When one of my roommates told me to get a LinkedIn in September, I laughed.

I didn't think college kids had LinkedIn's and thought that it was a website that only adults used so I saw no point in getting a LinkedIn. After showing me his LinkedIn page and explaining to me that so many people our age used it and it was a good way to be recruited for internships and potential jobs, I immediately made my LinkedIn page and started adding anyone and everyone that I know. Over the past three months, I have steadily added to my LinkedIn page and I have to say I have become a huge fan of the website.

I strongly believe at some point every college student should make a LinkedIn and here's why.

I know this sounds weird, but getting a LinkedIn forces you to think about what skills you have and what your strengths are. For example, I didn't know that knowing how to use a point of sales system was considered a skill until it was one of the items that I could put for my skills. By encouraging you to select skills for your profile, it makes you think deeply about skills that you possess that would be important to future employers but it also allows you to see skills that are important that maybe you should improve on. Figuring out my skills has also allowed me to narrow down what jobs I would be better at and where my interests lie. You may not think you have any skills but trust me, LinkedIn will help you figure out what you're good at.

More online job applications are giving you the option to use your LinkedIn page as a substitute for writing your full resume. When I was applying for seasonal jobs in November, in at least five out of the eight applications I submitted, there was an option to copy and paste my LinkedIn URL which saved me so much time and was very convenient. Considering that LinkedIn is just one big resume, it's a great thing to have because it is a modernized version of the paper resume we've all come to know and love.

Making a LinkedIn page is free and easy if you already have a basic resume. It prompts you with the information you need to put on your page and then helps you figure out where you are looking for jobs and internships. If you don't already have a resume, a LinkedIn page can also help you create a basic resume in that most of the information that is on a LinkedIn page is what you would put on a paper resume. Personally, I had a paper resume already so it was easier for me to fill in the information I needed but I know someone who was able to make their paper resume based on what was already on their LinkedIn page. So if you don't want to make a LinkedIn page because you don't already have a resume, you can honestly make your LinkedIn page first and go off of that.

LinkedIn is also interesting in that it really is a social networking website like Facebook except it's strictly business-related. Most posts are about people either getting an internship or job or about some professional development opportunity they've attended. The comments that everyone leaves on each other's posts are so professional sounding and I don't think I've ever seen a mean comment on a LinkedIn post. It's ironically the nicest social media website because while most people don't care how they sound on Facebook or Twitter (even though they should), they make such an effort to sound as pleasant and professional as possible on LinkedIn.

I could give you so many more reasons as to why I believe every college student should get a LinkedIn but honestly, what I've said above are the main reasons why I think every college student should get a LinkedIn. If you do end up making an account feel free to add me at Reese Bernstein as a connection. I hope this was persuasive and happy connecting!