Why You Should Be On LinkedIn

Posted on October 3, 2014 Updated on October 6, 2014

Out of all the social networks, LinkedIn reminds me of the middle child. You have the main sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, but LinkedIn often times gets left out of the mix. This is highly unfortunate because LinkedIn can be one of the most beneficial social media sites, especially for college students!

One of the first lessons you learn looking for a job anywhere is that it isn’t necessarily what you know, but rather who you know that counts. Don’t get me wrong, even if you know someone with an “in” at the company you want to work for, you still have to have the required skills to attain the job. However, it is much easier to get an interview, or even the job, if you are connected with someone who is employed there. Here at Saint Martin’s, we have many networking socials, luncheons, and fairs to help meet and connect with business people in the area. In the past, you would get their business card and just keep it for when you need to contact them. Now, you can get their business card, but also find them on LinkedIn and invite them to connect. Then they have complete access to your skills and qualifications, as well as your experience.

As nice as it is that you can have a place to store your connections, it also requires you to stay on top of your profile. Here of some of my suggestions for you:

• Have a quality, professional profile picture of only yourself
• When posting, commenting, or anything else, write professionally and triple check your work
• Be active commenting in groups that have the same interests as you
• Keep your profile updated with detailed work experience

With the current job market, it is important to take advantage of every resource available to you. If you are applying somewhere, and you have all of your LinkedIn account updated, the employer has the ability to look you up and see more details into your qualifications, and can see what other people are saying about you. This can give you such an advantage over a competing applicant who does not have an updated profile.  I hope you choose to utilize this great resource.  You can connect with me on LinkedIn by searching Stephen Mahnken.