Marketing Yourself
LinkedIn is the most widely-used social media platform designed for professional networking. LinkedIn was built with career networking in mind – it gives you the opportunity to connect with alumni, colleagues, fellow students, potential employers and many more. Not to mention, you can post and share professional content with people in your network, forging relationships you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to build. In fact, 70% of people using LinkedIn were hired at a company where they had a connection. Not only can you connect with individuals, but recruiters seeking candidates can reach out to you as well. By creating a LinkedIn profile, you are inviting opportunities in a multitude of ways!
- Creating Your Account
Start off by building a powerful profile so that you stand out.
- Add a professional photo to your account. Don’t have one? Visit us in FAC 2.106 to take a LinkedIn photo.
- Create a Headline that describes your primary goal. Your Headline should change as your goals change. Example: University of Texas at Austin senior seeking government-related internship.
- Craft a Summary and Profile that features your experience, skills and accomplishments.
- Set your privacy controls to allow others to view your name, headline and other info.
- Build Your Network
Once your profile is ready, try the following options to build and grow your professional network.
- Under the My Network tab, use Add Contacts to search for profiles of your friends, family and other contacts.
- Under the My Network tab, use People You May Know for suggestions.
- Using the Search function, head to The University of Texas at Austin page and click on Career Insights to view and search for alumni who work in industries, companies or jobs of interest to you.
- Using the Search function, explore all the LinkedIn groups that appeal to you (by topic, location, population, etc). A few groups and university pages you might want to join are Liberal Arts Career Services , UT Liberal Arts, UT Austin and Texas Exes
When you send a connection request, LinkedIn will ask how you know that person (including that you don’t know the person, which is common) and you can provide an optional note that the person will view along with your request. Many people leave the default language in the message window; however, we suggest you take advantage of this opportunity to introduce yourself. Checkout these template messages, or schedule an appoinment with us for help crafting a professional networking introduction.
- Using LinkedIn
- Follow employers you are interested in to stay up to date on their job postings
- Connect with a recruiter after an employer event or career fair
- Share your academic and professional accomplishments and celebrate the accomplishments of people in your network
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Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a 20- to 30-second introduction of yourself in a professional or career context. The name "elevator pitch" comes from the idea that you could introduce yourself and make a connection with someone in the time it takes to ride an elevator. An elevator pitch can be useful when introducing yourself in a variety of general situations, and it can be a helpful tool for marketing your background with an employer at a career fair, during an informational interview or at an impromptu meeting. When using your pitch in the career search, your pitch should be targeted to the employer, industry, and job/internship opportunity of interest.
- Components
Academics
Discuss your university, degree, year of study, and/or relevant coursework:
Example: I am in my third year of study at The University of Texas at Austin majoring in psychology and interested in teaching careers. I completed 6 credit hours focusing on adolescent cognitive development and recently completed a course in effective instructional methods.
Organizational Research
Review the employer website for information about their mission, industry and career opportunities.
Example: While reviewing your website, I noticed your organization values creativity in the classroom and provides an extensive training program for new college graduates. I would like to learn more about the qualities and skills that helped your past program participants succeed.
Career Goals
Discuss the skills and experiences that you are most interested in developing through this opportunity.
Example: I enjoy the classroom environment and I am excited to begin my career in education. I am interested in lesson plan development, gaining classroom experience, and pursuing my Texas teacher certification in the next twelve months.
Experiences
Focus on your most relevant experiences such as leadership roles, internships, current/past employment, volunteering and/or student organizations.
Example: I volunteered as a Teacher’s Assistant this semester, working with special education students. This experience affirmed my interest in teaching, and I discovered that my ability to problem solve and effectively communicate with children of special needs helped them succeed in the classroom.
Skills
Include relevant skills for the job/internship opportunity.
Example: I can speak and write Spanish, which allows me to communicate with bilingual students. And I have honed my leadership and time management skills to help motivate others to stay on task when completing assignments.
- Sample Pitch
Hello! My name is ____, and I am a senior at The University of Texas at Austin majoring in psychology. I am interested in pursuing a career in special education and noticed a training program for college graduates interested in becoming teachers on your website. I completed a Teaching Assistant internship this semester and enjoyed the experience of helping students achieve their educational goals in a creative environment. I discovered your profile on the Texas Exes LinkedIn group and would like to speak with you about your career path and the career opportunities available within your organization and the teaching profession.
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An elevator pitch is a 20- to 30-second introduction of yourself in a professional or career context. An elevator pitch can be useful when introducing yourself in a variety of general situations, and it can be a helpful tool for marketing your background with an employer at a career fair, during an informational interview or at an impromptu meeting. When using your pitch in the career search, your pitch should be targeted to the employer, industry, and job/internship opportunity of interest.
Academics
Discuss your university, degree, year of study, and/or relevant coursework:
Example: I am in my third year of study at The University of Texas at Austin majoring in psychology and interested in teaching careers. I completed 6 credit hours focusing on adolescent cognitive development and recently completed a course in effective instructional methods.
Organizational Research
Review the employer website for information about their mission, industry and career opportunities.
Example: While reviewing your website, I noticed your organization values creativity in the classroom and provides an extensive training program for new college graduates. I would like to learn more about the qualities and skills that helped your past program participants succeed.
Career Goals
Discuss the skills and experiences that you are most interested in developing through this opportunity.
Example: I enjoy the classroom environment and I am excited to begin my career in education. I am interested in lesson plan development, gaining classroom experience, and pursuing my Texas teacher certification in the next twelve months.
Experiences
Focus on your most relevant experiences such as leadership roles, internships, current/past employment, volunteering and/or student organizations.
Example: I volunteered as a Teacher’s Assistant this semester, working with special education students. This experience affirmed my interest in teaching, and I discovered that my ability to problem solve and effectively communicate with children of special needs helped them succeed in the classroom.
Skills
Include relevant skills for the job/internship opportunity.
Example: I can speak and write Spanish, which allows me to communicate with bilingual students. And I have honed my leadership and time management skills to help motivate others to stay on task when completing assignments.
Hello! My name is ____, and I am a senior at The University of Texas at Austin majoring in psychology. I am interested in pursuing a career in special education and noticed a training program for college graduates interested in becoming teachers on your website. I completed a Teaching Assistant internship this semester and enjoyed the experience of helping students achieve their educational goals in a creative environment. I discovered your profile on the Texas Exes LinkedIn group and would like to speak with you about your career path and the career opportunities available within your organization and the teaching profession.
Add a professional photo to your account. Don’t have one? Visit us in FAC 2.106 to take a LinkedIn photo.
- Create a Headline that describes your primary goal. Your Headline should change as your goals change. Example: University of Texas at Austin senior seeking government-related internship.
- Craft a Summary and Profile that features your experience, skills and accomplishments.
- Set your privacy controls to allow others to view your name, headline and other info.
Once your profile is ready, try the following options to build and grow your professional network.
- Under the My Network tab, use Add Contacts to search for profiles of your friends, family and other contacts.
- Under the My Network tab, use People You May Know for suggestions.
- Using the Search function, head to The University of Texas at Austin page and click on Career Insights to view and search for alumni who work in industries, companies or jobs of interest to you.
- Using the Search function, explore all the LinkedIn groups that appeal to you (by topic, location, population, etc). A few groups and university pages you might want to join are Liberal Arts Career Services , UT Liberal Arts, UT Austin and Texas Exes
When you send a connection request, LinkedIn will ask how you know that person (including that you don’t know the person, which is common) and you can provide an optional note that the person will view along with your request. Many people leave the default language in the message window; however, we suggest you take advantage of this opportunity to introduce yourself. Checkout these template messages, or schedule an appoinment with us for help crafting a professional networking introduction.
