Updated: The ACE Center’s Top Tips For Looking for a Job or Internship Remotely

Networking and LinkedIn helps you build crucial relational skills that will serve you in your career for decades to come. Looking for a Job in the Age of COVID walks you through the steps you can take now to plan and implement a successful job search, despite current constraints. Looking for a Job in France focuses on legal and cultural issues involved in, and specific resources available for, your job and internship search in France. Career Hangouts (formerly Jobseeking Hangouts) are where you can get inspired, develop a plan and stay on track, whether you are actively looking for a job or just beginning a job search. These sessions are scheduled regularly and can be found on AUP Engage. For students considering graduate programs, we regularly host sessions on planning for graduate school. Many of these sessions are open to alumni – interested alums are encouraged to check AUP Global for details and to sign up.

Good news: we’re continuing to receive offers every week that are posted in the Job and Internship Opportunities database (login required). Recent opportunities have come in from big names such as Canal Plus, Variety Magazine, La Gazette Drouot, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development and many more. Some of these are set to begin immediately in a remote format, moving toward in-person when possible.

If you’re looking for employment now, keep reading to find Career Center’s top tips for making the most of your job search.

1. Use all resources available to you – don’t try to do it on your own.

See the resources and workshops above to connect with us and keep reading for more opportunities!

2. Seek an Extension

If you’re graduating this semester, you have the option to request a student status extension to accommodate a zero-credit internship. Many employers in France and elsewhere offer internships rather than jobs to graduating students, and internships in France are only open to currently enrolled students (not recent graduates). Most internships in France are paid and often comprise real responsibilities, and we know from experience that internships of this nature really help our students launch into their professional lives. In France, the single best way for a graduating student to be considered for a job is by completing a full-time, long-term (6-month) internship first. And if you wind up securing a job instead, the extension can be reversed (check conditions here).

3. Use Keywords and Hashtags

Employers are hiring, but in some sectors more than others. You can use the keywords “#nowhiring” or #jobopportunity on platforms such as LinkedIn to identify organizations and individuals who are looking to recruit talented individuals like you right away. In French, equivalents are #onrecrute and #emploi.

4. Update your LinkedIn Profile

While you’re at it, make sure your LinkedIn and application materials are polished and position you effectively for your job search. LinkedIn is not only a good place to look for job postings but it also acts as an online resume/CV and gives you the opportunity to actively network with working professionals, including our fabulous alumni! LinkedIn is also rolling out some new features such as interview preparation tools using artificial intelligence, salary insights by job title and location, the “Build a Resume” feature and their career explorer tool to help career transitioners identify new opportunities based on their most recent previous positions. And while you’re at it, you can build new marketable skills via LinkedIn Learning, free to current students and for others including alumni, nearly 1,000 hours of free learning courses are currently available from Microsoft and LinkedIn at opportunity.linkedin.com. Once you’ve completed a training course, your new skills will appear on your LinkedIn profile automatically.

5. Explore available "bridge jobs"

If you’re not finding relevant job opportunities at the moment, consider thinking in terms of a “bridge job:" a short-term position that will help you gain valuable skills and experience as you work out a strategy to get to the career you aspire to. This is not the same as “settling” in that these jobs are not an end in themselves but an opportunity to move closer to your more ideal position.

If you’re wondering whether there are internships “out there,” consider this: AUP students who were interning at the time that confinement was decreed in Spring 2020 were able, with only a couple of exceptions, to switch to an online format to continue their internships without interruption. On that note, our Global Talent Portal was launched last spring, and students continue to secure internships as a result of their participation. Any student eligible to register and internship with AUP is eligible to join the Global Talent Portal, and we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity. Lastly, for current undergraduates considering being part of the career-enhancing Global Professional Skills Program, there’s still time to join the program. It’s a challenging year for everyone, and taking some time to reflect on your accomplishments so far and how they will help you with your next steps can feel very empowering. To sign up, simply join the GPS organization on AUP Engage. And for those who presented their personal narratives to our panel of evaluators last spring, congratulations! The panelists were overwhelmingly impressed with your experiences, presentations, aspirations and creativity. If you’re curious, you can get a glimpse of students’ narratives from pre-confinement days here.

This is a disconcerting moment in history, and we are all feeling uncertainty about the future. That is all the more reason for students and alumni to take advantage of the resources and support available here in the Career Center. We look forward to working with each of you.

Want a quick primer on updating and revitalizing your resume? Here’s our Power Up Your Resume in 5 Easy Steps video.