We’re 10 days into 2013. Yay! You may have some New Year resolutions related to your career, and if you do, I hope one of them involves LinkedIn.
As the social media manager here at Career Services, my personal mission is to help any student or alum become comfortable with this amazing tool. Why? It is powerful. Let’s review the facts on just why it’s so powerful from LinkedIn’s website:
1) There are more than 187 million members in over 200 countries and territories. That is a LOT of people. Odds are, if you want to learn about an organization or a career trajectory, you can find someone on LinkedIn and see what they did. For example, do you want to be a consultant? I would recommend looking for someone who is currently an associate at a consulting firm you are interested in and see where were they before? This is one way to get an idea of how you can follow a similar path.
2) As of the school year ending May 2012, there are over 20 million students and recent college graduates on LinkedIn. They are LinkedIn’s fastest-growing demographic. Part of on-going professional development and one’s ability to find positions after college (whether that is the day after you graduate or 5 years after you graduate), it is important to stay connected to your peers.
3) Over 39 million members in Europe as of June 30, 2012 and more than 34 million members in Asia and the Pacific as of September 30, 2012. Want to work in Europe? Want to find a job back home in China? One way to do that is to connect with those who are working there right now, especially if they are Penn alums, and ask them for advice.
So you see, LinkedIn can be useful/powerful/helpful/awesome (in my eyes). Now you’re wondering, how do I get started? How can I take my LinkedIn profile to the next level? This semester we’re offering a variety of programs to help undergraduate and graduate students. Here is a list of hand-on workshops offered in the Weigle Information Commons at Van Pelt:
Jan 14, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Jan 24, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Feb 28, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
Mar 13, 2013, 12:00 PM-01:00 PM
To sign up for these workshops offered, visit the registration page.
We’ll also offer custom programs for different populations throughout the semester. Information on those workshops can be found on the Spring 2013 program and event pages for undergraduate and SEAS master’s students and for graduate students and postdocs. And, of course, if you can’t make one of these programs, utilize our LinkedIn resource page or come in and meet with a counselor.
The Penn Institute for Urban Research has an active and growing LinkedIn group, including a job board. Students and alumni interested in urban fields are encouraged to join by clicking here: linkd.in/PM3PSo