The director of career and civic engagement said LinkedIn is one of the most important professional tools a student can have in 2023.

LinkedIn is a platform for professional networking, according to Director Cathleen Doyle.

“I think you just need to have a mindset that it’s for professional purposes,” Doyle said. “A lot of it’s branding from a professional perspective. So you’re looking at your schooling, your work experience if you have any, your skill set and volunteer work.”

Zack Buster, a third-year communications student who has more than 1,000 connections on LinkedIn, said it’s helpful for networking.

“LinkedIn is my way to update my professional network on what I’m doing … so that they understand what I’m doing and see all the cool things that I am doing, but it’s also a way for me to showcase all the best aspects of me,” Buster said. “If I ever wanted to get another job … I would send them my LinkedIn profile.”

Rebecca Merkel, a second-year psychology student, said LinkedIn is helpful because “a lot of companies look at LinkedIn to get a lot of their employees.”

Merkel said schools should teach students about LinkedIn.

“I think that LinkedIn is a great resource and that all of us should get taught about it at least, like, at one point in life or in our college career,” Merkel said.

Digital footprint is important to keep in mind, especially when entering the professional world, Doyle said.

Doyle said companies will go in and look at a job candidate’s social media history to see who they are thinking about hiring.

Jayden Plater, a second-year business student, said it is important for students to keep in mind what they post on social media.

“I was trying to portray myself as something that … somebody would want to hire me as [and]

being careful with what I post and, you know, being reasonable and not going too far,” Plater said.