The final installment of the “Career Ready Seminar Series,” hosted by the Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC), concluded Wednesday night with an event showcasing how LinkedIn and ChatGPT can be effectively used to advance students’ future careers.
Presenting at the event was CPDC Practicum Assistant Madelyn Oliver, who emphasized the importance of students beginning a LinkedIn page as soon as possible.
The event offered advice on how attendees could upgrade their LinkedIn profiles to be more appealing to employers.
“Many employers and companies are using LinkedIn as a tool to get to know their employers and network with potential new employees or interns,” said Oliver.
Students were given tips and tricks on how to incorporate AI when building their future LinkedIn pages. One suggestion was to use tools like ChatGPT to craft a LinkedIn bio or to assist in highlighting skills more efficiently.
The session emphasized how using AI strategically can make the profile-building process easier and help students present a more polished and professional online presence.
However, Oliver warned students that copying and pasting AI-generated responses could possibly be harmful to their reputation with future employers.
“As an employer, if I see an entirely AI resume, I am throwing it in the trash,” said Oliver.
To avoid this, Oliver urged students to use AI as a brainstorming tool. This can be achieved by students giving AI specific prompts tailored to what they are looking for, allowing them to gain ideas and inspiration without directly copying and pasting AI responses.
Abigail Boland (freshman, entrepreneurship and small business management) expressed thoughts on how the event reconstructed their view of AI.
“Personally, I am not the biggest fan of AI, but I learned how it can be used more as a tool in certain instances and how to use it more ethically,” said Boland.
The room was encouraged to find its own style when designing a LinkedIn page.
Different examples of professional LinkedIn pages were highlighted, showing how each was formatted to reflect the individual’s personal style.
Oliver’s own example page was short and to the point, while one of her colleagues’ pages was long and creative.
Students were encouraged to post professional photos and include summaries of the activities they are involved in on their LinkedIn pages.
One example of a professional post showed a person writing about starting a new career and sharing their experiences with others.
Ella Nunemaker (freshman, family consumer sciences education) attended the event to learn more about what professional content should be posted.
“I was unsure what kind of things you can post on LinkedIn,” said Nunemaker. “I now know the things I can post that have to do with consumer family science and the student association.”
The event concluded with all attendees motivated to begin building LinkedIn pages, regardless of graduation year.
Students interested in learning more about AI in the classroom or how to perfect their LinkedIn pages are encouraged to visit the CPDC, located in B20 Stabley Library, or to contact the CPDC via email at career-development@iup.edu.