Ashley Mosley is the Community Manager for InternMatch, a free online internship database based in San Francisco, CA with positions all over.

By now you’ve probably heard about the Ultimate Internship contest that we’re helping about.me promote: open until April 22nd, students can enter to win one of five paid internships at companies like the Huffington Post and TechCrunch, a $1k stipend and the chance to meet top industry execs like Arianna Huffington and AOL’s CEO, Tim Armstrong.

One of the key features of this contest is creating an about.me profile, detailing why you’re the top candidate for a summer internship position, and getting everyone in your network to vote. We want to make sure you come out on top, so we’ve profiled awesome strategies from some of our favorite winners!

1) Barack Obama – Craft the right message

One of the most vital aspects of any successful campaign is the message and President Barack Obama is no stranger to great messaging. He inspired millions of Americans to vote for him based on a campaign platform of “Hope.” In addition to a captivating campaign message, Obama used multiple platforms like email, video, cold-calling and text messaging to deliver it.

What does your about.me campaign message say about you? How are you leveraging all of your social platforms to make sure that people are inspired to vote for you? Social tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest can help you spread the word about this contest. Creating a profile that reflects how/why you’re a great fit for the internship position and combining it with a compelling social campaign message is sure to make you a winner!

2) Matthew Epstein – Go viral

Since Google is ranked as the number one place to work among college students and offers tons of perks (like free food, laundry and sleep pods), it makes a lot of sense that Matthew Epstein created a viral video to land a job interview with the tech giant.

With its creative call to action, “Google, please hire me” has been viewed over 1 million times and has helped Matthew land a job interview at Google and more than 100 other companies.

Did you know that more than 700 videos are shared each minute on Twitter and more than 500 years worth of video are shared each day on Facebook? What are you waiting for? Create a video encouraging people to vote for you!

Check out 2011’s list of top viral videos to get started!

3) Jay-Z – Make it a full-time job

“I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man…”

Whether he’s launching a new sneaker line, buying a sports team, opening a club, promoting a computer or releasing a new song, rapper Jay-Z realizes that promoting his brand is a full-time job.

Approach your internship search and this contest with the same intensity. Maybe you have a friend who writes for the school newspaper and needs a new story? Developing a list of key resources and people that can help you is a great way to give you a leg up in this contest. After all, it takes a village!

4) Katniss Everdeen – Understand your odds and find your strength

Sure, the leading lady of the Hunger Games is fictional but we can still learn a thing or two from Katniss about winning. When Katniss volunteers to replace her sister in the Hunger Games competition, she understands her odds: to win she must stay alive.

The majority of full-time employment offers are extended to students who have completed internships. What’s your strategy to make sure that you land the internship of your dreams and ultimately, full-time employment after graduation?

One of Katniss’ many techniques to stay alive was that she identified her strength and knew how to use it. Are you an awesome singer? Belt you’re your way to an internship with a great video! Maybe writing is your talent, start a blog and share your contest journey with readers. This is the perfect opportunity for you to use your strength(s) to create a strategy for landing one of these awesome internships.

5) Michael Jordan – Don’t give up

Everyone has their favorite Michael Jordan story and mine is the “Flu Game.” In game four of the 1997 NBA finals, Jordan was sick with the flu. He played for 44 minutes, scoring 38 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block – ultimately winning the game and landing the 5th MVP title of his career.

Competing for an internship can be challenging but developing a strong message, leveraging your allies and staying focused is a sure way to help you become a winner.