As a student at Argosy University, Online Programs, you're already developing skills and forging relationships that will help you to advance your career. Still, job seekers should use all available avenues to find employment, and LinkedIn may be one of the best online tools you have at your disposal. Here, you'll find tips for maximizing your LinkedIn experience and finding the job of your dreams.

Create a LinkedIn profile

If you haven't already, create a LinkedIn profile. Upload an office-appropriate photograph and list all relevant work and internship experience. Once you've completed your profile (including specialties), ask colleagues for recommendations, which can help you stand out from the competition. Be sure to recommend your colleagues as well! The effort will not go unreciprocated.

To connect with other Argosy University alumni and students on LinkedIn, join the Worldwide Professionals Network | Argosy University group.

Tailor Your Search Criteria

Many companies use LinkedIn to list jobs in addition to or in place of the standard online job boards. When you search for a job on LinkedIn, list keywords relevant to the positions you're looking for, determine an industry and define a salary range.

Save your search criteria to streamline your search process. Also save jobs that interest you so that you can find them easily in the future.

Identify the Hiring Manager

When possible, it’s best to have a name to which you can address your cover letter rather than writing "Dear HR Department" or "To Whom it May Concern." Some postings name the person who posted the job description; if so, contact the poster to see to whom you should address your letter.

Use Your LinkedIn Connections

Apply for jobs to which you're connected to an employee of the company (within two degrees). If you have a first-degree connection at a company, ask that person for a recommendation. If you have a second-degree connection (which is comparable to a friend of a friend), it's worth asking for an introduction to that person. They may be able to tell you about the company's culture, structure and even hiring process.

Do Your Research

As you probably know, no job posting lists all the skills and traits required of applicants. Here's your chance to do a bit of detective work: View the profiles of other people who work in the role for which you're applying and make note of their skills. Follow the company's LinkedIn updates to get a sense of who they are and what's important to them. For a more holistic view, see what skills people in the same role at other companies have. This will help you to determine whether you're qualified for a role, and it will also give you insight about how to word your resume and cover letter.

Looking for creative lesson plans, an inspirational quote, a new healthy recipe or a good book? Now, you can find them all on one site—Pinterest, a fun tool for saving and organizing things you love.

Learn the Pinterest Lingo

There’s new terminology to learn with every social media site, and, with Pinterest, you’ll need to become familiar with boards and pins. We recommend thinking about Pinterest as a collection of virtual bulletin “boards” to which you can attach your favorite pictures and links with virtual push “pins.”

The pictures you pin might be inspirational or might just be something you like. You can also pin links to sites or information that you think will eventually come in handy (pinning is similar to bookmarking web pages, only it's more visual).

Most people organize their boards by topic, so that they can easily find the pins when they are looking for them in the future. For example, you might have one board for party ideas, one for exercises and one for remodeling projects you’d like to do around the house. Most pins link to a website that includes the picture featured in the pin.

You can follow other people’s boards on topics you like so that you can see what they pin. Their pins will then appear in your feed, which is the first thing you see when you log in to Pinterest. You can even repin items that you like and that you want to save on your own board. If people like what you pin, they’ll follow your boards in return.

Get Pinning

If you’re new to Pinterest, you’ll need to set up an account and create your boards before you start pinning. Pinterest has some helpful forums that can get you going:

• Joining Pinterest
• Pins, repins and likes
• Add, edit or delete a board
• Following boards and people
• And lots of other Pinterest basics

Start playing around. You’ll get the hang of it. In addition to re-pinning items you like, you can also install a “Pin It” button for your browser so that you can pin any image at any time while you are surfing the web.

If you have questions about Pinterest, post them on our Facebook page and we’ll try to help.

Find Us on Pinterest

Find us at http://pinterest.com/argosyu/. Follow our boards for career advice, inspiration and more. You can also create your own board titled “My Argosy University” where you can pin photos that motivate you to keep going with your education or represent your field of study, your dream job or anything else you associate with your experience at Argosy University, Online Programs. We look forward to seeing what pins you find!

In today’s highly technological society, we have more access to information and resources than we have at any point in our history. This information can be a valuable tool, particularly when it comes to healthcare. For example, if we’re experiencing symptoms at a particular time, rather than heading directly to the doctor’s office, we can search online and find other individuals with similar symptoms and determine what they might mean. This culture of “needing to know” doesn’t eliminate the need to go to the doctor, but it creates a better informed, more connected community.

For example, an MSN Health article entitled “Is Social Networking Changing the Face of Medicine?” discusses the backlash incurred when new regulations proposed that women didn’t need to begin having mammograms until age fifty, as opposed to the previous guideline of forty. A number of women, who felt that beginning mammograms at forty may have saved their lives, took to social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to express their outrage. In the end, the guidelines set forth by the American Cancer Society remained unchanged.

In the situation described above, it can be argued that public opinion and the use of technology only helped, but there’s a fine line between helpful and incorrect. As with any situation concerning the internet, it’s just as easy to broadcast incorrect information as it is to relay the facts. But there’s no denying that information can be a valuable tool if used wisely.

We’ve all heard stories about how employers Google the names of candidates they’re considering during the hiring process. Most people would agree that what you say and do online can work against you. In other words, if you’ve done or said something that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see, don’t post it online.

But now, according to this article from CNN.com, many of us have put ourselves at risk not of sharing too much, but sharing too little. While it will definitely work against you when an employer Googles your name and finds a picture of you acting the fool, what do you think happens when an employer Googles your name and doesn’t come up with any results at all? Obviously you exist, but why don’t you exist online? Not showing up can be every bit as detrimental as showing up in an unflattering light.

It may seem like it’s impossible to fix this situation. Some of the world’s biggest companies hire SEO firms to gain visibility in the natural search rankings. But you don’t have to go to such extremes. There are a few relatively simple ways you can boost your presence in a positive way.

Google Yourself! – This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t take this simple step. If you don’t know what conversations are happening about you online, it’s difficult to control them. If you find anything unflattering, take the necessary steps to stomp it out. Untag yourself in Facebook photos. Delete unfavorable comments.

Beef up Your LinkedIn Profile – LinkedIn is a great way to boost your credibility online. If you don’t have a profile yet, create one. If you have one but haven’t spent much time on it, there’s no time like the present. In addition to listing your employment history, you can join professional groups and list any special talents you have. The next time you Google yourself, there’s a good chance you profile will show up on top.

Contribute to the Conversation – You can use LinkedIn and other avenues to join groups related to your interests and professional affiliations. Contributing to conversations that take place there can help build your online presence. You might even consider starting your own blog, keeping in mind that anything you say has the potential to be viewed by the entire world.

When building your online presence, it’s safe to assume that the whole world could be watching. Luckily, you have it within your power to present yourself in the most flattering light possible.