Career Services Resource Center
Success Stories
Here are just a few of the amazing successes LinkedIn members have had using our site. If you have your own LinkedIn success story you'd like to share, we would love to hear it.
Student Success Stories
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Francisco Guzman, Stanford University 2012 (B.S. in Management Science and Engineering)"When it came time to interview, I was able to ask more insightful questions - beyond the basics."What: I used LinkedIn to figure out what I wanted to do over the summer, and prepped successfully for an interview at Google.Where: Mountain View, CAHow: I've interned with several tech companies before, and from experience, I know that the success of a summer internship really depends on the team. Google offered me an interview with their Business Operations and Strategy group, which sounded exciting, but I didn't actually know very much about it. That's when I headed to LinkedIn. I immediately found a few people in the group who were secondary connections, so I emailed my first degree connections to ask if they could introduce me. My first degree connections, who were mostly friends, sent out emails that same night, and I had a response the next day from two of the introductions. From there, I set up times to speak with them on the phone. The contacts were great about giving me a better idea of what the group does and how it's organized, so when it came time to interview, I was able to ask more insightful questions - beyond the basics. These conversations also helped me realize that this was a role I really wanted for the summer. I worked very hard to prepare for my interviews and am glad to have had this opportunity; I've had an amazing summer. P.S. Now I'm even using LinkedIn to find people to interview for my honors thesis. -
Iberia Zafira, Stanford University 2013 (B.S. in Earth Systems)"Yes, I have an artistic side, too."What: I use LinkedIn to connect with other designers and to find projects. I've been offered several freelance graphic design projects by posting my portfolio and experiences on LinkedIn.Where: Palo Alto, CAHow: As a student who studies Earth Systems at Stanford, it's not immediately apparent to most people that I'm an artist as well. One day at school, a classmate came up to me and said, "Wow! I had no idea you do photography and graphic design. "Kind of creeped out, I responded with, "Yes, how did you know?" "Your LinkedIn. I have this project you might be interested in..." and that's how I began to get projects from LinkedIn. LinkedIn allowed other users, regardless of geographic region, to discover my artistic side and make me work offers. Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in associating people with labels like, "science" or "business", but I believe that one of the most rewarding parts of using LinkedIn is stumbling across other people's hidden gems of skills and experiences, and seeing a more holistic picture of who they are as individuals. -
Robert Fligel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill '72"End Result: A very enjoyable summer internship. LinkedIn works!"What: Found a dream internship for his daughter on LinkedIn.Where: New York, New YorkHow: Robert’s daughter loves animals, and has worked at a variety of shelters and other facilities. Robert decided to investigate the leading animal facilities in New York City, to see if he could find his daughter an internship working with animals. He did a company search on LinkedIn, and found that one of the senior executives listed was a 2nd degree connection, connected to a first degree connection that Robert had just met 10 days ago. Despite the newness of their connection, Robert called his 1st degree connection to facilitate an introduction. Robert forwarded his daughter’s note about her interests and prior experience to his 1st degree contact, who forwarded on to the senior executive. Several days later, Robert’s daughter received an email inviting her for an interview, and shortly after, she was offered a summer internship.
Career Center Success Stories
Anne Merkelson, Asst. Director of Education and Career Development at UCSD Alumni Affairs
“My absolute favorite is discussions.”
What: As a former career director, Anne used LinkedIn to research and secure speakers for events, match students with alumni mentors, and recruit alumni employers to attend her job fairs for students.
Where: University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA
How: For Anne, LinkedIn offered the chance to build a vibrant online community of students, alumni, colleagues, and friends. She envisioned LinkedIn as a networking event, and a place where she could be a resource to her peers. She also proactively worked to provide value for current students and alumni by waging campaigns to increase group membership, posting news articles for alumni looking for jobs, and reaching out to already engaged alumni in LinkedIn to spread the word about her programs.
Kim Brown, Alumni Programs Coordinator at Syracuse University Career Services
“We’ve been adding up to 100 new members a week to our Syracuse University Alumni Network Group as word spreads about what a valuable tool it is.”
What: Has had countless successes using the Syracuse University Alumni Network LinkedIn Group. Loves the way students’ faces light up when they find SU alumni connections in their fields just by typing in a few simple search terms. Alumni have been awesome at sharing job opportunities to make their companies more Orange on the group’s jobs board. Kim plans to move SU’s student-alumni mentoring program to LinkedIn.
Where: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
How: Students and alumni constantly post discussions within the group, which have led to some great connections. For example, Kim worked with one graduating senior who got an interview at one of her dream companies by posting a discussion in the alumni group asking for feedback on her portfolio. Several alumni responded, including an alumna who was HR director at that dream company!