With just a click of the mouse, students have the opportunity to intern at Google, Nike, Disney, Warner Bros. and 20 other companies in The Ultimate Internship Contest, sponsored by BranchOut.
BranchOut, the largest professional networking service on Facebook, allows members to leverage the relationships they already have on Facebook to make professional connections.
The site is free and provides members with an opportunity to create a professional profile, search more than 3 million jobs and 20,000 internships and see the professional contacts they already have.
"If you want to connect professionally with a professor, career adviser or a company that could hire you and you don't want them to see your Facebook personal profile, you can create a profile that only has your work and educational history," said Mike Del Ponte, BranchOut marketing manager. "It provides a level of security."
The idea for BranchOut was developed in July 2010, and the BranchOut team started marketing the application in December 2010.
Within two months the application grew from 10,000 to 400,000 users.
"I think BranchOut is a great idea because a lot of people say, 'It's not necessarily what you know, but who you know,'" said Caroline Burr, junior in early education. "After joining BranchOut, I've found at least a dozen people who have connections with an internship that I want."
A new aspect to the application is The Ultimate Internship Contest, which gives members an opportunity to land an internship at one of the 24 companies partnered with BranchOut.
"Because BranchOut is young and The Ultimate Internship Contest is relatively unheard of, there exists a good chance that if Auburn students sign up for BranchOut and enter the contest, their applications will be looked at by the participating companies and organizations," said Erica Meissner, marketing associate for BranchOut and senior in anthropology.
Meissner became involved with BranchOut because her sister was intimately involved in the company's start-up.
"I want more than anything to see my classmates pursue their dream jobs and internships," Meissner said. "I know that it is through their ever-expanding networks and sites like BranchOut that they will be able to do this."
After potential interns install the BranchOut application to their Facebook accounts and submit their resumes, users obtain five endorsements from Facebook friends.
Once everything is complete, the recruiters will review the candidates and follow up with the strongest ones.
The Ultimate Internship Contest was partly started because of a drop in on-campus visits by companies looking for interns, Del Ponte said.
Many large companies don't visit campuses frequently, so the online contest is an easier way for the companies to get in contact with students looking for internship opportunities.
"Nike's internship is one of the coolest internships I've heard about in a while," Del Ponte said. "Nike's internship opportunity allows an intern to help create a social media campaign for the Olympics."
Del Ponte said the BranchOut team hand-selected the top 24 internships of the year and highlighted those for college students. The Ultimate Internship Contest officially started Jan. 19, but potential interns can apply through March 31.
Positions are also available for students to intern at BranchOut.
The company is offering engineering positions as well as marketing associate programs for college students who want to promote BranchOut to other college students.
"We're really committed in playing a role in helping people find their dream jobs, and more than ever with the economy it's important for us to give job seekers new tools," Del Ponte said. "Our numbers are going through the roof, we're really growing, and we think that we're going to have a really big impact on the world."
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