By Matt Goldman, Epsilon Rho ’12 (Salisbury University)

 

March 27, 2012 - In a previous How To Tuesday article, I discussed the importance of creating and updating a personal resume. Having an old-fashion, paper resume is critical, but the advances in social media allow individuals to market themselves in a different way.  As social media progresses, many companies have now turned to allowing individuals to host electronic resumes and other professional information. I am going to specifically reference the company LinkedIn, and explain why and how brothers should start using this networking site.

 

For those who do not know, LinkedIn is a type of social-networking site for business and professional-related networking. I think of LinkedIn as a resume, but with greater customizations. Registered users can upload a profile picture, current and previous employment history, and receive notifications of new employment openings. Creating an account is free to the public and allows registered users to maintain contacts with which they may have a network relationship, also known as Connections. Connections are direct contacts, which build on top of your network.  Users can also ask their direct connections to provide them with a short recommendation or endorsement that can be viewed on the user’s profile.

 

LinkedIn also has formed interest groups that users can join. Groups vary from a range of topics: academic, alumni relations, corporate executive to career issues. Many groups provide certain discussion thread topics that users can participate in and prove to be helpful for sharing professional information with others.

 

LinkedIn also allows customizable privacy controls similar to Facebook and other networking sites. Users can join a specific geographical region as their main source of network connections.  With certain customization settings, users have the ability to view statistics of their profile, such as how many people have viewed their profile and which companies might be interested. Of course with a paid-version of LinkedIn, users can access other features and even compile a personal recruitment team.

 

I have a LinkedIn account and have connected with many current and previous colleagues, classmates, and professional groups. Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity has its own professional group, which allows brothers from across the country to input their information on jobs and networking related topics. Other bloggers have reviewed and suggested tips for using the LinkedIn Website. This is a great opportunity to keep in touch in a professional manner without letting employers know about your other “social” life. I invite all Sigma Tau Gamma brothers to create an account and market themselves in a professional manner. You can search for me on LinkedIn and in the Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity LinkedIn group.

 

Matt Goldman

Epsilon Rho ‘12

 

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