by Alexis Tai, M.S. and Ned Khatrichettri, M.A.
Natee Meepian/Shutterstock
If today’s students are to succeed in an unfriendly labor market, it is critical for them to be more patient, flexible, and creative than before. Networking is essential for getting professionally situated, and upwards of eighty-five percent of jobs are undisclosed to the public and must be discovered mostly through personal engagements.
The positive influence of face-to-face networking is not new information and the dearth of publicly posted positions has been an ongoing trend long before 2021. Shortly after entering college, students are often encouraged by career service professionals to utilize job search engines, create online profiles, and actively participate in professional networking sites. However, we have noticed students have some misunderstandings about online formal communication.
There are many networking platforms and job search engines. For brevity and clarity, LinkedIn warrants discussion because it is “the world’s largest professional network with nearly 740 million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.” It is also included in the social media rubric, but utilizing it requires a lot more discretion than its social media counterparts (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.). In our appointments, students have also mentioned the following about LinkedIn: “I’m intimidated by it,” “It overwhelms me,” “I don’t feel comfortable using it,” “I don’t know how to use it,” or, most notably, “I’ve set up my LinkedIn profile years ago, but I haven’t logged in since.”
Students harbor both strong reservations and confusion about LinkedIn and consequently may have trouble advancing in their professional trajectory. Career service professionals, especially aspiring and new ones, can better serve their student population by understanding an important generational misunderstanding — expecting communication and relationship building to be instantaneous.
Myth of Instant Communication
“Instant” is a major theme and characteristic of lifestyles of individuals who are mostly in the socioeconomically endowed strata. This demographic can request transportation or order food through apps and have them arrive within thirty minutes. Purchases through countless e-commerce websites allow obtaining material goods, often delivered to front doors, within forty-eight hours without any human interaction. Unlike submitting online orders for various items, initiating, and building professional relationships requires more than a few clicks on a laptop or a smartphone; it is never straight forward and there are no guarantees.
There are plenty of resources available that focus on ‘how to’ reach out to professionals, maximize your informational interviews, or be familiar with the oftentimes breached LinkedIn protocol to avoid faux pas. Students, however, may be surprised why immediacy in other areas of their lives is unattainable with their professional aspirations. The critical point is that getting professionally situated with a first job, networking, and changing roles, or an industry, is a cumbersome, unpredictable process that takes time.
LinkedIn is a professional relationship-building tool and, if intentionally utilized, can serve as a catalyst to expand one’s network; this includes connecting with individuals that work for a company or an organization a student is also interested in. Nevertheless, precisely because everyone is allegedly a professional, it is unclear how often people check their accounts or reply to LinkedIn messages.
There are also plenty of individuals who prefer not to connect with someone outside their network. For example, “I will not connect with you unless we’ve worked together in the past” and “Do not contact me if you are not in my network” are statements we have noticed in people’s profiles. This can complicate things, especially if such individuals are those that students are interested in speaking with.
Secondly, there are recruiters that actively search this resource to identify competitive applicants for their clients. Unless students update their LinkedIn profiles often and clearly articulate their strengths and the value they offer, the likelihood of being overlooked is high. LinkedIn profiles also need to evolve as students progress in their professional trajectory. This requires investing substantial time. One’s online profile is a form of communication to the world; a compelling one, however, will not transpire within forty-eight hours.
Moving Forward
Templates, standardized models, or the “right” way to communicate with someone is non-existent; individuals are complex, nuanced, unpredictable, and even online interactions are a series of trial-and-error, lived experiences. Online profiles, furthermore, are the idealized self, and profile pictures, accomplishments, and outcomes are often embellished. This can contribute to misunderstandings and confusion. We, nevertheless, believe career service professionals can further empower students by suggesting the following starter questions for them to consider prior to reaching out to someone on LinkedIn.
- What do I have in common with this person? I.e., same school(s), a professional certificate, a mutual contact, or something else?
- Why am I reaching out to this person? For example, are they working at a company or organization I am curious about? Did they attend a graduate program I am interested in?
The key issue for students, however, will be to figure out ways to sustain professional relationships if (or when) their invitation to connect is accepted. This is inherently about communication and students can only strengthen their oral and writing skills by often doing it. LinkedIn, after all, is a tool that facilitates connections. Career service professionals can provide guidance, but the follow-up from students afterward is ultimately what will be critical.
