So I'm on LinkedIn...Now What?

Most people these days understand the importance of having a professional LinkedIn profile but many people don't know what they're supposed to do after that. LinkedIn was originally designed as a networking site, and it certainly is still that, but it is also a vehicle through which you can establish and maintain your online brand, create an e-portfolio beyond the scope of a traditional resume, search for jobs, get recruited for jobs, and stay current in your career field. Here are my five tips for effectively using LinkedIn to enhance your personal brand, promote your professionalism and increase your career opportunities.

1. Build your network: Invite everyone you know into your network: current and previous colleagues, business partners, friends and family. Before you know it, you'll be connected to most people in your career circle by three or less degrees of separation. Also, make sure to accept invitations to connect with people even if you don't think they can be helpful in your career. You never know where they will be in a year, two years or five years down the road. Continue to expand your LinkedIn network with new colleagues you meet at networking events.

2. Create a compelling headline: As a default, many people resort to using their current job title as their headline and that's okay, but if it doesn't contain the key words of the positions you are aspiring to, then consider changing your headline. Look at your colleagues' headlines for key word clues but remember to make your headline slightly different to convey your own unique competitive advantage.

3. Stay active on LinkedIn: Unlike the social media addiction that people get concerned about when they log onto Facebook at least once a day, logging onto LinkedIn daily is actually a very good professional habit. It shows your network that you're staying current by posting links to interesting articles, commenting on others' posts or posting about professional development activities you're engaging in.

4. Join groups relevant to your career: By joining such groups, you can stay current with what's happening in your industry, contribute to discussions, pose a question, and brand yourself as a thought leader in your field. Sometimes it can be daunting to figure out which groups to join so I suggest looking at the groups that your colleagues are in as a start. Also pay attention to the number of members in a group and join the ones that have the largest membership. 

5. Tap into the power of LinkedIn: There are so many powerful ways you can leverage LinkedIn. For example, when you're applying and interviewing for jobs, do an "advanced search" to see who in your network works or worked at that company and reach out to them to get some insider information. Look up your interviewer the night before your big interview - recruiters say they love that! Lastly, more and more companies are posting jobs on LinkedIn and you can follow your favorite companies on it.

As you can see, LinkedIn is a great resource which, if used effectively, can be a tremendous asset to you and your career

Six College Courses that Help Grads Land Jobs

Read this article from CNBC to discover which college courses will give you the skills that employers are looking for and increase your chances of getting a job.

Check out this excellent blog by Vivian Chao, Boston University management student, which provides great advice on studying for the CPA exam and small business application features: http://vmchao.wordpress.com/

New Ruling on Unpaid Internships: Disaster or Delight?

Last week, Judge William H. Pauley, a federal judge in New York, ruled "that interns on two film production crews, including one from the Academy Award winning Black Swan, were employees entitled to payment with actual money. By not paying the interns, their employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act."

To sum it up, "an intern has to receive training similar to what would’ve been provided in an educational facility and must do work primarily for his or her own benefit, not the employer's. Also, the intern's work shouldn't be the sort of thing the business would have otherwise had to hire someone to do. The work the Black Swan intern did (getting lunch, filing, running errands, making deliveries) didn’t cut it." For more details, please read full article on Slate.

As goes New York, so goes the nation? Only time will tell but the federal government has been trying to regulate unpaid internships for the past several years so it appears we are trending in that direction. Is the government really that concerned about the welfare of interns? Well, perhaps, but the better explanation might be because of the loss in tax revenue. If interns don't get paid, they can't pay taxes.

The bigger question here, however, is whether this recent development is a good or bad thing for college students seeking to gain real-world experience and to build their resumes in hopes of landing the prefect job at graduation. As a college career counselor, I always preach about the value of internships to my students, and I know I am not alone. To be honest, many students have told me that they don't mind doing an unpaid internship in order to gain experience. Shouldn't they have the right to decide if they want to work for free in order to gain experience? Don't get me wrong. Of course, I would rather see my students get paid for their efforts, but I wonder if the number of internship opportunities might dwindle due to these new regulations, particularly with smaller companies with limited resources, and whether it truly is a win for the student.