So, you are about to start (or already started) your summer job.  Now what?  What should you do with your impressive online presence that you’ve been cultivating and improving on during the school year?

Using Social Media to Help You this Summer

Proficiency in the realm of social media is not common.  A lot of people don’t understand Twitter.  They may not even be aware of LinkedIn.   Still others may have a Facebook account, but may not know how to use it.  If you are proficient with those and other similar sites, you are at an advantage over your co-workers.  One great way to stand out this summer is to offer to help setup an online presence for the firm/company/organization you are working for.  If they don’t have a Facebook page or Twitter account or even a firm website, offer to set it up for them.  More importantly though, offer to run it for them.  While some employers may be cautious to allow an intern to run their online presence, others will be glad for the help.  If your employer allows it, you will become much more valuable to them.  Even if they don’t allow you to actually run the online presence, just getting them set up on the various sites and showing your employer how to use the sites will put you a step above your co-workers.

If you work at an office that already has a significant online presence, there is still room for you to help and get noticed.  Many companies are beginning to develop these policies to control what their employees can and cannot talk about online.  For example, see IBM’s policy here and Intel’s policy here.  If your employer does not have a policy, you can help them create one.  Jayne Navarre has a list of twenty things that should be included in any social media policy.  Jay Jaffe also has a nice article about setting up a law firm’s social media policy.  These are both great resources to consult while crafting a social media policy wherever you work. Offering to help craft the policy will allow you to work with someone higher up in the organization, and likely get you some great face time. Although it will entail more work, it will be worth it.

Making Sure Social Media Doesn’t Cost You Your Job

Although this website does not often preach the downside of social media, a cautionary note is necessary.   Always be careful what you are posting on the internet.  This is doubly true when you are working for a law firm or other organization and dealing with clients.  It is extremely important that in addition to not embarrassing yourself with any bad Facebook photos, you maintain the strict duty of confidentiality.  Think through blog posts, tweets and Facebook statuses before you send them. Do they reveal what you are working on for a client? Something a client told you?  If so, you are probably better off not sharing. It is a good idea to have your own rule of thumb about such things. Even if your company doesn’t have a social media policy, know your own policy and stick to it in order to avoid any problems down the line.

Related posts:

1. Preparing for OCI Part III: Land that Dream Job
2. Social Media Law Student Blog Featured in ABA Journal “Law Firm Websites That Work”
3. What Career Service Office Advisors Should be Telling Students About Social Media [Part 2/2]
4. Why Some Law Schools Discourage Social Media: Student Blogging
5. Preparing for OCI Part I: A Sound Reputation
6. How Cyber-Stalking Can Get You a Job
7. New Social Networking Site for Law Students: Good Idea, Needs Participants
8. What Career Service Office Advisors Should be Telling Students About Social Media [Part 1/2]
9. Social Media Best Practices for Law Schools (Part 2)
10. Would You Advertise Yourself on Facebook?