Home > Articles > Starting Your Career > How Recent Graduates Can Make the Most of LinkedIn
RegisterSign In

How Recent Graduates Can Make the Most of LinkedIn

Feb 22, 2012 Jennifer Williamson, Distance Education.org Columnist | 0 Comments

If you’re about to graduate or just earned your diploma, chances are most of the employment advice you’ve gotten recently includes one admonishment: get on LinkedIn. But if you’re getting that advice, chances are everyone else who graduated with you is getting it as well. Yes, LinkedIn can help you with your job search—but you need to know how to stand out. Here are a few tips.

Focus on expertise as well as experience

As a recent college grad, you may not have as much work experience as you’d like. Still, you can list expertise you may have gained anywhere—including in class—that may be valuable to employers. The more you list, the more your profile will be visible to employers searching for those terms. It’s always best to fill in your profile as completely as possible for this reason.

Leverage your second- and third-degree connections

Linkedin
Getting a job isn’t easy for new graduates in this economy—and you’ve got to do everything you can to stand out.
If you have an ideal company you want to work for, you can use LinkedIn to determine if you have any connections who might be able to help you get a foot in the door. Do a search for the company and correct geographical area, and you’ll see people who fill those requirements—and your possible connections to them. Then email your mutual acquaintances and ask for an email introduction.

Get recommendations

There’s room on LinkedIn for people who’ve worked with you in the past to recommend you, and these are highly valuable—think of them as testimonials. Ask as many people as you can to write you recommendations—your boss, your colleagues at an internship, your professors, and others. If you like, sweeten the deal by writing recommendations for others. This will definitely make you stand out from other LinkedIn users, many of whom won’t take the time to do this.

Download the browser

You can go to the bottom of any page on LinkedIn, look to the right of the “tools” heading, and download the LinkedIn Browser Toolbar for free. This toolbar will then show you how many people in your network work at a certain company you’re checking out on CareerBuilder, Monster, or another online job site. It makes leveraging your network to find a job much easier and more efficient.

Keep it professional

Some social networking sites blur the line between personal and professional—and introduce opportunities for an uncomfortable blending between the two worlds. Not LinkedIn. Here, it’s all professional. Avoid candid pictures of yourself, revealing personal details about your favorite movies or hobbies, or anything that isn’t work-related. Keep everything focused on what you’ve done in the past and what you can offer to employers in the future.

Update your status

You can update your status on LinkedIn much as you would on Facebook. Here, though, it’s all professional. Tell the world whether you’ve been taking a class, going on an exciting interview, or reading an interesting book that’s relevant to your career goals. Employers will see that you’re continually interested and engaged—and that your interest in their industry is long-standing.

Getting a job isn’t easy for new graduates in this economy—and you’ve got to do everything you can to stand out. Don’t just create a LinkedIn profile and leave it alone. Instead, dedicate some time a few days a week to stay engaged—and update your profile. In addition, use it to determine where you have connections—and who might know someone who can help you. If you do, you’re likely to get much more from LinkedIn—and stand out from the competition.

Sources

Comments:

blog comments powered by Disqus

More About Starting Your Career

Back to Article Home Back to Starting Your Career

most popular articles

more popular articles

find your online degree

join our community

@onlinecourseMy week on Twitter 🎉: 3 Mentions, 294 Mention Reach, 4 New Followers. See yours with https://t.co/asvRUvsxaN https://t.co/ZHWzIIEgNWPosted 1509 Days Ago

@onlinecourseMy week on Twitter 🎉: 2 Mentions, 537 Mention Reach. See yours with https://t.co/asvRUvsxaN https://t.co/QvBMU1LmTaPosted 1516 Days Ago

@onlinecourseMy week on Twitter 🎉: 11 New Followers. See yours with https://t.co/asvRUvsxaN https://t.co/9ftI1Gqsf8Posted 1530 Days Ago

more tweets

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Williamson

Jennifer worked as a GED teacher for an adult education nonprofit for two years. Her students came from all walks of life, and ranged in age from sixteen to sixty-eight. During that time, she became knowledgeable about the unique needs of non-traditional and adult learners. She counseled hundreds of students about their higher education options, including online degree programs.

Twitter | Facebook | Google+