By Amalya Teitelbaum, Business, Editor & Manager
LinkedIn is the social media of the business world. It is the world’s largest professional network on the internet. One can use LinkedIn to find the right job or internship, connect and strengthen professional relationships, and learn the necessary skills to succeed in any career. As it is such a useful tool, it is essential to learn how to best navigate and utilize it.
The first step is to create a profile and get your name out there. There are a few steps to creating one’s profile. To begin, you upload a professional-looking photo of yourself with a brief description, 2,600 characters, about yourself. Basic information like your current university, program, or career would be perfect to insert there. One may also want to consider including what position or field they’re seeking to be brought into for the sake of recruiters. The next step is to insert your education. Depending on your level of education you’ll include some combination of high school, undergraduate school, graduate school, and any further degree programs.
Arguably, one now has a LinkedIn presence. However, in order to really take your profile to the next level, you need to include your experiences. This part of your LinkedIn is similar to what you have on your resume. It is a place to include an individual’s past experience in school activities and clubs, community work/service, jobs, and internships. It is essential to really flesh out your successes by demonstrating problems you have solved or positions you’ve acquired as it will draw more recruiters to your profile.
Another way to boost your profile is to include your interests. This can include any hobbies you enjoy, skills you have acquired, or fields you’re interested in. These interests don’t necessarily have to be hobbies/skills in direct relation to the field or position you are interested in. This boosts your profile as a common interest and can often lead to a stronger connection with those in your desired field.
Now that your profile is complete, and you have a presence on LinkedIn, the next step is to start forming connections. Connect first with those in your schools and programs in order to build up your profile. Then attempt to connect with those who share the same interests and wish to go into the same fields as you. Not only will this help you establish connections in your field of interest, but it will also provide more clarity for recruiters on the exact field you wish to penetrate. This opens opportunities for connecting directly with employees in a company you wish to work for. You may even want to reach out to these specific companies and employees on LinkedIn to establish a connection for a potential job in the future.
If you have not yet established a presence on LinkedIn, strongly consider doing so. From creating connections to allowing individuals to receive their dream job, LinkedIn is the place to be to achieve success in any field.