What is the definition of being an adult? Is it paying your own rent? Cooking a chicken and not burning it or giving yourself salmonella? Perhaps it’s being able to hold down a full-time job while also doing full-time school. See, all of those are awesome signs of being a grown up and I’m proud of all you strangers for it, and myself too. However, just recently I realized what really has me feeling so grown up.
As a self-proclaimed social media junkie for eight years, especially Twitter, I have absolutely shocked myself lately with the amount of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram stalking I’ve given up for LinkedIn. A lot of people know LinkedIn, but for those who don’t, it’s basically a professional network. You set up a profile and list your past jobs, skills, schools, volunteer experiences, a summary on you as a professional and more!
I’ll be honest, I made this profile because one of my favorite professors from summer 2015 required all his classes to do it. I wasn’t planning to ever go on it after that. It all seemed complicated and pointless and my mentality was like “This is for old people, so no thank you.” But fast forward to March of 2016 and I can’t get enough of it, and now that I am constantly on it, I see just how useful and important it is.
I have a test for all of you: Close your eyes (OK, don’t, because then you can’t read this), think about your major and what you want to do with it, and now think about where you want to do that job. I feel like most of us have that place we all dream of working at. For writers, it might be Buzzfeed, for example. Well, on LinkedIn you can search for the company you long to work for and follow them. When you do this, you can get updates about job or internship opportunities sent to your feed. Not only that, but my favorite part is that you can find people who work for these companies and connect with them. The opportunities that can come out of that are endless.
Just recently, I connected with someone who sent me a message about an opportunity that he thought I could be a part of. It was a really cool opportunity, and all I had to do was include this goal of mine in my summary. This connection saw that just by simply viewing my profile, and then messaged me with the opportunity. It really is as simple as that.
The messaging option and “status update” option is another great aspect of LinkedIn. With messaging, you can message one of your connections to look for job or internship opportunities in one of those companies you are passionate about, especially if you’re in a field that is all about connections. As someone who aspires to be a tour/artist manager, connections are everything and, LinkedIn is just that. That’s why the people on there are literally called “connections.”
I love, love, love living in a generation where things like this exist. The internet is cool and everyone who wants to make it in their field needs some LinkedIn in their life. Mama always said don’t talk to strangers on the internet, but strangers who work for reputable companies are an exception. Plus, who wouldn’t rather do some networking in the comfort of their sweat pants, Netflix, and bed? It’s a win-win. Thank you, internet.
Please feel free to connect with me, and if you need help getting started, I’m your girl!
