T he Georgia College Young Alumni Council has created a community through LinkedIn, where young alumni and students can engage with each other. It may even lead to job prospects. 

“We are creating a mutually beneficial space for networking, collaborating and linking GC students with GC young alumni,” said Sarah Rose Harrill, ’14, ’18, president, Young Alumni Council. “The intended benefits for young alumni are either to deepen their connection to or re-engage with Georgia College.”

Students can also benefit from the Young Alumni Council’s new LinkedIn page.

“The intended benefits for students include the opportunity to network, learn about potential job opportunities, ask for career advice and build a support system as they transition from student life to post-grad life,” said Brian McDaniel, ’09, ’15, treasurer, Young Alumni Council.

As one of the only professional social networking platforms, most recruiters and those in hiring positions use LinkedIn to scout for talent. 

“Whether you are looking for an entry-level position or hoping to advance in your career, networking is the most effective yet under-utilized strategy to gain employment,” said Lauren Easom, director of the university’s Career Center. “The GC Young Alumni Council’s page provides an avenue to network with professionals you already have something in common with: GC, in a way that isn’t intimidating” 

Employers know the importance of having a LinkedIn page for networking. 

“Creating a fully-developed LinkedIn page will significantly increase a job seeker’s chance of getting noticed by an organization and may even increase their chances of securing a position,” said Easom. “A 2006 survey by Jobvite found that 87 percent of recruiters find LinkedIn most effective when vetting candidates during the hiring process—especially those under 45 years of age, which yield 90 percent.”

The Career Center at Georgia College offers the same free services to alumni who are searching for jobs as it does for students. The most popular career services used among alumni are resume reviews, job fair participation and mock interviews. 

Easom encourages job seekers to strategize their job search by not limiting themselves to just one well-known platform like Indeed. Instead, she recommends including job search boards often found on professional organization websites and using LinkedIn to learn about new organizations in their field via the “pages people also viewed” feature.

The council’s goal is to promote its LinkedIn page and build memberships before the holidays. The measure of success will be based on the number of individuals it assists, in addition to the opportunities and relationships the group develops.  

To boost the number of young alumni and students on the council’s LinkedIn page, they plan to share its connections, post on social media feeds and encourage professors to share this resource with their junior and senior students.

“We would like to have open training or helpful sessions with students and alumni at some point,” said Harrill. “But, first, they need to know it exists. Then, we need to create meaningful content and spark conversations to get folks to engage and work with students and other young alumni.”

Visit the Young Alumni Council’s new LinkedIn page to see how you can benefit.