You may have plenty of Instagram, Tik Tok and/or Snapchat friends, but are you connected with professionals within your career field of interest? Networking and developing relationships with professionals are some of the most effective ways to learn how to navigate your career path. Who knows - someone in your professional network may provide an opportunity for you to take your first or next career step!
Below are a few tips on how to leverage your social network to make professionalconnections!
Tip 1: Ask everyone for advice, ideas, leads and referrals
You may gain a lot of insight just by listening to the fascinating and inspiring career stories from professionals in your field. Many professionals (new and seasoned) are happy to talk about their career pathways with aspiring professionals just like you! Politely asking them if they could share a little time with you via phone, Zoom or email could open up the opportunity for you to discover key facts and details about someone who is “actually doing” the things you are considering doing in the future. Furthermore, they also might help you find “insider” opportunities for internships, part-time jobs or high-profile volunteering assignments.
BONUS: Listen to this panel discussion with UMBC alumni from the 2020 Major Event.
Tip 2: Create a professional email and/or professional networking profile
LinkedIn is a social network created primarily for building professional connections. Your profile serves as an interactive resume, where you can list your professional experience and educational credentials. You can join professional groups and search/apply for jobs. There are over 68,000 UMBC alumni currently on LinkedIn!
Tip 3: Start Connecting at UMBC!
The Career Center hosts networking events and job fairs on a regular basis (even now in our virtual format). Participate in informational interviews, Networking 101, LinkedIn 101 or join the UMBC-Alumni Student Networking Group on LinkedIn!
Now is the time to focus on your “Future Selfie”! In addition to building your personal brand, you can attend events/presentations, grab badges along the way, get connected to the rest of the world and explore professional options!
There are many career networking and professional mentorship opportunities available through the range of services, programs and initiatives sponsored by the Shriver Center – especially with respect to civic engagement and community based service delivery.
And Remember…
Follow up, follow up, and follow up (you get the point) – with your professional contacts! Whether it’s sending them an email every few months, or a message through LinkedIn, or placing a call to check in – it’s important to maintain all of the connections you make. They’ll be sure to come in handy when you are ready to make your next step! ]]>Please see these important dates, Deaf History Month and Women's History Month events, the Bender Career Fair, and awareness month info.
DATES TO REMEMBER
On March 14, we switch to Daylight Savings Time. Set your clocks forward one hour.
The 14th is also Pi Day! More info at this link: https://nationaltoday.com/national-pi-day/ Or, check this out for the kids, or the kid inside you: https://mathgeekmama.com/math-resources/pi-day-goodness/
Spring Break is March 15 – 22. The SDS office will close on Friday afternoon, March 12 at 4:30 pm, and re-open Monday, March 22 at 8:30 am. All UMBC offices will be closed during Spring Break.
March 23, Bender Consulting hosts their yearly virtual career fair for people with disabilities. Here’s the info: https://www.benderconsult.com/our%20services/bender-virtual-career-fair-people-disabilities
March 26, Delta Alpha Pi (DAPi), the International Honor Society for Students with Disabilities, meets from 4 pm to 5pm online. More at this link: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/accessibility/events/92735
HISTORY MONTHS
For Women’s History Month events all month long, and really interesting blogs, check out the following link: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/womenscenter/posts/99513
March 13 through April 15 is National Deaf History Month. Learn more here: https://www.insightintodiversity.com/national-deaf-history-month/
AWARENESS
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week March 7-13: https:/www.nationalmssociety.org/Get-Involved/Raise-Awareness
National Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month – learn more at these links: https://hemaware.org/fighting-you/6-ways-celebrate-bleeding-disorders-awareness-month and https://redtiecampaign.org/
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month - https://www.ccalliance.org/about/awareness-month
International Endometriosis Awareness Month – One in ten women are affected by endometriosis - https://www.endofound.org/endometriosis-awareness-month-2021-events-around-the-world
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Name:Swetha Sridhar
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:Broadcast Sports International
Position Title:Technical Writer Intern
Major(s)/Minor(s):Engineering Management
Current Class Level:Master's Student
Work Term:Spring 2021
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
My day-to-day responsibilities include,
- Working with government and private licensing and sanctioning bodies to obtain the
necessary licensing and product certifications.
- Work with engineers, manufacturing department and field support staff to manage the flow of information among project workgroups during development and testing.
- Study existing product and product prototypes and talk with product designers and developers.
- Responsible for managing the consistency of technical content and its use across departments including
product development, manufacturing, marketing, and customer relations.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I submitted my application in November, 2020 and heard back from the employer in the last week of December, 2020. The career center's manual guide helped me update my resume, and gave good insights in answering the interview questions.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
My position involves working with the entire engineering department to study and document the designs and prototypes which I enjoy the most.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
This work is a learning environment for me as the manager, and the engineers are very encouraging and supportive. This in-turn is helping make a great impact through my work.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I suggest all the students to not just apply for the roles but also build connections with the members in various fields.
Like the Career Center on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week?Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!
We know you have faced a lot of challenges over the past year. Spring break is a time to rest and recharge, given the incredible strains and stressors brought on by COVID-19 and being a student. Remember to socialize safely, take care of yourselves, and do everything possible to reduce the risk of transmission.
As you are planning safe and smart ways to unwind during the week, visit Residential Life for some suggestions and activities to help you de-stress and refresh.
Take a walk, go for a run, or check out a virtual fitness class
Unplug and reconnect
Eat well, feel well
For low-risk outdoor activity, RSA is also bringing back the Box of Games to Erickson Field, including some favorites such as kites, cornhole, and frisbees.
AstraZeneca is seeking multiple SUMMER INTERNS.
OPPORTUNITIES IN:TAKE A LOOK AT THE OPPORTUNITIES HERE:
https://astrazenecapharmaceuticalsinc.appone.com/
ALSO
Hackathon – Embracing Neurodiversity
AstraZeneca and our friends at Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Intel and ComputaCenter would like to invite you to take part in a 24 hour virtual hackathon.
On March 26th, like minded university students will come together to try and build solutions to help people with neurodiversity navigate their daily challenges.
Hear from our staff talking about what neurodiversity means to them and how they cope with the things they find difficult.
All outputs will be open source and placed in GitHub so that anyone and everyone can benefit from the work done in the hack.
You can build an app, write some code, design a process or create a physical device. Whatever helps you to help other people.
Solutions that peak the interest of our judges could get the chance to work with our partners to develop the ideas further!
The event is virtual and will run from 09:00 (26th) to 09:00 (27th) in your local timezone.
If you’re interested, click on the button below and follow the link to register for the event.
You can register yourself and a team of up to 4 others (with their permission).
Registration closes on Friday 12th March at 7pm GMT (we reserve the right to close registration early if capacity is reached)