It may be summer yet it’s not too early to start thinking about preparing yourself for landing a fall internship program. Below are some business etiquette tips you can start doing now to stand out among the crowd.

1. Start a blog. Think of a blog as an extension of your resume. It is a great tool to set you apart from other applicants by providing your prospective employer insight into your ideas and opinions. Write about an area that interests you and provides value to your readers. Employers routinely look for people who demonstrate they provide solutions to customers. After posting an article, engage with your readers by responding to their comments. Building relationships both online and offline reflects your interpersonal skills and insight on how you may interact in a team. A side benefit of a blog is that it provides a window into your writing skills. Hiring managers consistently report they are looking for stronger business writing skill in candidates.

2. Set-up a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn is more than profiling your resume. It is a key business tool to gain market awareness and connect with others in the same field of interest. For example, join LinkedIn groups and participate in the discussion. Provide relevant and valuable information for the members. Answer questions on LinkedIn. Write trusted recommendations for fellow college students. These actions show recruiters your depth of knowledge, interest in the field, and willingness to promote others.

3. Develop a professional online presence. Start now to develop your online professional presence. Here are a few suggestions.

—Create an e-mail address that includes your name. For example, tyler.beaumont@ or tylerbeaumont@ or tyler-beaumont@.

—Go one step further and purchase a domain (url) in your name and establish an e-mail address such as tyler@tylerbeaumont.com.

—Verify privacy settings on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and all social media accounts reflect the image you want to portray to recruiters.

—“Friend” all business contacts on LinkedIn. If a recruiter or potential employer sends a friend request to your Facebook account, politely let then know you use LinkedIn for business connections and Facebook for personal relationships.

4. Turn off your cell phone during the interview. A hiring manager tells a story that while interviewing a college student for an internship program, the student pulled out his smartphone to search the Internet for a fact to make a point during the interview. Then discreetly, yet visible to the hiring manager, read a text message before raising his head to rejoin the interview. Don’t engage with your cell phone during the interview, engage with the hiring manager.

5. Follow-up with a thank-you note after the interview. In fact, send an e-mail immediately after the interview expressing your appreciation and, within 24 hours mail a handwritten thank-you note. If you really want to differentiate yourself from others, write the thank-you note on personalized stationery. Several online stores offer personalized stationery at a reasonable price.

What next?
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What are your business etiquette tips for scoring an internship program?

5 Business Etiquette Tips for Scoring an Internship is a post from: Carol Bory's Business Etiquette Blog