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Bringing It Home – The Saint Rose Blog

What in the world is Linkedin?

If you’re reading this, there’s a fifty percent chance you have never heard of LinkedIn. If you have, you’re probably one of many college students that think that creating an account wouldn’t be of any help to you. I’ll admit, I thought the same way too. So why should every college student join the LinkedIn community? I’ll explain 🙂

So I know the first question running through your mind has to be, “Well what the heck IS LinkedIn Brianna?” Good question. LinkedIn is a professional social network. Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “Do I have enough information to start a profile?” or “What’s wrong with just using my Facebook account?” The answer is – if you’ve had a job, volunteered, held a student leadership position, or are enrolled in college, you have more than enough information to get started! And while I love Facebook just as much as the next person, I’m not too sure employers would be interested in seeing pictures of a possible employee from that party Friday night – keep Facebook as your personal social network and move to LinkedIn for the professional you.

So that raises the question of why we, as college students, should use LinkedIn. Well here are a few reasons why:

  •  LinkedIn helps college students to stay in contact with fellow classmates, bosses, and faculty members who they otherwise would lose contact with after graduating, going on to a new job, etc. This is similar to way that you add friends of Facebook to keep in contact with them.
  • Using LinkedIn as a purely professional setting helps make sure you can confidently connect with professional contacts, as compared to Facebook, where you share personal things with your close friends.
  • There are thousands of groups that you can join on LinkedIn, each of them having their own Discussion Board, News Board, and Jobs postings. With that amount of groups, you’re bound to find something you’re interested in no matter what your area of expertise is.
  • Lastly, companies’ needs are constantly changing and therefore your job is not guaranteed. In the case you find yourself unexpectedly unemployed, LinkedIn can help you find potential companies and recruiters as well as be found by them.
Photo credit to: Keppie Careers website.

Photo from www.keppiecareers.com

In the light that you have now found reason to create a LinkedIn account, I thought I’d tell you about a LinkedIn inspired event going on here at Saint Rose! Tuesday February 11th (TOMORROW!), professional photos will be taken in the Main Lounge from 11-1 to be used as profile pictures for your LinkedIn account. Photos will be taken from the chest up so pull off those hoodies and try to come “professionally dressed”. Pull out your favorite button up shirt, cardigan, or suit jacket and you should be fine. This event will be sponsored by the Career Center, iSmile Studios and Northwestern Mutual (with information about job opportunities with both iSmile and Northwestern Mutual!)

With all that being said, I’ve posted some links below to help you further understand what LinkedIn is and help you get started on creating your account. Remember, you can always come to the Career Center and meet with a counselor if you have any other questions.

Resources:
Career Center Resources
What is LinkedIn & Why Should You Join?

Until next time !

 

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