"The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful." Today, we are relying more and more on social media to accurately portray who we are for anyone and everyone to see. LinkedIn is no exception. You probably use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram every single day to portray who you are and who you want the world to see you as. More likely than not, these platforms are your outlets to share memes, jokes, and pictures of your brunch, unfortunately, all things employers are not looking for. LinkedIn has become the world's largest professional network and one that you need to be a part of.

This platform has easily become one of my favorite forms of social media, one that I use daily, and it has made me so much more comfortable in professional settings and best representing myself online. There are so many amazing things about LinkedIn and I see absolutely no reason why every college students pursuing a professional career doesn't have an account. Having a professional presence online is becoming more and more vital for job searches, recruitment, and networking with your peers, coworkers, and more.

One of the most intriguing and helpful features that LinkedIn offers is the ability to find and apply to jobs near you and for you. There is an incredibly thorough job search tool which makes the process not only easy but exciting. You can save jobs, to look back to later, or use the "Easy Apply" feature which allows you to quickly upload your resume (which should be attached to your profile) and any other documents you might need to submit. One of the newest features that LinkedIn has introduced is the "Split Screen" option, where you can compare different jobs side by side. You can also adjust your "Career Interests" and leave personalized notes to any recruiters that might be interested in getting to know you more. Thanks to the digital freedom that LinkedIn provides in the profiles, a job hunt truly becomes a more personal process, rather than an intimidating, old-school process of just submitting whatever you can fit onto a printed resume and hope for a callback. Not convinced yet?

Another awesome thing about LinkedIn is that you will have gained an amazing network of connections that you've made throughout your whole life. You have the opportunity to connect with friends, family, former co-workers and bosses, people that you've met through internships and volunteer programs, your former babysitter, and literally anyone and everyone else. The incredible thing about adding someone on LinkedIn is that "connections" have become so much more than just that. In fact, LinkedIn encourages you with notifications to congratulate and communicate whenever a connection has a promotion, job change, or any other milestone. LinkedIn is like what Facebook was created for but in a better and more professional way. You won't be bombarded with newborn babies and wedding pictures all over your feed and instead, you'll see the most recent posts of your connections, companies, and hashtags that you follow.

Which brings me to my next point; you can stay up to date with all kinds of companies, from Fortune 500's to small local businesses. This feature is so special because most businesses if they're doing things right, will have frequent posts, articles, and more things which you can follow. If you wanted to get involved with your industry and create that presence online, this is such a perfect way. Staying up to date with what's happening in your industry, and especially with your potential future employers is such a great way to show that you care about that business and that you're truly dedicated to working for them.

My absolute favorite thing about LinkedIn is that it's a combination of a virtual resume with a social platform. You are able to represent yourself in a professional aspect on your profile through your detailed experiences as well as share your own written posts, favorite articles, quotes and more. Having the ability to express your personality through a professional atmosphere is an absolute game-changer in the world of recruitment, job application, and just overall media presence. LinkedIn reports over 526 million active users so if your potential future employer stumbles across your profile, which is becoming increasingly likely, how will you want to represent yourself? When you post your thoughts on trends/changes in your industry or an inspirational TED Talk that you recently saw, you will immediately stand out to that employer. At the end of the day, you are so much more than what you put on your resume, so why not engage and show some of your personality through a professional platform?

I love LinkedIn for so many reasons, more than can be written about, and it always excites me to see the accomplishments of my friends, family, and colleagues as well as staying up to date in the latest happenings in my own industry. I strongly encourage every college student pursuing any profession to get online, get connected, and grow within the amazing platforms we have right at our fingertips. Social media is the future and it's important to have an up to date presence, not only for your friends but also for that next job recruiter that will be viewing your profile.