If the firm represents their culture digitally, your job is to absorb and contribute. So, have a hold on the company with basic research on Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, and Facebook (also keep an eye on Instagram, Pinterest, and Quora, among others).? Through your research, look for names and conversations. Become active with the company via their most popular social platforms. Visibility is key.
Q5: How do you leverage all this research to actually secure a high-quality internship? or job?
AG: Join the online community ? and make yourself known. Applying is much easier, and your name may become familiar to hiring managers, for the effort!
Take the opportunity to send industry-specific news or comments to recruiters and decision makers within the firm. Make it a goal to include this target audience in your network. Through these interactions, you introduce them to your strong brand and get them thinking about how you could benefit their company. Once you develop some rapport, consider meeting in person for an informational interview, which may lead to an internship interview.
Social Media is your opportunity to show off your skills and your personality, and to connect with people. Remember that Social Media is social?? rules from real life still apply. Be thoughtful, post relevant content, and stay credible. As you develop a relationship with your target audience, you can get those interviews and communicate your professional goals with the company.
Q6. A question we ask of everyone, both in this blog series and on our InternPro Radio show: what is your one piece of ?never fails? advice for young careerists? what has worked for you, every time?
This may sound strange, but bear with me.
Once I get to the informational interview or internship meeting, I treat it like a date ? or a meeting with a friend I haven?t seen in a while. You definitely want to present yourself well, but the key to do that is actually engaging them in conversation, getting them to share, and asking questions.
This way, you connect with the individual, discover their goals and background, and with practice, you can tailor your presentation to that person, for that situation, on the fly. From there, the relationship just builds and so does your network.
Well said, Andrew? solid advice for everyone, not just interns!
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