Several Auburn students have utilized the professional social networking site “LinkedIn” to their best advantage in order to set themselves up for future success.
LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and has been used by adults as a means to build a professional network ever since. According to the company, approximately 30 million of the 500 million users are college-aged students.
In order to assist Auburn students in their fight to be recognized in the corporate world, professor Emory Serviss has emphasized the importance of being on this networking site by spending time exposing students to LinkedIn during his marketing classes.
“It has never been more important to build and maintain a detailed LinkedIn profile. The overwhelming majority (87 percent) of recruiters find LinkedIn most effective when vetting candidates during the hiring process,” Serviss said. “Just being on LinkedIn isn’t enough. You need to be active on the platform.”
After participating in his class, some of Serviss’ students went beyond when it came to their LinkedIn profiles, whether it was updating it or creating an account for the first time.
Calli Ruschmeyer, senior in business analytics, said being in Serviss’ marketing class really helped shape how her profile is today. She first created an account in 2013 as a high school sophomore but has worked to constantly keep it updated throughout the years.
“I conducted an informational interview with the owner of a local marketing agency,” Ruschmeyer said. “During the interview, he mentioned that it was a red flag for him if he could not find an applicant on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Personally, I like the detail I can add to my LinkedIn account that my resume and cover letter do not allow. It’s a medium where I can explain exactly what I did during an internship, not just the highlights.”
When asked about tips to help students who are just starting up their LinkedIn account, Ruschmeyer suggested that not everyone would believe to be important for LinkedIn.
“Post often, not just with your own professional updates, but comment on articles you liked or disliked,” Ruschmeyer said. “If you share an article, add your own commentary to the new post. People want to know your opinions.”
Sarah Gromos, senior in marketing, said she originally created her LinkedIn account to fulfill a course requirement but ended up discovering how useful the site could really be if she put effort into it.
“I’ve spent the past two years networking, researching potential companies and writing articles to express and share my thoughts and experiments,” Gromos said. “I have written two long-form articles detailing my previous internships with the Nashville Predators hockey team and have received over 2,000 clicks and views on my articles. Because of this, I have been reached out to by several professionals in the sports industry and made valuable connections.”
Mary Grace Hymel, senior in marketing, became connected with her future employers because of her LinkedIn profile, which she originally created for a class grade.
“After having an active account for a year, I realized it is beneficial for my future in the business world,” Hymel said.
Hymel said she has accepted a job with Salvus Labs in Marietta, Georgia, for after she graduates this spring. She’ll be starting as an assistant in the laboratory with an end goal to move to medical sales for the company.
“The owners of Salvus Labs were very impressed with my profile,” Hymel said. “Also, I have made connections with many marketing professionals after writing a long form post that had high viewing activity.”
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