Students blog

Most students agree that LinkedIn is not as fun as other social media apps and outlets. As a college student that loves LinkedIn, I want to share with you why I think it’s so great! Whether you use it to connect with peers and colleagues, or to network for a future job – LinkedIn is an important social media tool that you need to start using today! I will help you get your LinkedIn started and cover a few tips!

“LinkedIn is hard to create and develop” – FALSE!

It’s not any more difficult than your Facebook page! While creating your LinkedIn profile is time-consuming at first, it is very easy to maintain. A well-tended profile is a clearer representation of your work history than a resume. A resume is a one page document of relevant experience for job or scholarship applications. Think of your LinkedIn profile as an ongoing story of your work history. It’s much easier for you to update and maintain than a resume.

Look through the eyes of an employer

LinkedIn is the future of employment. Resumes will be phased out all together since an employer can easily go online and glance through all your work history. When creating a LinkedIn, you want to think of it as if you are an employer.  What would you like to see from an applicant? Post things that are professional, but that show your personality.

Profile pictures are important

This picture should reflect the job that you want. For example, a person desiring a career in art may not be dressed in as formal attire as a person looking for an internship with a bank. Your background picture should be appropriate as well. I feature a famous quote on my background. Tailor yours to show how you would like to be perceived by an employer. All pictures should portray confidence in who you are and should be representative of work that you can do.

Your personal statement

This should represent who you are as a person –  professionally. Obviously, you want to be appropriate and be honest. If you have a compelling story, add in some teasers so that employers can reference this in an interview.

Include all types of experience

LinkedIn gives you an opportunity to express everything in relation to your work history. With work history or “experience” you can put anything from being a board member of an organization on campus to any job and internship that you have had. Be sure to add any volunteer experience. Employers value candidates who give back to their communities. If you have projects or published content (such as a blog for Pearson Students!), you can add links to your content in this section.

Feature skills to complete your profile

This section should be vague and relevant to potential career skills needed. Public speaking, leadership, computer design, java, and event planning are all examples depending on your job focus and what your strengths are. Your followers will endorse you for skills and possibly add skills they think are relevant to you.

LinkedIn is nothing to fret about! It’s not any more difficult than creating a Facebook account and it will actually help you get employed! Create your LinkedIn today, and comment below with any ideas or questions you may have! If you want to connect with me, here’s my Link.

I am honored and humbled by the experiences Pearson has provided me. As a Pearson Campus Ambassador (PCA), I have had the privilege to deliver the student voice to Pearson executives and attend conferences across the nation. Pearson Insiders and PCA’s are frequently given the chance to tell their story and how they feel about Pearson – and what’s truly remarkable is that Pearson listens. In my travels, I have learned about this multinational company and the true emphasis it puts on student perspective. I can say after interning and working for several companies, Pearson has the kindest and most accessible employees and executives I have met.

Representing the student voice

Recently I was part of a group of PCA’s invited to Boston to bring the student voice directly to the Board of Directors of Pearson. This was a very eye-opening experience. We were all nervous going in and did not quite know what to expect. We thought we would be around “big shots” who wouldn’t really care what we had to say. However, we were very wrong. The board members were very interested in our perspective. 

What does the millennial learner want?

We sat on a panel as the board of directors asked us questions. Some were challenging and really allowed me to think. Questions such as ‘What does the millennial learner want?’ don’t come up in conversations frequently. We had the high honor of representing a whole generation of students so had to construct solid reasoning before answering. After we gave our answers one board member stated that millennials are unpredictable because “we don’t know what we want”. I agree with this statement and I also believe that we want learning to come cheap and easy. I questioned whether I should make this statement to the Board of Directors. The answer is yes, if given the chance everyone should speak truth to power. People with influence breathe too, they’re humans and can learn from others. Students are customers, learners, and beneficiaries of Pearson’s products. I don’t think anyone would disagree that students want products that are affordable and easy to use. None of us on that panel articulated this thought directly, but we all spoke to the diverse struggles of students.

Seize the opportunity to say what you think

We all also had the chance to speak individually to the board afterwards and I can say that I was heard by them.The Board really showed their appreciation of our insights. Each of us shared our stories and they had words of wisdom for us on how to pursue our dreams. They understood that each of us had to give up something to be in that room since we are all full time students. What I got out of this experience is that everyone’s background is important. You never know how similar they may be to you. Seize opportunities to share your thoughts and also to give people the opportunity to speak regardless of your assumptions. You never know what position you’ll be in when you are done with school, just remember to be accepting.