How College Students Can Further Their Career Interests Using LinkedIn

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It’s cut throat competition in the world today and one needs to not only ensure parity with the league but also be ahead of it to survive competition. Social networking may be the trick of the hour but networking professionally is the needed stunt of the trade. LinkedIn is the first professional networking portal which combines social networking with job market. It is very efficiently used by the existing members of the corporate world but is still unrecognized by the student league as a building block of their future careers.

Until sometime back, LinkedIn was not student friendly, but lately it has recognized the potential opportunity that the student segment has in the offing. It has developed a student friendly section wherein individuals who are less experienced and more fresh in the corporate world can display their achievements in a way that highlights their profile as a prospective employee in an industry of their choice.

Multiple advantages follow in owning an address on LinkedIn if you are still a student. Here we have enlisted a few of them.

Early bird advantage

The longer you walk around in a gathering, the more acquaintances you are bound to brush against. The same holds true in the online world. The longer you are present on a portal, more are the number of contacts you would be able to connect to and thereby build a stronger network as compared to a new kid on the block.

Learn from the experiences of others

Surfing through the portal provides you a good look at the experiences of others, how people networked and what worked for whom. Getting in touch with people from the same industry that you want to be a part of gives you an extra edge of learning from the personal experiences of others.

Be discovered by companies

A large number of companies have realized that LinkedIn offers a wonderful database of fresh graduates. They use the portal to scan through the resumes of candidates and contact those who best match their job profile. So, college students stand a great chance to be invited for internship if they create an impressive LinkedIn profile.

Get alerts and notifications on your chosen job

You can set email alerts so that you receive notifications of recommended job offers. This helps you strike at the opportunity as soon as it arises.

Be omnipresent

One of the major advantages of the online world is that it enables you to be omnipresent. Whether you live in Chicago or New York City or Florida, you can make yourself felt present in a location of your preference and stay in touch with people of the industry in that location.

Great for those seeking international jobs

As LinkedIn has global presence it offers you a wonderful platform to apply for international jobs. You can connect with employers of your chosen companies and keep a tab on your preferred jobs so you can apply as soon as the vacancy opens.

Build credibility

LinkedIn has a feature which allows people to recommend you. Profiles with greater number of recommendations stand out amongst the pool of all others who are present on the portal. Students too can strive to get more recommendations and make their profiles more attractive to potential employers.

Bottom line

The student crowd needs to understand the immense potential that LinkedIn has to offer in not only giving a kick start to their career but also in establishing them in the long run. Switches from one profile to the other, hops between companies become easier if one has the right connections that one can tap at the opportune time.