This infographic from Online Colleges shows the different ways employers are using social media to find their next intern, and what you can do to stand out as a great applicant.

Five things you can do to optimize your social presence:

1. Stay Connected
2. Be your most professional you
3. Treat your profile like your resume
4. Be active, update often
5. Get referred (We did a survey that shows 1 in 10 personal referrals is hired!)

Read more in the infographic below.

Courtesy of: Online Colleges

Alisha Miranda (@makeshiftalisha) is a self-starter juggling a career that’s part traveler, part social media consultant. With a passion for connecting young professionals in a growing world of entrepreneurial opportunities, she hopes to continue being an ambassador for the DIY career-making community. Learn more about Alisha’s work at flavors.me/alishainthebiz.

By Alisha Miranda

As a mid-20s freelancer always on the hunt for bigger and better gigs, I’ve learned that the old ways of job hunting are dwindling, and it’s about developing a voice on social networks, especially Twitter, to advance your next career move – whether it’s getting started with an internship or landing a major account at a reputable company.

Using Twitter as a job hunting tool means you can connect with like-minded professionals, create your own voice and online brand, participate, engage, and learn, pay it forward and become a thought leader in your industry.

Here are ways I’ve used Twitter to successfully land jobs:

1. Research and join relevant Twitter chats

There are over 250 Twitter chats thankfully curated here for you to browse according to your professional interests. Set aside an hour a day to follow the chat streams of your choice, introduce yourself in the chat and share your responses. I recommend creating a separate stream on a Twitter dashboard like Echofon or Hootsuite to make your life easier if you’re going to follow multiple chats.

Pro Tip:

Twitter chats are a great way to extend your networking skills by simply talking with other users. Remember to follow the guidelines the chat moderator has specified and have fun!

Alisha uses Hootsuite, a free social media engagement tool

2. Create private lists to follow

I have six separate feeds on my Twitter dashboard to segment my reading on a daily basis. Why? Because there are certain groups of users I want to follow more closely. Twitter updates fly by every second, so you never know what information you’re missing out on. Divide your Twitter stream as reading lists with targeted groups of people you want to better connect with (i.e. publications, companies, sites). Bookmark their posts with the star button to mark as a favorite, and follow-up with and watch for job leads in these lists you create.

Pro Tip:

Easily grab the attention of influencers by simply retweeting their posts, commenting on their sites, or giving them a #FollowFriday mention.

3. Start your own “Hire Me” campaign

When I decided to become a freelancer full-time, I created my own press kit that would easily outline my services, skillset and rates to share online. From there I began a #hireme campaign on Twitter where I would tweet out a link to my press kit at least once a week with the #hireme tag and using it during high traffic times of the week to gain attention in my fields. Think of positively marketing yourself with the #hireme tag in a way that makes people realize they NEED to hire you based on your talents and posts.

Pro Tip:

Create a one-pager of your work experience including your strengths and specialties, the industries you’ve worked, and the kind of projects you want to lead. Keep as a reference sheet for when promoting yourself online.

Most importantly in the job hunt, remain optimistic and proactive!

Kristian Smith (@kristian_s89) is a recent journalism grad from the University of Tennessee.

By Kristian Smith

This may sound strange, but I really enjoy job searching. I constantly had internships in college, and even now, as a recent grad with a full time job, I still look for part-time and temporary writing and editing gigs. There is just something about finding a great opportunity that cannot be matched. While I have used all kinds of ways to find ways jobs (newspaper ads, Craigslist, websites), I have recently spent most of my time using Twitter to job search. There are many aspects of Twitter that make it the perfect job searching outlet, but I have learned that old-school job searching shouldn’t be forgotten.

Also, if you’re just starting out and want experience, follow and interact with smaller companies – many start-ups and small companies don’t have the money or prestige to post on major sites so Twitter followers have exclusive access to job postings.

One of the main advantages of job searching on Twitter is accessibility – you have access to companies that you cannot normally contact. Instead of endlessly searching online for an email address or phone number (from which you will rarely get a reply),you can follow and interact with companies or people that you aspire to work for or with. Companies like MTV and Conde Nast have specific Twitter accounts for their job postings, giving their followers exclusive access to postings.  Also, if you’re just starting out and want experience, follow and interact with smaller companies – many start-ups and small companies don’t have the money or prestige to post on major sites so Twitter followers have exclusive access to job postings. Especially when it comes to internships, these types of places will give you more hands-on experience than larger companies where you will spend most of your time getting coffee and making copies.

One pro and con of Twitter when it comes to job searching is its fast pace. If you follow a specific company, you may have access to job postings before those not in the Twitterverse, but you must be vigilant about expressing interest in a job. If you see a job you are interested in, at the very least, reply to the tweet or message the company. If you don’t strike quickly, the posting could easily get lost in your timeline and become a missed opportunity (Editor’s note: use the “Favorite” function on Twitter to save tweets!). Unlike traditional job search websites, it is not easy to search Twitter for specific tweets, so you must act fast.

One disadvantage of job searching on Twitter is its casual nature. Most college students and recent grads now know that employers will look at their Facebook profile during the hiring process, but job seekers need to be just as careful about their Twitter accounts. On traditional job search websites, all employers see is your resume, which is usually crafted to show off your best attributes. If you reply to a tweet or message a company, make sure your Twitter is free from pictures and tweets about things like partying, hating work and profanity. If you are using Twitter to look for jobs, keep it clean and professional. If you must, have separate Twitter accounts for job searching and for personal use.

Whether you use Twitter or any other means of job searching, be diligent and you will be sure to find a great job!

Why do you love, or hate, Twitter as a job search tool?

The dudes from The Campus Socialite are back with the latest on tech and social media news affecting college students, including a new Missouri law that would take student-teacher Facebook friending from just awkward to illegal.

By Matt Schoenman

Missouri to Outlaw Student/Teacher Facebook Friendship

I don’t understand why most students would want to be friends with their teachers anyway. Unless she’s young and hot, I rather keep my life separate, thank you very much. But the increase in awkward student/teacher relations is probably the reason why the Missouri Senate is attempting to pass a bill that forbids that boundary from being crossed.

Skype For iPad

Just thought all you privileged iPad owners should know, it just got a whole lot easier to video chat on your tablet. Skype finally released its new app for the iPad, which works just like its iPhone counterpart, except with the added ability to message during video calls.

Android Nears 50% of Global Smartphone Market

That’s right. Most of my friends might still have iPhones or BlackBerrys, but it’s good to know that I’m in the majority with my good ol’ Android.  According to a report from the firm Canalys , Google’s mobile platform captured 48% of the smartphone market in the second quarter. Android users, rejoice!

There were 488 responses to this week’s Up/Down, and the vast majority of you said “No!”

YES

20% (97)

NO

80% (391)

I see this as good news. I’m hoping the 80 percent of you in the “no” column are out enjoying the summer!

For the rest of you, the term blog was coined in the late ’90s and was derived from the term “web log”, which was the original term for an on-line diary. No doubt, the modern day blog has certainly evolved from its roots as personal diary. Today bloggers post about everything from celebrity mishaps to political commentary.

As intriguing as blogging has become, there are always risks! Keep in mind that whatever you post has the potential to exist in cyberspace indefinitely, which means that friends, family, and prospective employers may all come across your posts at some point. So if you plan on blogging, make sure to be comfortable with what you are going to put out there!

By Matt Schoenman

The dudes from The Campus Socialite are back with the latest on tech and social media news affecting college students, including the latest version of BBM, Groupon’s entry to Foursquare and two huge numbers from Apple.

Your BBM convos are probably not this stilted, but you get the idea.

BBM 6 Gets Social

Today, Blackberry released a new version of BBM, which aims to make the messaging service more social – letting users send video and invite their friends to play games through it. Of course, this means absolutely nothing for iPhone and Android users, who now make up the majority of the market, and have endless alternatives to BBM. Sorry, RIM.

Apple Now World’s Top Smartphone Vendor

I thought this was an appropriate segue. The geniuses at Apple are now the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume, with an 18% market share, according to Strategy Analytics. They have a $75.9 billion cash reserve, which means they have now surpassed the US government in balance. Oy vey.

Groupon and Foursquare Team Up for Real-Time Deals

When Foursquare first added daily deals into their Explore tab, Groupon was noticeably absent among a list that included its main competitor, LivingSocial. Well no more! Starting today, Foursquare users in the US and Canada will start to see daily deals from the group buying giant popping up when they explore. With GrouponNow’s location-based deals now being integrated into Foursquare, group buying should get a lot more interesting.

On Monday, we named the sixth of eight weekly winners in the My Fantasy Company contest, happening now on our new job/internship app for Facebook, CareerAmp. Magid Dagher, 21, won last week’s $135 prize for amassing the highest-valued fantasy company in the mini-game, which lets you name Facebook friends you’d go into business with.

I asked Magid what he’d do if he holds on to the lead long enough to claim the $10,000 Grand Prize on Aug. 8.

“If I win,” Magid said, “I will donate to Christian Aid Ministries for charities and also help Eternal Love Winning Africa Ministries to help orphans.”

Time is winding down! To challenge Magid for $10,000 or the last weekly prize, click here.

This week’s social media update from The Campus Socialite highlights MyBlock, an awesome new website that lets users upload videos for each street in New York City to create a full-motion testament to life in the Big Apple.

The yellow streets in this MyBlock map of New York City are tagged with user-uploaded videos.

By Rebecca Reich

MyBlockNYC is a new media platform of video mapping that fits right in with Facebook and YouTube. Launched about two weeks ago, MyBlock has already generated quite a fan base. It provides a way to connect more than to just people; it allows you to connect to a group or a place. To learn more about this incredible media map, keep reading. Continue reading at The Campus Socialite >>>

Apple released a brand-new version of its OS X operating system this week, and yes, it is sweet.

By Matt Schoenman

Apple Releases the Lions

Apple’s new OS X, Lion, was released this week, along with the new Macbook Air. We hear that the Air absolutely blows away the performance of last year’s Macbook Pro, which means that this new generation of Apple products will be ridiculous. Even more than that, Lion, available exclusively through the Mac App Store, exceeded 1 million downloads in less than 24 hours.

Bill Gates To Reinvent the Toilet

The Microsoft founder and billionaire donated $42 million to help develop cheap toilets that will help improve health, sanitation, and save lives in third world countries. How does this influence you? It doesn’t, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to write that headline.

Rebecca Black Releases Her New Single, ‘My Moment’

The YouTube sensation is back with a new single that is even more irritating than Friday … if that’s even possible. The song My Moment features Black’s incredibly auto-tuned voice, and the video sees her fake-singing in the studio. The song is about the artist’s quick rise to fame, and comes off as little more than arrogant. She’ll also be releasing a 5 song EP in August.

Michael Wittenbrink

On Monday, we named the fifth of eight weekly winners in the My Fantasy Company contest, happening now on our new job/internship app for Facebook, CareerAmp. Michael Wittenbrink won last week’s $133 prize for amassing the highest-valued fantasy company in the mini-game, which lets you name Facebook friends you’d go into business with.

I asked Michael what he’d do if he holds on to the lead long enough to claim the $10,000 Grand Prize on Aug. 8.

“If I were to win the $10,000 Grand Prize, I would use that money to help pay off my student loans. I would also use the money to help pay for my honeymoon next summer.”

To challenge Michael for $10,000 or one of next weekly prizes, click here.