More and more students are finding jobs and internship opportunities by utilizing social media sites like LinkedIn.com. Dan Sullivan ( Class of 2011) was especially successful in making the website work for him leading up to his graduation last spring. Read on to hear Dan’s story – his success might just inspire you to try something new in your hunt for a job or internship.

As a junior sport management major at Endicott, Dan started a sports-related blog and began linking his blog to sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As a result of his efforts he was able to promote himself, while at the same time share valuable information with professionals in his industry. He grabbed the attention of the president of a sport management organization on LinkedIn and was invited to various networking events for free. At one of these events he met a contact who offered him a sports blogging job for another site.

Another example of Dan’s success was when he reached out to a woman who he shared a group with on LinkedIn. He requested an informational conversation with her to learn about her work at the New England Patriots. During the call he asked intelligent questions and showed her that he knew a lot about the organization. As a result, he was able to obtain a position with the Patriots during the summer before his senior year.

LinkedIn also became very helpful to Dan when he decide to change career directions and move away from sports during his senior year. He reached out to people on LinkedIn that he shared groups with that had interesting titles and backgrounds and requested informational meetings. Some people responded and some didn’t, but it was a great way for him to learn about various positions and to make connections. He got a response from a contact at Boston Partners Financial Group and ended up meeting the same contact at the Endicott career fair. Since he had already “met” the contact online, he was interviewed immediately and is now a Boston Partners Financial Group Associate.

Dan advises students, “You’re not going to get immediate results, I did but that was rare. It is a slow process. Out of 20 people you meet, maybe only 5 people are those that can help you.”

For more information about how to use LinkedIn for your job search please contact the Career Center at: careers@endicott.edu.