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No one can deny that LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social networks available today.
For college students, it may not be the trendiest social networking platform—Facebook easily takes the cake. Regardless, LinkedIn is an important website for all college students to join.
Here are three reasons why.
You can be found by a potential employer through LinkedIn or a search engine.
Quite possibly one of the most obvious reasons: you could get a job through using the website.
Take a look at these statistics from Jobvite:
- 80% of companies plan on using some social networking site to find and attract candidates.
- Among these companies, 95% use LinkedIn. Facebook came in at 59%.
The percentage of companies that use LinkedIn are stunning—95% is a high percentage and undoubtedly worth making a note of.
According to a 2008 post, the average age of users on LinkedIn is 41 years old. Do you really think employers are going to actively search out people around that age demographic? There may be some, but I would be willing to bet that many would be looking for younger individuals to fill positional needs.
You would be in the minority.
If you are of college age, you would definitely stand out. While the younger demographic is undoubtedly growing by the day, college students aged 18-24 still make up less than 20% of the LinkedIn website.
The fact remains that the website is not over-saturated with college students, so there is still plenty of room on the platform for students to establish their presence and take advantage of reduced competition among peers.
LinkedIn has staying power and has established itself as the go-to site for networking.
While Facebook and Twitter cater more to the social and sharing sides of social networking, LinkedIn has established itself as the industry standard for career networking and job opportunities.
As more companies continue to expand their use of social media platforms to find new applicants and potential employees, you can expect to find more students taking advantage of LinkedIn use and more profiles.
One of the key takeaways (and real benefits) for being on LinkedIn is that competition amongst peers is not extremely imminent. Every person and profile on the website has something different to offer and a different background. Therefore, the odds improve that a LinkedIn user will receive (or find) great opportunities suited extremely close to his/her strengths and skills.
Where can you find resources for the LinkedIn website?
There are plenty of resources available on the Internet today for navigating the LinkedIn website and establishing a profile. A simple Google search is all that’s necessary to find a plethora of great, informative websites to help a user maximize his/her LinkedIn experience.
If you are interested in connecting with a great LinkedIn specialist, check out Lewis Howes and his website and book. Lewis offers a plethora of great tips and tricks in his book and on his blog. You are bound to find something helpful!
Are you on LinkedIn, and if so, how often do you use the website? What kinds of opportunities have you found on the website? Let me know your thoughts and your experience in the comments.
(Graph via Complete.com)
(Photo via appboyblog)
