There were networking events with businesses that were trying to recruit new employees and interns.

We had dinners, and social lunches where we listened to guest lecturers extol the importance of making good impressions.

And on top of that, we were encouraged to practice our elevator pitches in case we met someone who could hire us.

I’m sure that you have experienced something similar, and if you haven’t just you wait.

It’s coming.

I graduated over two years ago, and I have realized that Linkedin was ignored mainly in my business classes.

This may be different at other schools, but from my conversations with friends and colleagues, the general rule of thumb is that you should have a Linkedin, but there isn’t too much direction past that.

Let’s take a deep-dive into what the professional social network is, and how to use it while you’re in school.

What is Linkedin?

Linkedin is an online social networking platform for professionals.

The app and website look similar to Facebook, but it is tailored more towards business purposes.

For example, you can apply to jobs, endorse your connections’ skills, share your personal, professional journey, and much more. 

When you create your account, you are presented with a blank slate to build your professional image. Thankfully, Linkedin has a checklist for new accounts with excellent information on choosing a profile picture and detailing your experiences. 

There are sections for education from high school through post-graduate studies.

They offer a dedicated section for volunteer work and any certifications you may have, such as Lifeguarding, CPA, MD, programming languages, personal training, you name it, it’s there.

The reason that Linkedin provides so much space for different credentials and experiences is for your benefit.

Each additional descriptor that you can add to your profile helps the website tailor your feed and recommendations to people and positions that are relevant to your experience.

You may be tempted to leave your summer caddy job or fast-food position off of your profile, but you should most certainly include it.

Why?

Simply because you don’t know who is looking at your profile, and your future employer or mentor may relate to you because of your high school job.

So don’t leave off any experience because your experience is what makes you unique.

Benefits of Linkedin

Now that we know what Linkedin is, let’s take a look at how it can help you build your personal brand.

Building a network

The core purpose of Linkedin is to build your professional digital network. Instead of “friends,” Linkedin describes relationships as “connections.” 

There are three levels of connections: 

1st connections are anyone you are directly connected with. Either they sent you an invitation to connect, or you reached out to them. This would be the same as being friends on Facebook. You can see their statuses and connections and direct message them.

2nd connections are connections of your connections. Imagine that you are connected with one of your friends in Finance class, and your friend’s dad is connected with her. Her dad would be a 2nd connection to you because she is the link between the two of you.

3rd connections are people who have no direct or indirect connection to your network. You may even know someone personally who would still be a 3rd connection on Linkedin since you do not have mutual connections (this happens to me a lot).

Building your professional network is vital to career growth because your network can assist with a lot of the heavy lifting in finding a job or a mentor. 

Building a digital network is imperative in the midst of the global health crisis because traditional networking, like going to a cafe or a bar, is off-limits for the foreseeable future.

Learning corporate lingo

Regardless of your major or career path, business lingo is everywhere.

If you are a business student, you will be familiar with terms like “growth-rate,” “employment statistics,” “SMART goals,” “balance-sheets,” etc. and if you are not a business student, you will still hear them in the workplace.

Linkedin is a great place to observe how this vernacular sounds in “real-life.” Sometimes people are a little heavy-handed with the corporate buzzwords, which sounds corny, but you will learn to discern the difference. 

Understanding corporate lingo is important because it is the language of the workplace. 

The workplace has its own language because it makes it easier to communicate. Observing how it’s played out on Linkedin will give you an advantage prior to entering the workforce because you will be familiar with the terms and their context.

Low risk/high reward

While Linkedin is not the only way to build your network, it is a very simple and efficient way to get your name out there with minimal effort.

You will not be blacklisted or penalized for not having a profile, but an overwhelming number of recruiters and hiring managers in all industries utilize Linkedin to search for and evaluate candidates.

Linkedin is the reason that I landed my second full-time job. I utilized the “open to opportunities” feature, which automatically sends my profile to recruiters. Within two
weeks, I had two interviews and two offers. 

Okay, it wasn’t that easy, but the recruiters reached out thanks to the Linkedin feature, which allowed me the opportunity to interview and hustle, which led to those offers. 

Don’t I need to be a professional to use a professional networking site?

Nope!

Initially, that’s what I thought too, but I realized that it is never too early to build your network. 

Some of the features and tools on Linkedin will be more applicable as you garner professional experience and begin your career, but you can still take full advantage of everything else they have to offer.

Linkedin is worth having in school if for no other reason than following up with professionals that you meet and want to keep up with. As soon as someone gives me their business card I try to find them on Linkedin so that I can:

1. Verify they are who they say they are
2. Connect with them so that they don’t forget about me 

How to enhance your profile as a student

As a student, you may have limited professional experiences and credentials. You are currently in school to receive said credentials and the education required to get the experience. 

Even so, there are a few ways to bolster your profile so that you stand out from the rest of the pack.

Skills and Quizzes

Linkedin offers a fantastic library of courses and quizzes that allow members to receive a small credential to add to their profile.

Topics include: Microsoft Excel, Adobe Suite products, Python, Google Analytics, and many more. The credentials that Linkedin provides are not weighted as heavily as a college degree or accredited course providers. Still, they add a quantitative measure to your profile, which you can add to your resume.

If you are taking a design or finance course where you utilize a well-known software,
take some time to practice on Linkedin so that the certification will be there when you
begin looking for jobs.

Connect with Alumni

Many alumni retain some level of school spirit. This can be a huge advantage to you because you are able to search by name and by school. 

For example, if you searched ‘Justin Estes Charleston Southern,’ I would pop up more quickly than if you only searched ‘Justin Estes’.

This feature is very powerful when you are applying to jobs because if you click on a company’s profile, it will immediately alert you if alumni from your schoolwork there. 

Solicit Recommendations from Coworkers, Professors, and Employers

Finally, Linkedin allows you to endorse and recommend your connections.

Endorsing means that if you have “Leadership” listed as a skill on your profile, one of your connections can upvote that skill, and you be endorsed. 

Recommendations are public praise from people you have worked with or worked for. You can ask anyone for a recommendation, but it is best to ask people who know your work ethic more intimately because you want their recommendation to hold up in an interview if you list them as a reference.

What next?

If you do not have a Linkedin account, I would encourage you to make one. It is very straightforward, and in today’s climate, any help in our careers is welcomed.

If you do have a Linkedin account, try and optimize it utilizing some of the strategies I listed here, or if you know another trick to stand out, let us know in the comments below!

The post How to Use Linkedin as a College Student appeared first on Welcome.

My family was so proud of me. I had finished all of my exams and was accepted to college with a scholarship.

However, I had no idea what awaited me in college (spoiler alert it was awesome). Fast forward six years, and I am looking back on what helped and hindered me financially.

Big disclaimer here – everyone is different and what worked for me may not work for you.

Overall I think these tips apply to the majority of graduating seniors whether you go straight to college, the workforce, military, or trade school. 

Here are five of my recommendations to graduating seniors:

1. Treat yourself! (within reason)

Congrats!

You just completed high school, and you should celebrate.

Now is a great time to get something that you’ve had your eye on, or something sentimental to remember your achievement.

For example, I love hiking, camping, and being outside.

The way I treated myself was to buy a nice Arc’teryx jacket with the money I had saved from lifeguarding part-time and some graduation money that was gifted to me.

You don’t need to spend everything you have earned or been gifted, but post-high-school life is filled with a new set of responsibilities so a nice gift to yourself is a well-deserved treat.

2. Open your own bank account

I am going to assume that you have some kind of bank account or credit card linked to your parents’ or other family member’s accounts.

I am also going to assume that you will continue to have access to this account for the foreseeable future for allowance, tuition, or emergencies.

Now that you are graduating you are taking the first step to adulthood, and as a developing adult you should have your independent bank account.

I worked part-time throughout college, and I always had my paychecks deposited into my bank account.

Why?

Because it symbolized to me that I am making my path.

Yes, I still had a separate linked account with my parents, but they didn’t need to know how often I ended up at cookout at 2 am (weekly at a minimum). 

I would recommend Chase Bank because they have branches and ATMs, and they also have great credit cards and investment products that you use as you get older.

3. Invest a little (or a lot)

As you transition out of high school, you’ll begin to hear a lot about the stock market, interest rates, and lots of other finance terms.

The easiest way to learn about these things is to get involved.

I was very fortunate and had a mentor who taught me how important this was as I was getting ready for college, and I cannot thank him enough for teaching me about investing. 

Realistically you only need $100 to become an active market participant.

You can do it with less, but you really won’t be able to see how the market affects your portfolio (a group of investments you have). Whether it’s $10 or $10,000 open a brokerage account (after doing your research and with your parents’ help) on Vanguard or TD Ameritrade.

Then, buy some shares in a Mutual Fund (basket of a lot of stocks) or an ETF (essentially tradable pieces of a mutual fund).

Make sure that what you buy has exposure to many stocks in companies that you know e.g. Nike, GM, Apple, etc.

As your portfolio fluctuates and grows over time, you’ll have a direct attachment to most financial news which will make you a very educated young adult.

I double-majored in Finance and Accounting so I was always studying these topics, but my friends who had other majors but were still investing always had a general idea of what the different markets were doing.

4. Begin to Build Credit

This has been a divisive topic among young people for years, but I firmly believe that if you have medium to great self-control, then you should get a credit card. The three main reasons are that if you use a credit card wisely then you will: 

1. have a decent credit history when you need to make a large purchase
2. credit cards offer more financial and identity protection than debit cards 
3. having a reputable rewards card can help you achieve financial goals faster than a debit card or cash.

At some point you are going to get an apartment, buy a car, or a house.

If you have a credit history you will be ahead of most of your peers, and it will be easier to be approved for a house or apartment if you want to move off-campus or out on your own.

If someone steals your debit card before you have a chance to deactivate it then they have access to all of the money in your checking account.

If they steal your credit card then they are stealing a bank’s money. Banks have way more resources than you do to pursue fraudsters and thieves – for this reason I almost exclusively use my credit cards for purchases.

Reputable credit cards usually offer a limited amount of identity protection that adds another layer of security versus a debit card.

Finally, my favorite use for credit card rewards.

Since I began building credit when I was 18, I was able to get a travel credit card by my junior year of college.

Thanks to the rewards on this credit card I was able to get a round-trip ticket to Australia for only $200.

If you want to try getting a card use a site like Nerd Wallet to learn more about them and what the best options for people looking to build credit. 

5. Wait to buy textbooks 

If you decide to go to school, then just wait to buy your textbooks until you are in your classes.

Professors typically say that you should have all of your textbooks before class starts, but they honestly may not always be necessary.

I probably spent almost $1,000 more than I needed to on textbooks.

Once classes start you’ll see what is required. If you can, rent them or buy them used since they depreciate so quickly.

If you buy them new you can usually make about 50% back by selling them to someone else that is going to take that class.

The post 5 Money Moves for Graduating High School Seniors appeared first on Welcome.