With 150,000
LinkedIn profiles, the alumnus of
Michigan State University were already having a big impact on the professional development themed social network site. Now, the partnership between MSU and LinkedIn has become official and the first of its kind.
The agreement will help LinkedIn receive feedback on new features, while giving those in the MSU group an early advantage in connecting to employers and to each other.
“Essentially we’ll be able to beta test LinkedIn’s products as they’re testing them,” says John Hill, MSU’s Director of Director Alumni Career Series. “They’ll feed us more things we can try out, and we become early adopters.”
The MSU network on LinkedIn already had a head start at being early adopters, which is how the group caught LinkedIn’s attention in the first place. Hill has given about 500 presentations on LinkedIn over the last five years, showing alumni and student how they can use the social media site to find jobs and networking opportunities.
“They knew we were playing around in this space,” Hills says. “They actually set up the first call [regarding the agreement]. Prior to that I had talked to them about what we were doing.”
The agreement between the two organizations makes MSU the first member of LinkedIn’s College Pilot Program. While Hill expects alumnus to benefit by connecting with employers and also with each other.
“We are rekindling the Spartans helping Spartans mentality,” he says. “It’s about making connections.”
Source: John Hill, MSU Alumni Career Series
Writer: Natalie Burg, News Editor
John Hill Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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