Today's student is networked, is on a wide variety of social media platforms, tweets, posts, likes. The latest make-up tips are found on YouTube, the news is read in real time on Twitter and the pictures from the weekend are shared with friends on Facebook. So why should you sign up for another social network? The only thing left is to look for a job. Web 2.0 also provides an answer for this: career networks. There are several of them, one of which is the US company LinkedIn. The managing director for the German-speaking market, Till Kaestner, reveals in an interview why you should choose LinkedIn, especially as a student.
Mr. Kaestner, why should I register as a student on LinkedIn?
Because of different reasons. On the one hand, LinkedIn is the world's largest business network and is therefore helpful if you are looking for a job or a career abroad. In addition, our network in German-speaking countries is growing very quickly. Two new members are added every second; we now have five million members. Students are the fastest growing user group. We have a really great team in Munich and California that is constantly developing our network, also with regard to the student target group. For example, we have alumni and university pages.
What exactly is hidden behind the university pages?
Universities also have an interest in showing that they do good work or offer good training. And they do this by showing which successful people have studied with them. This is exactly what the pages are intended for: the university can show what it has to offer, let its alumni speak and at the same time enter into a dialogue with prospective students. The university website offers the opportunity to exchange ideas with others who have been to the university, who are there or who want to go there someday. This can be very helpful, especially in the orientation phase, when you don't yet know where you would like to study.
And the alumni pages?
The alumni pages are aimed at students and graduates of a university. This means you can orient yourself towards a target company while you are studying. For example, if you want to go to this or that big brand, you can simply see if there is someone from the same university who works there and talk to them. This is something we are just learning in Germany. In the USA, such alumni networks are already much more widespread for precisely this purpose.
What should I as a student consider when setting up my profile on LinkedIn?
Ultimately, it's really important that you have an underlying connection to every contact you make. A profile picture is the first step. Invitations sent with a profile picture are 70 percent more likely to be accepted. You should also give your counterpart a context, i.e. write to them why you want them in your network. Prospective engineers could, for example, write: “I come from the engineering department, specialize in the automotive sector and am therefore interested in your company.” Together with a profile that has been filled out as completely as possible, this helps significantly.
What mistakes should you avoid on LinkedIn? The answer and more can be found in the video:
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Today's student is networked, is on a wide variety of social media platforms, tweets, posts, likes. The latest make-up tips are found on YouTube, the news is read in real time on Twitter and the pictures from the weekend are shared with friends on Facebook. So why should you sign up for another social network? The only,
