Hi! My name is Jaden and I\u2019m a third-year student here at UMass Lowell. I\u2019m majoring in English with a concentration in Journalism and Professional Writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently,\nI\u2019m an intern for the University\u2019s Career & Co-op Center. The center has\ntons of great career, internship, and co-op resources for students so I will be\nblogging about my own experiences using those resources!
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Recently, for my\ninternship class, I had to create a LinkedIn profile for networking, and I had\nno idea how to make connections. There are so many employers, professionals,\nand students! For my second post, I thought I would share what it\u2019s like\nnetworking on LinkedIn for the first time since I know it can seem quite\nintimidating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, I logged into my\nLinkedIn account to find alumni from UMass Lowell. I\u2019ve found it can be easier\nto make connections if the person and I have something in common like an alma\nmater. I went to the UMass Lowell LinkedIn page and I searched for technical\nwriters from the Greater Boston area in the alumni search bar. The process was\nvery easy. I kept my filters to a minimum because I wanted to find as many\nalumni as possible! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My search worked and I\nfound lots of technical writers! Yay! They all worked in a variety of\nindustries like medical, robotics, software, finance, and automotive. I sent\nthem a request to connect, there is a request button on LinkedIn, and I also\nwrote a short introductory note about myself. I introduced myself, said I was a\ncurrent English major at UMass Lowell who was interested in technical writing,\nand then I specified what aspects of their experience inspired me to connect\nwith them. Being specific and personal seemed important because it not only\nfeels more genuine, it also creates a goal for each interaction. Adding a note\nwhen sending a connection request is also important because potential\nconnections do not know who I am, they would just think I\u2019m a random stranger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, this process\nwas a bit nerve-wracking. It was new and I felt like I did not know what to do\nin the beginning, but I\u2019m glad I did it. Two of the alumni accepted my\nrequests, which is less than I hoped for, but networking is a process and it\u2019s\ngetting a lot easier for me now. I\u2019ll keep networking and building connections!\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi! My name is Jaden and I\u2019m a third-year student here at UMass Lowell. I\u2019m majoring in English with a concentration in Journalism and Professional Writing. Currently, I\u2019m an intern for the University\u2019s Career & Co-op Center. The center has … Continue reading