How LinkedIn Benefits Students? If you are a student and you are reading this–then there is a good chance that you have read a lot of other articles with the same name. They all have a list of things that LinkedIN can do for you, without actually giving you advice. They may tell you that you can find a job, get insider information, blah, blah, blah.
Those articles are all “tell” and “no show”. So this article will take you through a few steps that you can actually use, so that LinkedIn benefits you.
Conduct a company research
A student like yourself may conduct a little company research with LinkedIn. It is a great way to get a little insider information. For a starter, it helps you to research into what company you would like to work for when you finish your education. Obviously nobody can truly know what a job is like until they are in it. Some jobs are just horrible, with horrible people and horrible rules.
A clever student could do some in depth research into the company that he/she may wish to work for and find out what it is really like in there. They can find out if the wages are particularly high. They can find out if the company benefits are good, and if the staff has anything negative to say about their bosses and other staff members.
A student can get a really good idea of the type of atmosphere that the company has. A clever student would do this sort of research for a number of companies, until the student has a shortlist of all the companies he/she would like to work for. Then it is time to go onto phase two.
Start conversations
Now that you have figured out whom you want to work for you will need to narrow it down to around two or three. If you found more than that then do not discard the idea of working from them. Keep them on your list and use them for if you mess up with the first three companies. You must now start to make an impression on the companies you want to work for. Start conversations with them and ask them open-ended questions.
You do not need to quiz them. Closed “yes or no” questions will not get you very far. You need to add a little honey, such as, “working for xx sounds like so much fun, do they let you xx?” Questions of that nature will help build a rapport with the workers of the company. Assuming that you are studying the qualifications you will need to get into the company of your choice, you may also use LinkedIN to dig for a little information and help to build a rapport.
Start improving your studies
As you build a rapport with people from the company of your choice, you are able to press them for more answers and info without them viewing you as a chore. You can even tell them that you are asking in order to aid your studies, so you can one day be as successful as them (humility + sucking up = success). This is when you can start improving your studies via LinkedIN.
The people you are talking to have already done the exams you will one day do. So ask them for advice and tips. Come to them with a problem, offer your solution and see if they have anything to add. “I am working on xx and have contended that xx is true because xx, what do you think?”
More personal questions
Now you are good friends with the people at the companies you want to work, it is time to start asking more personal questions. Not too personal, just things such as “what their boss is like”, “is he/she fair?”, “is she/he on LinkedIn?”
Start hunting around getting a job
You have found the names of the mangers and decision makers of the company you want to work for. You know all there is to know about the company and its staff. If the decision makers are on LinkedIn then tell them about your interactions with the people on their staff. Tell them how their expertise is the best in the industry and how their advice has helped you achieve the best grades.
As it comes nearer to finals, you need to tell the decision makers that you are expecting great exam results and start hunting around getting a job. That way when you finish your exams you will be armed with intimate knowledge of the company, the names of its staff, an existing rapport and your qualifications. How could they turn you away?
