Social Media Site Links Up College Grads, Prospective Employers
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College students are getting a leg up on their job searches with the help of a new feature on the social networking site LinkedIn. NY1's Asa Aarons filed the following Employment Report.Take PwC -- one of the country's largest employers of new college grads. Combine that with LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, and you have a recipe for success. At least that's what thousands of college students are hoping.
A recent gathering at NYU was the first among several stops on a tour of the nation's university's. The basic idea is to demonstrate the new career explorer interface on LinkedIn, which allows students to job search in a way undreamt of even a few years ago.
"When people start in the professional services community, for example, they really wanna understand what else is the option, not necessarily tomorrow, but for how many years thereafter. So they want to understand those options, and they also wanna understand the connections to people that are in that path," said Bob Moritz of PwC.
"And not only are you going to be able to leverage insights on LinkedIn to make that possible, but you're also going to be able to leverage your network -- people that you know first degree, second degree, third degree who can provide access to those opportunities," said Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn.
The career mapping software includes ways for students to set up connections among not just peers but possible mentors. It also offers statistics about potential professions, as well as a special module with the most relevant and recent job openings.
Many of the students who spoke with NY1 say they could not wait to get their hands on it.
"I think it's pretty important. It's become a pretty crucial tool for both employers and people that want to get hired use," said student Kyle Kozman.
"Hearing about from one of the main social media gurus, the main originators of one of the major social media sites, it's a fantastic experience and I've been looking forward to it for a long time," said student Chase Mathew.
"Some tips on how to build my resume, how to amplify it, make it more appealing to prospective job offers and I learned how to set up my LinkedIn account," said student Christiana Vasilas.
The demonstration will be making stops at Syracuse University, Boston College, Penn State. In the end, 60 schools will share the career explorer interface.
To find out more, visit www.LinkedIn.com.