Written by Jonah Grossman, Director of Communications
Social Media is a tool that is part of our everyday lives. From the news, to stocks, to Instagram, we find ourselves glued to these platforms. Everything in the world adapts to the growth of technology, but the workforce especially has. LinkedIn in my opinion is one of the greatest platforms out there. Similar to a lot of other social networks, LinkedIn is on the rise and will continue to grow rapidly in the near future.
Throughout the last 20 years, social networking has been more of a space for sharing your life in an informal manner. LinkedIn, however, has changed that. It’s your online resume. It’s a place for you to make a name for yourself in the world of business. Bringing together countless industries, you can post and show your experience with like-minded individuals. Since the rise of LinkedIn, it has changed the entire workforce for the better. The site provides many features that have elevated the way we use social media.
Before LinkedIn, submitting resumes and applying for jobs was a much more strenuous and exceedingly difficult process. Nowadays, you can apply straight to any job you find. The site can also notify you when job openings occur with optimized filters that can even be set to specific companies. One of the greatest features that LinkedIn has is the Alumni tab. Whenever you visit a company’s page, it will inform you how many people have attended your schoolwork there. For us Penn State students, 700,000 living alumni means a lot of potential connections to jobs. Reaching out to people that work in the field you desire is now easier than ever. I know this from experience – I have secured two internships just from reaching out and making connections on the website.
LinkedIn is a fantastic way for people to know and understand what you’re interested in. Yes, other social media platforms help with this as well, but LinkedIn really specifies the field that you are looking to pursue. You can update your jobs and show when you get promotions, as well as write descriptions of what you have done in each job. See why I called it your online resume?
Setting up your LinkedIn profile is easier than riding a bike. To get started, you simply enter your email and the app will begin asking you questions about your experience. Answer a few questions, upload a professional headshot and you’re all set up! Just as with other forms of social media, you can put in preferences of what you like to see. People who you connect with, and follow will show up in your feed.
If I had to give one piece of advice to any college student, I would say to get on LinkedIn. Countless professors and workforce professionals are on the site already. LinkedIn has changed the nature of job applications and networking, and you can set yourself up with an amazing career. All you need is just a few clicks of your keyboards as those opportunities are truly at your fingertips.
Happy Valley Comm 