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Social media sites are great for all aspects of communication. People are put into contact more easily now than ever before. And while Facebook Twitter and Instagram are good for connecting you with students, faculty, coworkers and friends, it does not connect you with employers and recruiters. LinkedIn however is an amazing platform for getting your name out there. I would even go as far as to say that it’s an essential for those looking to begin scraping the surface of their respective fields. However, not using LinkedIn to its full potential will severely hinder its potential to affect your career path. Here are two features of LinkedIn you should utilize right away to help you snatch that first interview.

A Simple Slider, a big difference

The first tip is one I just recently discovered. Since I started using this feature my inbox has been flooded with recruiters and opportunities alike. Now its true many of these may go nowhere, but the massive quantities make it more likely one of them will. And after all, you only need one of them to. It’s simple, the more opportunities you have, the more likely one of them will go in your favor.

This feature can be found by logging into LinkedIn, going to the jobs tab and then clicking preferences. You will then see a little slider that says the following “Share that your open to new opportunities and let your next job find you.”. Turning this slider on enables more options such as what job titles you are considering as well as what type of employment. All of these options help push out your profile to the appropriate recruiters and increase your chances of being discovered. It’s a very simple feature but one that is quite useful in getting more contact with the professional world.

Introducing LinkedIn Students

Earlier this year, LinkedIn introduced a new app just for students. LinkedIn students uses your LinkedIn profile to help college students everywhere map out their career path. It’s tailored specifically for future college graduates and can help you find a job for your major. The students add on can also steer you towards companies that are more likely to hire someone such as yourself.

Launching the App will greet you with articles you may like, career paths of relevant alums and companies that may be a fit for you. You’ll also see job positions you should consider, all within a quick glance. It’s more of an extension to LinkedIn and not a standalone platform. Once you’ve swiped through your cards you can generate more or wait until new ones become available. Its quick, easy and is less overwhelming than navigating the full LinkedIn platform. You can still search companies, people, make connections and the like. LinkedIn Students even offers interview tips although you can readhere to get my take on acing a phone interview. LinkedIn students seems to pride itself in simplicity as well as a supplement to its full platform. The inclusion of the cards and job alert updates make this an incredibly easy feature of LinkedIn to utilize and one you should incorporate into your job search today.

Making sure your LinkedIn profile is professional looking and up to date is crucial. However, not utilizing LinkedIn’s full potential could be a detrimental mistake towards your first job. There is a lot of work that goes into landing that first professional job and sometimes a little bit of luck. LinkedIn can greatly reduce that work and help you land that job much faster.