by Karishma Daswani

You’ve all been reading and hearing about how to create the perfect resume, contacting the right companies, attending conferences to network, asking seniors who’ve done internships to help you get through etc. And all this helps !
However there’s also a different approach to the same goal which could prove to be more fruitful in terms of not only getting the right internship but making professional contacts for the future. This is the people centric approach.

Conduct a people search …

Few years back when I was in college and was looking for internship in IT …any internship really (there was not the option of getting the ‘right’ one), the only way to go was through a chain of contacts I got in touch with a school friend of my sister who contacted a good friend, who in turn contacted another good friend who contacted a college classmate working in a leading software company who got in touch with the HR of that company. Phew! So I had a lot of people to be grateful to & these people in turn too owed something to each other for getting ‘work done’ – all for an unpaid internship!

The same people approach can be followed now also but completely personally on one’s own without having to go through a chain of ‘grateful-ness’ …..all thanks to Social Media

Even today in many organizations like jobs, internships are also not advertised. It works quite a lot on referrals. Which is why you might want to conduct a people search instead of an Internship search.

Now what is that supposed to mean??

Capitalize on LinkedIn!

Really!! Its that simple! I’m already on Linked In now where’s my offer letter?!
LinkedIn is an excellent means of getting to know the various professionals working in different organizations at any level in the hierarchy. Through it you can find out the names of relevant people in the HR community and these names can be put into online people search engines like ‘pipl’, ‘peekyou’ & ‘wink’ which provide information on other social communities where the same people are most active and can be joined in or followed accordingly.

One can also join various forums and groups on LinkedIn and join in the discussions that are taking place wherein you meet like minded people while putting forth your view and listening to what others have to say .Ideally a discussion can be started from your side too which could involve possible enquiries for internships, sharing of useful information with other interns, tips & leads and what not.

Direct messages can be sent to the relevant people but remember to put across yourself in a short and crisp manner and not pester a person continuously by repeatedly sending requests for employment or befriending.
Complete your profile 100% as it acts like a brief CV and its very useful to have recommendations (as the option is provided) from your professors or peers.

Along this people centric approach you would meet a lot of people who if cannot help you directly with any form of employment would have relevant contacts in their connection list and can be added by you accordingly. So you end up knowing a lot of people- useful, like minded, same area of expertise, different views, helpful experience…or simply as an online friend !
So if you get your offer letter by using this approach do let me know!

The author is an entrepreneur and independent Human Resources(HR) consultant based out of New Delhi, India. She can be reached at www.karishmadaswani.com Twitter LinkedIn
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