LinkedIn gives students opportunity to network
New jobs have been created, such as SEO (search engine optimization) and social media experts. Building a network in which you keep contact with has never been easier. A wealth of job search tools are available for the present day graduate. This is all thanks to the Internet.
One extremely popular website that helps a person build a professional profile, network and even find a job is LinkedIn. It has more than 135 million users in 200 different countries and adds 10 new members every five seconds, according to an article posted on businessinsider.com on Dec. 1 by Matt Lynley, titled “LinkedIn Adds 10 New Members Every 5 Seconds.”
Associate Director of Career Services Lela Mixon said that LinkedIn is a great tool to have as far as networking goes. Some of the benefits she listed are that it’s quick and concise and can help one gain access to specific names.
“When you look at a job opening, you usually don’t get the contact name or anyone who you can reach out to and ask additional questions,” Mixon said. “But if you have a LinkedIn profile, a lot of times what you can find out is the contact name of someone within the organization, maybe to gain some information about the organization, and if luck would have it, about a specific position.”
Some of the different features LinkedIn has are the ability to follow companies, find out where a concentration of specific jobs is, do a job search by area code, join groups that are industry and job specific and make and see introductions.
Digital Marketing Manager Jason Nye also described LinkedIn’s importance as a means of social networking.
“A common saying is ‘it’s not always what you know, but who you know,’” Nye said. “These networking sites accelerate your ability to find people or network with people who might potentially help you locate employment because again, its one of those things—a friend of a friend…”
As beneficial as Mixon thinks professional social networking is, she also advises students not to blur the lines between professional and non-professional social networking sites.
“When one company has a Facebook page, or people create what they hope are professional Facebook pages, a lot of times, because Facebook is used informally and socially, then people’s communication on that, whether they’re commenting on a specific post, it just tends to be less formal,” Mixon said. “Whereas on LinkedIn, because it is a professional social networking site, the communication style, type, text and what you reference is usually more professional.”
Nye expressed similar sentiments. He said a lot of times, he’s seen people create two profiles on Facebook: one for personal use and one for professional use, but Nye stands by the fact that Facebook is better for personal use.
In terms of building your professional network, Mixon recommends asking people you meet them they use LinkedIn, and then seeing if they’d like to connect to stay in touch. She also said to ask people who have complimented you on your work if they would mind posting a recommendation on your page.
“That builds your profile and makes it more complete,” Mixon said. “It just sort of helps people get a more in-depth knowledge of you as a professional, because you’re typing that information and sharing it broadly.”
Nye said that professors are a great way to find connections on LinkedIn.
Although LinkedIn may help in the job search, Mixon said it needs to be paired with other tools, such as job boards, good interviewing skills and a solid résumé.
“It’s not just that one thing,” Mixon said. “I wish it could be a silver bullet, but it’s not.”
Both Mixon and Nye stressed the importance of marketing oneself.
“When I used to do sales, one of the key things they would tell us was, ‘Your business card does no good in your pocket or in your purse; you have to hand those out,’ so it’s all about marketing yourself and making yourself visible,” Mixon said.
One aspect Nye mentioned was that LinkedIn is still not personal.
“You’re not interacting with the person face-to-face,” Nye said. “That’s true with any social media. I think it’s great to maybe help build that lead, but to prepare you to go to the interview… it’s not going to do that because you have to be able to sell yourself.”
Nye said one should think of his or her LinkedIn profile as a résumé and keep it up to date and accurate at all times.
Mixon recommends the LinkedIn Learning Center to those who are new to LinkedIn. All the features on the website give tips on establishing your professional profile and exploring career opportunities. The Learning Center can be found at learn.linkedin.com.
She also recommends that students attend the SOS Workshop, “Invisible Job Market,” on March 31.
