The world of LinkedIn

Many of my friends and co-workers know that I’m pretty big when it comes to social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Ello, and all of those social media sites are great; don’t get me wrong about that. Yet there is another social media site that I used every day and I may actually use it more than any other site. LinkedIn is my go-to social media site.

Let’s be honest — we all know networking is important, so LinkedIn helps me build connections in my field of interest (music) so I can later on reach out to them. I can reach out to them to pick their brains, establish a good relationship with them, and perhaps even ask about employment opportunities in their company. I also love the fact that I can go and write recommendations for my past co-workers or friends who I know have an excellent work ethic.

Having a good LinkedIn profile is key because it shows who you are to a future employer. So making sure that you have the following is vital.

• Photo – I’ve seen some people with selfies and I’m not a huge fan. Make sure your photo clearly represents the person you are and the person you think would be appealing to an employer. I really love photos where people smile because that just shows a warm, welcoming person.
• Updated Info – Try to have the most up-to-date information on your profile. List every job, internship, volunteer event, project, and anything else that is evidence of your work. How else are employers supposed to know what you’re doing with your life?
• Grammar – OK, I’ll admit that grammar is not my favorite thing in the world. I really need to sit down with a coffee in my hand to focus to make sure I catch every error. Yet, I’d rather take a few more minutes to review than to have an employer write me off for my dream job.
• Connections – When you have solid connections on LinkedIn, don’t be afraid to talk to them. There have been so many times where I have reached out to connections to ask about their job, their experience, where they went to school, etc. You’re a student; use that “I’m a student” card for a long as you can because it definitely gets you some great insight. People generally want to help student learn something new.
• Alumni Matters- Did you know you can go into LinkedIn and search for alumni who graduated from UIC? You can do that with practically any school but the fact that you can find a UIC grad in your field of work is awesome. That means you have common ground with a professional and they might be more willing to help you. Reach out to the alumni and bridge that gap; you never know where UIC grads have ended up… believe me I’ve learned.

These are all things to keep in mind and what you should do with LinkedIn. Especially as college students, we’re looking for jobs/internships so it’s vital to get one and update as much as possible. To my fellow graduating seniors, start updating it and following the companies you want to look for; job posting are showing up. LinkedIn is great and probably the reason why I have been able to make some partnership and connections for new opportunities. So go ahead already! Log yourself into the world of LinkedIn.

Kris Fuentes Cortes is a senior in communication, a Boston native, an active student around campus, and a dreamer of working in the world of music. She wants to become a tour manager for a band and travel internationally while she’s still young. She’s the assistant marketing director for UIC Radio.