LinkedIn For College Dummies
LinkedIn is like Facebook for professionals. It allows you to connect with potential employers, professional and educational references, and maybe even future co-workers. This is where you can brag about all of your notable accomplishments, qualifications, and career/educational endeavors without seeming conceited. In fact, on LinkedIn, it's encouraged. In todays blog, I'll be teaching you how to beef up your resume so that you look qualified as can be when employers are on the prowl for potential employees.
1. Standing Out: There are over 400 million people on LinkedIn, so how do you stand out in the crowd? First off, a profile picture. Users with pictures are way more likely to be contacted and selected by employers. Second, a clean introduction and headline. No one wants to read an introduction riddled with errors and no point. Keep it simple. Talk about your current studies, briefly describe your interest, outline your career goals (what you're looking to do), and what you'd like to do in the meantime.
2. Impress the Audience: If your introduction is the hook, your achievements section is the line and sinker. This is your opportunity to SHOW OFF. Each section allows you to display your desirability, so use them. When I first joined LinkedIn, my certifications were lacking and as a college freshmen I felt like the courses I'd taken were too mainstream to include. So guess what? I used the internet to become an expert in new topics and my free weekends to get new, free certifications. Here are some ideas for how you can enhance your profile:
Free Certificates:
- Earn your Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery certificate through NCTSN - this course trains first responders for disaster situations
- Get Ordained - who knew it was so easy? I got ordained by both the Universal Life Church and the state of Nebraska all in one very short sitting. Through the Universal Life Church you have to pay for official documentation, however through AMM you get a free digital certificate.
- Get Google DigitalGarage Certified - this online course in digital marketing is completely free through Google.
- Get YouTube Certified - this free YouTube certification program can get you up to three certificates and basically qualify you to be a channel manager. The three certification categories are in channel growth, content ownership, and monetization.
Free Courses: Finding free certificate programs is somewhat simple. Finding free courses that also provide FREE certificates of completion is harder. There are hundred of free courses you can take to enhance your skillset, but certificates usually come with a fee. Here are some sites that offer free courses (not necessarily certificates) and some that actually are just completely free.
- NCTSN Courses - This is the rare completely free site, however most courses are only applicable to those with majors in childhood education, psychology, and healthcare. Here is where I got certificates of completion in Early Childhood Attachment, Stress, and Trauma and Reducing the Risk of Childhood Sexual Abuse.
- Alison Learning - This site offers certificates and even diplomas in dozens of courses. The learning is free (for most classes) however the certification is not, but may be worth the small price for some of the resources they off.
- DuoLingo - DuoLingo does not offer any certifications, but it may help you brush up the language you studied in high school enough to add to your LinkedIn. I use DuoLingo to keep my German proficient.
3. Join Organizations (and list past ones): Your education and previous jobs are important to list, but employers also care about versatility and involvement. Whether this be volunteer experience or clubs/organizations, LIST IT! As cheesy as it sounds, sororities and fraternities look excellent. Leadership positions in your organizations also present a desirable skill (leadership). Every college campus has clubs and organizations, and many of them have very minimal time commitments. Make an effort to volunteer through local programs and churches as well.
4. Be Descriptive and Add Skills: When listing your job and volunteer experiences, make an effort to explain what your role and responsibilities were. Listing your responsibilities gives employers a better idea of your capabilities in the work place. As for skills, include both soft (vague) and hard (specific) skills. Be aware of which skills stand out in your field of interest and know which skills are universal. Multiple studies show that the most valuable and sought out skill by employers in COMMUNICATION! If that doesn't incentivize you to take a communications class, I don't know what will. Below is a list of examples of soft and hard skills.
Soft Skills:
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Customer Service
- Organization
- Punctuality
Hard Skills:
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Adobe Photoshop
- Phlebotomy
- Analytics
- Bookkeeping
5. Finally, Make Connections: This advice goes beyond the realms of LinkedIn, this applies to your college career too - MAKE CONNECTIONS! The people you meet in college and the professors you work with will also likely be your futures references and gateways to job opportunities and collaborations. If you establish relationships now, it'll make you more successful in the future. Especially if you're planning on pursuing post-secondary education, talk to your professors. Seek research opportunities with them. Ask them how you can get ahead. Talk to your peers. The kid studying pre-law could be representing you in court some day for tax fraud (kidding - I hope). As for on LinkedIn, link with your professors, other students, co-workers, and even people you volunteer for.
LinkedIn may seem blasé now, but in the future this acts as a platform for career opportunities, a supplement to your resume, and you can even use it as an outline when you do draft a resume. Use it, update it, take advantage of these opportunities. As always, thanks for supporting the DormForum!
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."
- Albert Einstein
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."
- Albert Einstein
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