LinkedIn Upgrade

It’s official. The last day of class is less than a month away, and graduation isn’t much further. Although many of us will be taking Maymester, this still feels like the end.

As hectic and stressful as this upcoming month promises to be, it’s important that we keep powering through and continue doing everything possible to make ourselves outstanding job candidates. This means networking, skill development and making good first impressions.

Today, the latter is done online, usually through LinkedIn. Because LinkedIn has become such a powerful networking and career tool, it is important to make accounts as outstanding as possible. For those of you who are unsure as to how to optimize your profile, below are some tips for improving your presence:

1. You absolutely must have a profile picture. Not having one can make you appear lazy or undedicated. If you can acquire a professional head shot that’s great! But for those who can’t, simply take the time to put on some decent clothes and find an uncluttered background.
2. Endorsements are a great way for employers to quickly see what skills you are recognized for the most. Team up with your friends and take a few minutes to endorse each other!
3. Employers want numbers. So don’t merely write that you IA’d a class or wrote articles for an on-campus publication. How many students did you IA for? How many articles did you write per week? Success is in the details.
4. We are all Newhouse students and henceforth, producers. If you are producing graphics, websites, documents, etc., then be sure to upload examples under corresponding experiences.
5. Be sure that you are constantly updating and refining your information. Always ask yourself if descriptions could be written better and if your layout and explanations makes sense to others.

I recognize that we all have about 100,000 other things to do between now and graduation, but it’s important that LinkedIn (and networking) remains a priority. After all, it is these tools that will lead to jobs.

Hang in there everyone, the finish line is in sight!

Emilee Smith

Emilee is an artist, writer and musician who possesses a love of animals and a "Harry Potter" obsession. She is an avid reader, baker and aspires to publish novels. Emilee is currently earning a master's degree in public relations at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication.
@emileejaysmith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emileesmith