LinkedIn lecture teaches students the benefits of joining the network

How many times do you hear a name and want to know more about them, and the first thing you do is Google them?

“Well this is what reporters and recruiters are doing, and what do you want to pop up?,” said Career Services graduate intern Jenna Turman.

This was a question the Mount Pleasant native asked when explaining why students should create a LinkedIn account in the Bovee University Center’s Lakeshore room on Wednesday. Rather than your Facebook or Twitter profile being the first thing a person sees, why not a LinkedIn account?

“If LinkedIn is the first thing that pops up, they can click that and see this professional side of you,” Turman said to a group of about 33 students.

Launched in 2003, LinkedIn has become the world’s largest professional network. According to its website, LinkedIn has more than 175 million members in over 200 countries and territories. It allows people to create professional profiles where they can network with others and businesses.

“I think that a lot more students are familiar with Facebook and Twitter and utilize them more on a regular basis, but LinkedIn is really gaining traction in the world,” Turman said. “It used to be mainly business focus but now it’s spreading its wings so much wider.”

LinkedIn is a website where people are able to not only discover and find job opportunities, but network with others.

“It’s not just for jobs,” said assistant director of Career Services Tori Stevens. “I’m not looking for a job, but I’m definitely on LinkedIn because of all the connections I continue to make on it.”

The Career Services department plans on hosting LinkedIn lectures and labs where students who are beginners with the site can learn more about it and how to manage their profile.

“So when you walk out, Jenna will have told them exactly how to make their LinkedIn profile with their own spin of personality on it, but with important professional stuff that needs to be included in order to catch somebody’s attention,” Steven said.

Holly senior Danny Taylor attended a LinkedIn lecture and learned many valuable tips about LinkedIn and how to improve his profile.

“I came for one of my classes and picked career services,” Taylor said. “I thought it was good, it was helpful.”

Compared to Facebook and Twitter, “LinkedIn is more professional,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the social networking site is very useful. Rather you are a student or someone looking for a job, it allows you to network and make connections with people.

“To continue to expand network, you never know what the future holds for you,” Taylor said.

Turman agrees having a LinkedIn account will not only help students in the professional world, but simply give them better communicational skills with networking with others.

“I think it’ll benefit them in the long run,” Turman said. “The sooner they start, the more connections they can make. More and more people in education are becoming connected. Their RA, their internship, they work in campus dining and they meet all these people. These are all opportunities to connect with them and you’re connected to them throughout your educational experience.”

The site continues to expand and be a source of information and communication for people, corporations and groups.

Robert Bromley, professor of accounting, said he assigns the accounting system students a case where they join the CMU Accounting Alumni site on LinkedIn.

“As an alumni, I started the site a few years ago. We have over 400 members,” Bromley said. “Many are partners of CPA firms, corporate controllers and chief financial officers. I think it has been a great way for our students to network with some of Central’s most successful business alumni.”