LinkedIn is one of the most underused tools for students and professionals. You can make connections, participate in discussions, search for jobs and more.
According to the LinkedIn website, it operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 100 million members in more than 200 countries and territories. That’s a huge network for professionals and students to connect with others.
Are you using LinkedIn to the best of its capabilities? If you haven’t already, try these LinkedIn features:
Experience, Summary and Skills: You can add your past jobs and job descriptions in the experience section and create a summary about you and what you do. The skills section is also a great way to add your specialties to your profile.
Recommendations: You can receive and provide recommendations for a specific job as a colleague, supervisor or partner.
Contact list: Through the contact section, you can see your connections’ position title, email and current company. This allows you an easy way to contact them through email or LinkedIn messaging.
Download profile as PDF: Potential employers can download your entire LinkedIn profile as a PDF for easier viewing and sharing with other employees.
Groups and Discussions: There are a lot of interest groups you can join — like the PRSSA group — to participate in discussions with other students and professionals.
Job Search: Employers post new openings in the job section on LinkedIn. You can also “follow” companies to see their latest updates, hires and available jobs.
News: LinkedIn has the latest news in its news section. It customizes the news to your interests so you receive news that relates to you.
As young professionals, it’s important to be involved with LinkedIn to show you know about the industry, that you’re involved online in the professional network and you know how to showcase yourself and your abilities.
What is your favorite feature on LinkedIn? How does it benefit you professionally?
This is a guest post from Vice President of Public Relations Lauren Gray.