By: Alexis M Peters ‘20

Before this week, I had never been to a career fair, I had never visited the career center, and I wasn’t doing internships that were even remotely related to my major or career interests. Oh. And I’m a first-semester junior. Watching my friends look for internships and jobs to boost their resume made me happy for them, but also a little scared for myself. Was I behind? Did I need to be networking my butt off in the way all my friends were?

By: Danielle Collins ‘20

Network! Connect! Search! Getting started on LinkedIn can seem daunting, but once you get the hang of it, it’s very manageable. I recently set up my LinkedIn account and have been slowly adding to it. I’ve met with a career advisor, and gotten advice from friends and people who work in my field about how to best use LinkedIn. I’m by no means an expert, but I thought I’d share some of the helpful tips I’ve learned so far! I’ll walk you through some tricks I’ve learned for how to create your LinkedIn profile, how to make connections, how to best use the “Search” feature, and how posting works. Check out whichever section you want to learn more about, or all of them if you’re new to LinkedIn!

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

As college students, the best tool to network is informational interviews. Informational interviews allow you to become well-informed about the industry you’re interested in and are a great way to develop some contacts in your field. Top-level and mid-level executives rarely take calls from strangers, but for college students eager to learn there is an exception. Being a USC student is a powerful brand to get your foot in the door, so use it to your advantage.