Seton Hall students are using LinkedIn to help jumpstart their careers. Several students explained how they use the service.
Brittney Segura, a sophomore diplomacy and international relations major, said she uses the platform to keep in touch with participants from her past summer program. “I have used it to try to interview professionals in the field I am trying to get involved in,” Segura said.
Michael Riley, a sophomore mathematical finance and information technology management major, spoke of the ways he engages on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a way that people can maintain past engagements and keep track of accomplishments. Glory Akoh/Staff Photographer
“Once I saw that I had really good engagement, I started posting more and more,” he said. “I started posting once a week, this thing called TGIM, which is Thank God it’s Monday. Then in January, I started posting pretty much every single day.”
He also highlighted the type of content he posts, notably videos.
“Mainly I’ve been doing a lot of videos, just because I think it is a little more convenient,” he said. Riley said that he posts videos because people are more interested in viewing videos, especially those that are accessible to view.
“In my case, I use it more like a keeper of things I’ve done career-wise, and the people I’ve met along the way,” Nicholas Severson, a senior physics major, said.
He also highlighted how students can use the platform to make new connections.
“It doesn’t hurt to spend some time looking for people you know or trying to make new connections as well,” Severson said.
Severson also described himself as active on the site. “I use my LinkedIn like a professional Facebook. It helps to [keep] track of people I know, companies I’ve worked for, and some of my accomplishments,” he said.
Riley outlined the importance of networking with different people.
“Start trying to connect one to one with the people you’re interested in,” Riley said. “At least that’s the way I started. I started reaching out to people that were in consulting because that’s what I wanted to get into.”
He also shared that students with the fear of talking to strangers, get the chance to engage with other people’s content on LinkedIn, such as liking posts. Riley said this can help alleviate those fears and start building connections with others.
Other students said they didn’t find LinkedIn beneficial.
“The whole thing is saturated with people’s announcements and accomplishments,” Segura said. “I really don’t gain a lot of substance that I could have gotten from a newspaper.”
She also said students should exercise caution when using the platform.
"[In] the middle of their career, I think it’s good to help keep in touch with people, but I don’t see it really helping people on LinkedIn. I think we have to focus on face-to-face networking,” Segura added.
Severson disagreed and emphasized the importance of creating a LinkedIn account.
“It’s something you can use to keep track of all the things you’ve accomplished, all the places you’ve worked, and all the people you met,” he said. “And it can really help when looking for new potential jobs, or even just
Adam Varoqua can be reached at adam.varoqua@student.shu.edu.
