Career Services’ program manager for internships and experiential learning Jennifer Brown spoke with a group of students Monday about LinkedIn as part of the Lewis College of Business’ professionalism month.

Brown gave tips to making a LinkedIn profile she said will stand out to potential employers. First, Brown said the photo is important. Brown said it is important not to use selfies or photos that have been cropped to exclude other people. Career Services is offering to take a professional looking profile pictures at the April 5 Career Expo for students to use.

Next, Brown said the headline needs to be algorithmically strong and compelling. Brown said the headline is the second thing employers will be attracted to. “It’s important they are interested in you from reading it,” Brown said.

Brown said students need to fill out every section of their profiles as possible. Many areas are the same as a typical resume.

“They make it very easy for you to fill out,” Brown said. “They ask you prompt questions and they give you advice for what you should put in each section and how to word it.”

Brown said students need to be sure they update statuses regularly to let employers know they are active. Students need to be sure to avoid going on rants in their statuses though.

“There are three things you need to avoid talking about: politics, religion and money,” Brown said.

Brown said connecting is important on LinkedIn. People who have something on their profile will connect automatically, but others will have to be contacted by message to connect.

Director in stakeholder engagement at the COB Glen Midkiff said he was pleased with Brown’s presentation and hoped students understood how relevant it is to have a LinkedIn account.

“I hope they come away with how important it is to have a positive online image,” Midkiff said, “Employers are looking for that. They are looking for the candidate that stands above everyone else.”

The COB will continue professionalism month with events this week and after spring break.

Cheyenne DeBolt can be contacted at [email protected].