Making sure that young adults maintain a strong presence in every facet of the job search - networking in person, volunteering and connecting professionally on job sites - is key to actually landing that position they desire. This factor remains true in any field, whether in healthcare or in the oil and gas sector. While it may seem trivial, LinkedIn is actually a highly valuable resource for both job seekers and employers. As a result, when students start an account, they should keep it updated because they never know who might be looking at it.
Powerful Profile Title
Having a generic profile title might seem like professionals are appealing to a wide network of employers. However, they may not be providing enough information to entice anyone to browse their account at all. Those who enter "Student" in their headline are not portraying the type of field they want to pursue. Instead, they should state their area of study, such as "Oil and Gas Administration" or "Business Administration" to let potential employers know that this is the type of field in which they are seeking work.
Join Groups
The number of LinkedIn groups a user joins can expand a network tenfold. Even when students may not know anyone in an "Alberta Business Professionals" online group, they could still seek admittance because they never know when an opportunity might head their way. These types of networking groups often schedule meet-and-greets in person regularly as well, so like-minded professionals can trade business cards and get to know each other better in a real-life setting.
Fill Out the Summary
Just as important as the profile headline - if not more important - is the professional summary that goes into greater detail about a person's career objectives and work history. This information is what helps profiles pop up in search results, so putting useful search terms and keywords in the summary can improve their chances of connecting with recruiters in the field.
Get Recommendations
Lastly, the recommendations section of LinkedIn is a helpful way for potential employers to get a different perspective about a candidate from former colleagues or supervisors. However, it's the users responsibility to ask credible references to provide them with recommendations they can display on their profiles. While getting one from a friend might guarantee that they will say positive things, it might not come off as strongly as a reference letter from a former boss.
Students can combine all of these qualities in their LinkedIn accounts and get started training for a career in the oil and gas industry at Reeves College. For more information on the business courses, fill out the form on the right.