Why you should have a LinkedIn Profile

Nowadays in this fast moving lifestyle it is really important to stay connected with your friends and family. Thanks to Facebook and other social networking sites like twitter, Instagram, and snapchat we are able to do that but have you ever wondered that social networking sites like these, can also help land you in your dream job. Yes, you read it right, most of the jobs people get are through references and in order to have references you have a good social network. LinkedIn is a great platform to do that. Having a LinkedIn profile is a perfect way to start making connections that can help you both in college and thereafter helping you obtain your dream job.

LinkedIn is a great place to network. A LinkedIn account allows you to network with lots of different people – from your favorite college professors to your future employer. Most of the time people get into their dream job or career path based on their connections with people. LinkedIn is also a great place to research different companies and career paths that may be of interest to you. When you find something that interests you, follow the company; connect with the manager or CEO so they can see that you’re interested. Who knows, they might look into your profile and give you a job!

You can showcase more of your skills. Think of LinkedIn as both your portfolio and resume in one. You get to showcase all of your skills instead of being restricted to a one-page resume. Throw in your hidden talents/skills, your link to your online portfolio, the awards you received, etc. This is the place to show off and write everything there is about you (professionally of course)! LinkedIn is also great because you can always update your resume when something new is added, and everyone in your connections will be notified. And as a college student, you must have a LinkedIn account. With LinkedIn, you can connect with jobs you are interested in and look into their job requirements and descriptions. In that way, you can get a sense of what they are looking for in an employee when they are hiring. You can also receive notifications when they post new open positions or updates on the company. It’s like you’re an inside spy that gets to see everything firsthand about the company you want to be a part of.