It is a subject I feel quite passionate about as I do believe this is one of the social media platforms that can benefit students and young people who are thinking of applying for University or looking for work experience and jobs.
For many of the students, social media is ever present in their daily lives, but LinkedIn is a platform not many knew about and certainly had not experienced.
So, what can LinkedIn do for your kids?
It can help them find the right college or University. Most reputable Uni’s now have LinkedIn pages to provide additional and friendly information about the facilities, the staff, their alumni and lots more. This can be an additional research tool for their websites and prospectuses and potentially give more access to the department staff to find out about courses.
The Universities themselves are also using LinkedIn to see who is engaging and interacting with their pages and can be a useful tool for them in helping with admission processes. A lot of universities have competitive application processes and an optimised LinkedIn profile could make the difference between your child and someone else’s.
If Uni isn’t for your teen, or they want to gain some much-needed work experience entry-level job. LinkedIn again offers lots of opportunities for people to engage and interact with local organisations who offer opportunities. LinkedIn provides the necessary access and information to understand who that competition is and what it will take to attract the attention of decision makers.
Finding the right individuals in the workplace who are the decision makers is crucial and often the only place you will be able to access them is on LinkedIn, which has a much higher pick up for correct business contacts than other social media platforms.
Make sure all the profile details in cv’s, applications and networking opportunities, so people can connect and interact and find out about experiences and qualifications.
Understand the alumni feature. This is one of the most underused yet powerful tools at LinkedIn. LinkedIn makes it easy to get to know people you have something in common with. When your son or daughter is looking for a work placement or that first big gig after graduation, the connections with people who went to your University provide warm leads that can open doors — not just for your kids, but to enhance your career too.
To really help your kids to get to grips with LinkedIn it helps if you too have the necessary skills, how good is your profile?
Do you use LinkedIn to network and connect with existing customers and to attract new ones? If not, then take some time to get yours organised before you assist your kids.
Top tips for kids and adults!
- Get your profile completed and up to date
- Get a professional looking headshot
- Ask for and provide recommendations, endorsements for and from colleagues, customers, bosses, teaching staff etc.
- Allow people to connect with you and encourage interaction, get involved in groups, conversations and be ‘sociable ‘where you can
- Write articles about your roles, (or work experience) to generate content
We hope this article is of interest if you wish to find out more about LinkedIn presentation I can offer your son or daughters school or college or need some advice on your LinkedIn profile, please do drop me a line at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn
