LinkedIn Launches Career Explorer, A Tool for Students to Find Employment

 As I was reading various newspapers today, I found another verfication for my previous post.  LinkedIn is everywhere, and companies are now turning to the site to hire you.

The new part of LinkedIn, Career Explorer, was just announced October 4th.  The new program will first be sent out to 60 different universities as a testing program.  Assuming it will take flight, it will then be available to the rest of the LinkedIn population in coming months.

The new program will have search options for college students seeking jobs, based on their school, level of education, and personal industry.  It will contain information from relevant jobs, salary ranges, and the right people to network.  It also provides insight to facts, statistics, and industry trends about professions and companies.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the 'big four' accounting firms is paying millions to sponsor the program.  Like many accounting firms and companies, they hire thousands of college students per year from different campuses across the country.  This is the first time LinkedIn has worked with a corporate sponsor, and hopes to do it more in the future for further innovation.

My suggestion would be to look out in the coming months for Career Explorer.  It looks like an extremely valuable tool for college students, and contains a ton of information regarding jobs and markets.  I belive it will further LinkedIn's credibility, and expand the site to reach a younger audience.

So keep an eye out!  And until next time...

Link Yourself In

You have a Facebook.  You've played around with Twitter.  You may have some Flickr photos out there, but are any of these professional enough to show an employer?  If you're like most college students, you've hastily made yourself unsearchable on Facebook and blocked your pictures in a frantic attempt to hide the side of college life employers wouldn't quite approve of.

Well it is possible to use a social media tool with those serious adults and professionals looking to hire you!

Let's look at LinkedIn.  With over 75 million users, its not as dominating as Facebook or Twitter, but can be used by those desiring to find jobs or even climb up the ladder in their field.  It's simple and free to use, unless you want some fancy features.

Think of it as an online resume; users create a profile with their past education and experiences.  Instead of Facebook's "friends", you have "connections".  They are past employers, friends, co-workers, and anyone in your direct circle.  It's smart to have lots of content in your profile, and to keep it as open as possible.  Unlike Facebook, we want people to find us!

LinkedIn is a breath of fresh air for social marketing we are willing to share.  Seem confusing?  What is LinkedIn? explains exactly what it is, as simple as a cartoon.  Not convinced? Why Join? shows us that corporate professionals are using this tool daily.  So join the bandwagon, and get LinkedIn.  It can open opportunities as well as creates a web of people in your professional sphere.