As the world becomes increasingly tech-savvy, more employers are looking to use the internet to search for potential job candidates. A familiar avenue for this is social media. College students have an advantage when looking for jobs because millennials tend to be masters of social networking.

However, not all social media is suitable for the eyes of future employers. Job skills and career goals don’t always pair well with political Twitter fights and pictures of an emo phase dredged up from Facebook.

That’s where LinkedIn comes in. LinkedIn is a professional form of social media that focuses on marketing to employers and making connections to further career goals.

Since its launch in 2003, LinkedIn has managed to attract 29 percent of internet users, according to a 2016 report by Pew Research. The report said 27 percent of that number were college students.

“When you’re a business major, networking is definitely a key component in trying to find internships and jobs,” said Andrew Lu, freshman in Business.

Lu said LinkedIn is useful for researching companies before job fairs or info sessions, so students can have more meaningful and productive conversations with employers.

However, the Pew Research report goes on to show that Facebook, a less professional form of social media, beats LinkedIn, having 79 percent of internet users on their site, 82 percent of whom are college students or people who have been in college. So why are students hesitant to use a more professional form of social media?

“I think it’s a natural part of life for some people to be scared of becoming adults,” said Max Shapiro, freshman in LAS. He attributes students’ hesitance to a desire to still be kids, as LinkedIn is directly used to explore job opportunities.

Both Shapiro and Lu agreed that the most important component of a LinkedIn profile is a professional photo. Other important aspects are a wide variety of connections, endorsements and a sleek-looking array of skills and accomplishments.

Shapiro described the site as an “online resume,” emphasizing that it is important to keep it concise.

“You can build upon the aspect of you that you want others to see,” Lu said.

He explained how when you have a separate social media account for professional life, it is easy to market yourself more favorably to future employers.

Though LinkedIn is useful for professional life, it isn’t a magic ticket to get a job coming out of college. It is a starting point in networking and connecting with people who can be useful in the future.

“I wouldn’t say you need a LinkedIn to be successful, but I’d say it’s a very good tool,” Shapiro said.

Melissa is a sophomore in LAS.

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