Kayli Walker
Since 2002, LinkedIn has helped connect individuals to job opportunities, provide resources for their jobs and help them begin their networking. But for students, this service may not very helpful when they first graduate or are still going to school. Many students do not know what they want to do once they graduate, which can make finding suitable job opportunities and internships difficult. In addition to this issue, students are usually unaware of all the options that are available to them once they earn their degree.
Recently, LinkedIn has created a new app, LinkedIn Students, which helps students find job and internship opportunities within their major even if they are unsure of their future career plans. It is available on iOS and Android, and is very user-friendly. The app begins by asking the new user to make a profile that includes the college they attend, their field of study, the year they graduate and the location they would like to find opportunities in.
The app then takes this information and finds five opportunities that are suitable for the user, based on the information that they entered into their profile. The opportunities range from information about a company that commonly hires or is hiring individuals with your major of study to career ideas that others with their degree work in, and even to alumni who have chosen similar careers.
If you are not satisfied with the options that the app initially selects or if you simply want to view more, there is a “See more ideas now” button that will present more options based on the same demographics. There is also a search button that allows the user to look at jobs by categories, such as “salesperson” or “consultant.” This new tool can help students throughout the nation have access to opportunities that they wouldn’t have known were available to them prior to using the app, which can reduce the anxiety of not knowing what to do once you graduate.
Compared to the original LinkedIn, LinkedIn Students is simplified and makes it easy to read and understand different opportunities. Not only does it tell the user the title of the job and where they can find it, but it also lists the median salary, number of employees, top useful skills for needed for the job, employment rate and a description of what the company does, all in a readily-available and user-friendly format.
Another feature that is unique to this app is that it connects to your current LinkedIn account. If the user chooses to “star” the item, they will receive updates on that job or company from the original LinkedIn website. Although this app is intended for college students, it can be used by anyone who wants to search for personalized and suitable opportunities.
Despite these features, there is still room for improvement. One aspect that would be helpful to include is the level of education that the suggested opportunities require. For example, if the app suggests a laboratory technician, it would be helpful to inform the user if it requires a bachelor’s or master’s of biology or general science. But despite this, the app is still a useful tool overall.
Simple as it may seem, connections are essential when trying to find your dream job, but with rising competition, it can be difficult only knowing what’s around you. This new option exposes students to the seemingly limitless possibilities that their degrees have opened up to them.