Interview Summary

I interviewed a Career Advisor at UW-Madison who is extremely well versed in how LinkedIn works and how undergraduate students can use it to their advantage while still in college. I have very little experience with LinkedIn, so the biggest thing I took away from this interview was pretty much the basics of LinkedIn and how it can be used to students biggest advantage. Also, many college students think they don’t need to worry about creating a LinkedIn profile until after they graduate, when in fact, it is overwhelmingly important to make connections earlier in one’s college career because students are constantly meeting new people that can introduce them to people later. It is also important to develop a profile early because many companies are using LinkedIn as a head hunting tool, and the earlier you can get an in with a company in your field the better. I am still looking into if/how academic libraries can/do use LinkedIn, but I have yet to hear back from the couple of libraries I have contacted.