Throughout college, you will be introduced to a certain social media application that your professors, advisors, and friends talk about. You will receive emails from your school offering workshops on it, and you will be offered an opportunity to take a “professional photo” for it during job fairs.
What is it? It’s LinkedIn: your digital professional profile.
This social media platform is made up of a community of professionals that are able to share opportunities and experiences that happen in the workplace. Aside from being part of a community of people who share helpful and insightful posts, you can also search and apply for jobs. LinkedIn is a resourceful tool that anyone in the workforce should invest in.
Your LinkedIn, like your other social media profiles, can be personalized to your interests – for example, if you are interested in certain groups or companies, you can follow their pages. Also, you can connect with your friends from college and high school, and other peers. You can keep up with their professional careers and congratulate them on their successes. You can also share different opportunities with them that you think would suit them, and you can start to create an uplifting space that motivates you to grow in your professional career.
Additionally, in “Social Media: Your Personal and Professional Profile”, we established that employers will screen your social media profiles, and LinkedIn is definitely on the list of the social media they check. On your profile, you want to make sure that the information on your resume is detailed and that it matches up with what you have listed on your LinkedIn. Also, personalize your background picture to your liking – for example, if you are based in New York City, you may want to put a picture of the skyline, or if you are an engineering major, you may want to go with a picture that embodies that.
Your profile picture should be a clear professional picture of you. What’s a professional picture? Imagine the pictures your teachers took for picture day. It will be worth taking half an hour to dress up in professional clothing and fix your hair to take a straightforward picture (no crazy poses or selfies recommended).
Finally, when you are adding your resume to your profile, make sure to accentuate your experience (what can you do) rather than how long you have been doing it (Terrell, “Do Employers Care More About Your Résumé or LinkedIn?”). LinkedIn is a great place to show employers how you can add to their company and to show your personality.
This era of technology has allowed us to reach different levels of transparency between applicants and potential employers. LinkedIn is one of those resources that allow users to be connected with their friends, family, and peers in a professional setting, while still being able to show your personality.
Works Cited
Terrell, Kenneth. “Do Employers Care More About Your Résumé or LinkedIn?” AARP, 9 Jan. 2019, www.aarp.org/work/job-search/info-2019/resume-vs-linkedin.html.