This week in UNCW’s Communication Studies department, we are counting down the days to Com Studies Day! This Friday we are all given the opportunity as students to not only meet successful alumni, we are given the opportunity to begin to make a name for ourselves in the Wilmington community and surrounding areas. Since we are taught to make the most of our opportunities, it is vital that we make an impression on those that are working in the field that we want to go into. Com Studies Day offers us the ability to network, gain contacts and potential references and increase our understanding of what fields Communication Studies majors can go into.
Now, fast forward to the week after Communication Studies Day. We have met a copiousness of professionals and have seemingly made an impression on a select few; but it seems that you have forgotten to get their cards with their information and didn’t have a resume on hand to give them. That’s where, what should be your new best friend comes into play, LinkedIn. LinkedIn brings us an entire new perspective on social media and allows us to connect with thousands of professionals all across the world. It gives us an easy way to showcase ourselves in the best way possible and make connections with people in different fields that we may be interested in. It is a way to gain references and even start the career you’ve always dreamed of.
So go ahead, put yourself out there and get on LinkedIn. You never know what it might do for you!
-Sloane, Pauline & Addison
IMC Hawks Blog 
I believe that LinkedIn is an awesome social media website. It is truly for your benefit. It is a way for young professionals to network. LinkedIn is a good way to present yourself on your profile in a professional and clean matter. It is a good way to get linked in with other business professionals and a good way to get hired.
Great article! LinkedIn is extremely important, and it’s important to check it daily! I find the “pulse” tab in the header to be great for brushing up on current industry trends and topics. Additionally, I advise that everyone include the link to their LinkedIn at the top of their resume with other biographical information. Pro-tip: this like can be customized to be as simple as http://www.linkedin.com/in/firstnamelastname
I definitely agree that Linkedin is an awesome networking tool. I created an account shortly after beginning college after seeing how my father benefited from using it in his career. A few years ago he was between jobs and Linkedin helped him build an online resume that he could share with his clients and they could endorse his services for others to see. He also told me it was a great tool when it came to applying for jobs. After submitting an application to a company he would see if anyone he was connected with had a connection to the hiring manager, so he could then contact them directly, making him further stand out as a candidate. I will definitely be utilizing my LinkedIn account after networking with alumni this Friday! Even if someone is not directly related to a field you are interested in, you never know what other people they could connect you with!
I agree and think that LinkedIn is an important social networking site for business and careers. It’s a good idea to highlight all of your skills and experience in one place, other than your resume. After face to face networking at COM Studies Day, it will be a good reminder to potential employers if you add them on LinkedIn.
I hear about LinkedIn basically weekly from my peers. It seems like a great tool for finding jobs and internships and obviously, networking. So many of my friends use this website and I have been thinking about using it for awhile but haven’t taken the next step. After reading this article, I plan on it!
I would have to say that i definitely agree with this post, LinkedIn is a great networking tool for students. Traditionally, it was difficult to manage your relations online with potential employers because you wouldn’t want to add them on a social media site such as Facebook, or Twitter, but you still wanted a way to stay in touch. I think LinkedIn is great because it gives you this professional forum online to access potential contacts but not on too much of a personal level. I feel that it is also important because it allows you to include all the necessary information you may need about yourself, including somethings that you wouldn’t normally be able to get to in a 30 second elevator pitch or business card format.
I love LinkedIn! I attended this conference over the summer, and many of the professionals that were speakers there made a point to tell everyone to make a LinkedIn profile. After I created mine, I was able to make connections to all different types of people and learn more about the companies that they worked for. It is an innovative website and application for people that want to network, and especially useful to college students who are about to enter the workforce. I totally agree, everyone should have one!
To be honest, I’ve never found LinkedIn to be easy. It isn’t a social media sight that is straightforward, in my opinion. Adding employers is intimidating. However, when I lost the business card of a potential employer, LinkedIn helped me find her and her contact information. So, I think it is a useful tool in that manner but some people are claiming that it will replace hardcopy resumes and I think that’s a little lofty. I would love to see a post outlining the top things that employers look at on one’s LinkedIn page, that would be helpful!
I really love how this ties into Communication Studies Day at UNCW. LinkedIn is such a great opportunity to network with businesses and professionals. It is way of showcasing yourself to potential employers and to network with other people and communicate thoughts and ideas. College students should have a LinkedIn account just to build contacts and to get in touch with professionals the “professional” way. LinkedIn gives you that opportunity to show people who you are and to make a name for yourself in the business world.
Linked in is actually one of the greatest job searching applications I have encountered. My brother as well as my cousin were put into contact with agencies in Raleigh, NC as well as Charlotte, NC thanks to the support and help from Linked in! It is definitely one of the top three ways to communicate (non face-to-face) with a potential employer who is looking to hire.
I think LinkedIn is becoming a rapidly used tool in todays’ digital age, much like twitter and Facebook in the sense it is essential for networking.
I have recently discovered the downsides of not having a LinkedIn account. I was asked, when filling out my student exchange application, to obtain an referral from academic referral from a past or present professor. Yet, despite having had some amazing educators who would have provided great referrals, I had great difficulty contacting them, having never obtained their contact information.
Further, as I have obtained more experience in my area of work and networked with more people, I have come to realise that LinkedIn is an amazing tool to cement relationships with people you encounter in the course of your employment.
I agree with you. Everyone hoping to enter the workplace should create a LinkedIn profile ASAP!
Thanks for the post.
I like how you used something readers can relate to in their personal life, COM majors attending COM studies day, to make a call for action as something they can relate to. It motivates them to do it not because you think it is a great tool personally, but because they can benefit from it in their own lives. Which is all anyone is ever really looking for it might seem!
I agree with you that we all have been waiting and looking forward to our Communication Studies Day! Unfortunately, I haven’t made my LinkedIn yet because I feel like I don’t have that much information to put on about myself. However, when I went to one of the panels that CSS had recently, I’ve met a lot of great professionals there, but I didn’t get the chance to get all of their business cards. So, my best friend was LinkedIn since they all have one! I read about their background and what internships they had, and was able to contact them through LinkedIn. It’s a great way to learn more about all the professionals we meet and to stay in touch with them. After your blog, I decided to go back to my resume to finish it all up and have it ready for our Com Day on Friday, so I can have something to show to alumni or just anyone who is going to be there to help us to establish more connections within our community.
This article was really helpful since the closer you get towards graduation, the more you should be conscious about advice such as this.
Linkedin is certainly a very useful tool. You may look unprepared if you dont have one. Many people I have talked to say that it’s the first step that should be taken when looking for employment. It’s a great way to get your name out there.
Having a LinkedIn account is so important. Not only can you show off the different things that you are involved in but you can also share your success. This is especially important for future employers to see. You could also connect with others in many different places so your job opportunities could be endless. I can not wait to meet those who have excelled within Communication Studies at Communication Studies Day!
I agree with this post; I believe that everyone, at the university level and above, should have an account with this site. LinkedIn is one of the most meaningful forms of social media today. It allows you to connect with other professionals across many fields of work throughout the world. It is a stepping stone into professionalism of the working world and is a great way to begin making contacts for the future.
Linkdin is a great app to have and use. It is a way of advertising yourself through social media and people can easily connect with you and contact you when needed. I strongly agree with this post.
LinkedIn is probably the most effective professional tool to ever exist. This is where the concept of self-branding really comes into play because LinkedIn can allow employers all around the world to see how you are DIFFERENT from everyone else, and what you represent. I created a LinkedIn account my Sophomore or Junior year of high school and it has allowed me to connect with past and present employers along with their connections. I would go as far to say high school freshman should always consider creating a LinkedIn account because even summer jobs can be found on the site. But it should be expected of college students these days.