Why Every College Student Should be on LinkedIn
While some people go to college to find a spouse, the majority of individuals attend places of higher learning to get trained for a future job in that area of study. Here’s the problem. Having a degree in and of itself is not usually good enough to get a job in this economy. You need to be proactively doing things to differentiate yourself from the other millions of people that are also looking for a job.
Getting a college internship is one excellent way to build your resume, but oftentimes you cannot get an internship if you haven’t networked well. Thankfully, LinkedIn makes it easier to connect with other professionals and spot good job / internship opportunities.
LinkedIn was launched less than ten years ago and has quickly grown to over 150 Million users in over 200 countries. In a sense, LinkedIn is the Facebook of working professionals. It’s used extensively by HR representatives for hiring purposes, making it essential that you not only have a LinkedIn account, but have also put some good effort into making it presentable – just like you would your resume.
Here are a few interesting stats from this slide deck about LinkedIn.
- Launched May 2003.
- Has over 1 million company pages.
- Top users represent the fields of Technology, Finance, Manufacturing and the Medical field.
- North America has about half of all 150 Million Users.
Regardless of what field of study you are in, it is a strategic move for you to start making connections on LinkedIn. If you have an interview, follow up and thank the hiring manager through LinkedIn. That will make a good impression and help you stand out among the candidates. If a guest speaker comes to your class and presents, connect with them via LinkedIn. Who knows? You might land a job with them after college.
Don’t be bashful or shy about connecting with people, but also don’t be rude. Be respectful when connecting with others, and increase your odds at getting a job after college!
