Jenny Zinda
Michele Hull
Holy Cow! I need a job!
As you approach your last semesters in college, the idea of finding a job after graduation may become more and more daunting. After all, it’s pretty overwhelming to think that you’ll have to manifest all of your hard work over the past few years as a student into legitimate skills as an employee. To help you in your post-college job hunt, I’m here to give you the scoop on two of the most popular job web sites used by communications grads in Wisconsin.Get LinkedIn
LinkedIn.com is a web site that has exploded in popularity over the past several months and some of you may consider it a very useful tool. First off, LinkedIn has much more to offer than the standard job board, but you are required to become a member to take advantage of its many tools. The site will take you through the standard membership protocol, but to take full advantage you’ll want to continue through the basic section into creating a full-on profile that focuses on your work history and job skills. Creating a complete and attractive profile will increase the chances of a company seeking you out to fill one of their positions. As current students, this part will be a little tricky since your current job likely isn’t in the field that you intend to enter after graduation. At this point you’d want to focus on the skills and abilities you have as they relate to your future career rather than your employment history.Many people become members of LinkedIn simply to get access to their job board; however, one of the main purposes of the site is networking. Users are encouraged to seek out “connections,” which is similar to “friending” someone onFacebook. These connections are made with classmates, current and former co-workers and clients. By making these connections you are building your own LinkedIn network which in theory is supposed to help you land jobs, climb the company ladder and so on. Once you’ve built a network, you can post career related questions to your contacts and find the real-life answers that you’ve been looking for. Being a part of other people’s networks, you’ll also find questions posed to you.
Ideally, this LinkedIn feature would be an asset as you enter the working world, but it can be difficult to get your network going. Again, the possibility that you haven’t worked in the communications industry yet may come into play here. If you have no contacts in the industry that are also members of LinkedIn, you’ll find your network looking sparse. Chances are that this aspect of LinkedIn will become more useful once you start interviewing for jobs or land your first gig. But, even if you can’t get your network going yet, you can still use LinkedIn for its job postings.
