As the parent of an incoming college student, it’s time to start thinking about the future. Whether you’re in your last year of college or your first, thinking about graduate school or starting a career after four years, it’s important for students to start building their professional online presence.

I’m not the only one thinking this. At my daughter’s college orientation, the school was big on the fact that the students need to start building their resume from the moment they step on campus, whether that’s through looking forward a year or so to internships, obtaining employment while in school, or even paying a visit to the College Career Center. They stressed the importance of this to parents, though I think it fell on deaf ears among the students.

However, this is important and should not be overlooked. Just as these students were told (over and over again I’m sure) that their online represents them while in school, this will become even more important as they enter the workforce.

If you’re a college student or the parent of one, these are some of the questions you may have – they seem to be the most common ones:

• First, what is LinkedIn? The best way to explain it to the college group is by telling them it’s as though Facebook and a resume had a baby – a social site for your professional side.

• Why start one now? Many recruiters and hiring managers use LinkedIn to find new hires. It’s easier to start a profile now and build on it over the years rather than panicking senior year and trying to remember to add everything you’ve done that will be important for employers to know.

• What if I don’t have time to update it? No worries, it’s not like Facebook, Twitter, or even Instagram – no one needs to know what you ate for breakfast or that you were late to class. This site is for professional updates, like updating your work history, sharing articles that are relevant to your future industry (and you), etc.

LinkedIn provides a great basic how to guide on starting a LinkedIn profile – it’s worth taking a look at. If you’re nearing the end of your college career, they also provide an app to help you with your resume building and job search. Below are some other helpful tips on getting started:

• Profile picture: this is important. Add a picture so you don’t have the default shadow person picture. As the LinkedIn guide (and everyone else) will tell you, make sure it is a picture that has a basic background and looks professional. You may look great on the beach or with your best friend, but save those pictures for the other sites.

• No one wants to know what you did in 8th grade: start the LinkedIn profile with the start of your college career. There is no need to add high school information (unless you want to display that to make connections with those who attended your high school) or awards you won in junior high. Think of this new chapter as the start of your professional life and document events and work from college on. That being said, DO include work history from your high school years, at least for now.

• Everyone likes a well rounded person: colleges will tell you that employers prefer well rounded candidates over those who only have one focus. Make sure you detail any volunteer work you do, events you help with, or organizations you join. A description of what they entail will go a long way in helping others understand who you are and what you’ve accomplished.

• Slowly make connections: LinkedIn is not like your other social sites where you want to connect with everyone and their mother; start slowly and make good connections. A great place to start is your parents, if they have profiles. Look for teachers you had in high school that you worked closely with (and perhaps can or have written a recommendation for you) – now that you’re out of school, it’s okay to connect with them on social networks. Also look for your bosses from high school jobs. Be wary of accepting some invitations – those that seem to be spammy, don’t have a lot of information on their profile and have a generic shadow person profile pic, or those who you do not know and you wouldn’t have much in common with professionally. Just like any other sites, there are spammers out there, so choose cautiously.

• Include your LinkedIn URL on your resume: as you build your profile, you’ll be able to add so much more to it than what is on a resume – use this to your advantage! If you created a great project or presentation related to your field, add it to your profile. Think of it as a resume on speed – you can add much more content and add your URL to your resume so future employers can take a look at it too.

Starting to build up your profile and connections is a good first step. Once you have that in place, take some time to look at other people’s profiles and check out some of the groups – there’s something for everyone. As you get further into your college career it will be time well spent for both. Learning now how to make the most of the site will serve you well as you finish up college studies and prepare for your future.

Any questions? Need help or suggestions? Feel free to contact us any time!