LinkedIn: The professional side of social media

A college student and social media goes together like peanut butter and jelly. Look around you and you will see many people on their phones, taking a selfie, updating their status, or sending messages to their friends. There are many people out there that actually use their Facebook or Instagram to promote their business. This is a great way to get with a customer, but what would you do if you want to reach out to a possible new employer?

Welcome to the professional side of social media. LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has been around since the early beginnings of social media, back when MySpace was still a thing. LinkedIn is a professional social media page that allows you to connect to business, current and past employers, and coworkers.

In modern day job searching, a resume may soon become a thing of the past. Your profile is basically your resume. It allows you to put your work experience, education level, volunteer experience, and skill set that you have acquired over the year.

Skills and expertise section on your profile allows you to select up to 50 skills that you have. Your network, coworkers and/or prior bosses, can endorse you on theses skills and expertise. This will help when you are applying for a new job or if a business is looking for someone like you.

If you are a photographer, your skill set would most likely have Photoshop, DSLR, and social media managing. If a company is looking for a good photographer that can create their own content and provide a presence on their social media, your profile could possibly pop up in their search.

Right now is the perfect time for you to start building your profile, even if you do not have a professional level skillset yet. There is a lot of volunteer opportunities that you can do around college. Businesses like to see a future employee have the drive to help others when needed. Even if you work at the school newspaper or get your essay or artwork published somewhere, you can add that as a publication to your profile.

Many teachers are on LinkedIn. If you had a teacher that was really important to you in your learning career, you can go and endorse their teaching skill. They can possibly come back and endorse you for one of your skills.

At the end of the day, the saying ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ could go a long way here. If you connect to a professional that is looking for someone of your skillset, they could possibly remember you. That could just be enough to get you a foot in the door for an interview or job offer.

Businesses are now starting to allow you to connect your LinkedIn profile when applying for a job online. This will attach to their online resume and help you fill in the blanks. Once it is linked, the business is able to go to your profile and view who you are to get a better feel for you. That being said, keep your selfies and food pictures to your Facebook or Instagram, unless that is what you do professionally; model or chef/food reviewer.

There are many resources online that will help you build your profile to the professional standard. If you are a veteran, RallyPoint 6, located in Lakewood, puts on classes on LinkedIn. LinkedIn also allows you to get a Premium account for free while you are still in service.