LinkedIn is currently one of the fastest growing social networks, and the largest professional network, with workers from the full spectrum of sectors signing up to keep in touch with contacts, make new connections, and share their work profile and experience. Recruiters can use the site to search for candidates with particular skills, and to review candidates prior to interview. Sounds like the place to be for any jobseeker, but how useful is it for students specifically? I asked our recruiters, should students sign up?
This is the fourth issue of the blog series Ask an Employer, where recruiters give their views on your career questions.
AB InBev
Yes definitely. LinkedIn is a brilliant vehicle for networking and finding jobs. Providing as much detail in your profile is key.
Citi
Not necessary as we don’t use them in recruiting candidates. All our applications are reviewed through our online application system at www.oncampus.citi.com
Sophie Adams, Recruitment Manager at John Lewis
LinkedIn is not commonly used for graduate recruitment as it is more for experienced hire recruitment. It won’t do any harm to have a profile but I don’t think many employers use this site to look for graduates. I would say it would be more useful to create a profile once you are in a graduate role and have some details to put on your profile.
Lesley Renteurs, HR Officer at W@terstons
Although Waterstons HR staff do have LinkedIn profiles we do not actively use LinkedIn to recruit graduates.
PwC
It’s entirely up to you!
Conclusion
Some mixed responses this time. It looks like none of our recruiters are using LinkedIn to find graduate candidates. However they do recommend the site for more experienced workers. And as AB Inbev mentioned, the site is great for networking – finding people in roles and companies you are interested in, and getting in touch to learn more about what the work is really like, or for staying in touch with people you have met or worked with in the past who may have more good contacts. You may also find that you can use your profile as an online CV, and make use of LinkedIn’s other features to find jobs, as this Newcastle student successfully did.
So I would recommend that students set up a profile and take a look around the site. In particular, I would recommend searching for groups relevant to your career interest, as well as joining the Durham University alumni group. People actively use those groups to discuss current hot topics in their field, and you can post questions you might have about best ways to find work, or which areas are growing in that industry. Joining a group will also give you personal connections that will show up in search results and when you look at the employees on the company profiles. Once you have connections of some kind, you will be better placed to get in touch with people directly and ask further questions. So even if your friends and co-workers haven’t used the site, you can still get networking.
As a student, you won’t get far on LinkedIn if you just set up a profile and wait for the job offers to come in, but if you can invest a little more time to discover everything that LinkedIn can do, you will find it rewarding.
Click here for more in the “Ask an Employer” series.
