TEAM PROJECT PRESENTATION: ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS’ LINKEDIN? TEAM MEMBERS: JEFF GUNTER, SETH BROWN, CHRIS DIETZ, JEREMY O'CONNOR
TEAM PROJECT PRESENTATION:ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS’ LINKEDIN?TEAM MEMBERS: JEFF GUNTER, SETH BROWN, CHRIS DIETZ, JEREMY O'CONNOR
CORE ISSUES
• Research has shown that the majority of college students don’t create a LinkedIn account or they have one but don’t utilize it until after they graduate.• There are also many students that are unaware of
how to take full advantage of everything LinkedIn has to offer.
• Many recent graduates find themselves working jobs they are over-qualified for.
IMPORTANCE TO COLLEGE STUDENTS• LinkedIn can be an incredibly useful tool in advancing
your career• 94% of recruiters research a potential candidate’s social
media presence• 78% of employers have hired candidates through LinkedIn• You can customize your LinkedIn feed to provide updates
and articles to help you stay on the cutting edge of your field
SYMPTOMS
• Only about half of college students have ever used LinkedIn.• LinkedIn has low repeat usage, 61% of users
view the site once every three weeks or less often.• Since only about 50% of college students use
LinkedIn there are competitors starting to target the millennial market.
PROBABLE PROBLEMS
• College students are intimidated by their lack of professional experience.• College students have difficulty translating their skills into
professional bullet points• College students are unaware of the value in creating a
LinkedIn account• LinkedIn training is available, but lack of guidance causes
new users to put off learning how to utilize the professional development networking site
DECISION STATEMENT
• How can LinkedIn increase its usage rate among college students?• Provide more easy to find training tools.• Target college students with specific information
pertaining to their developmental situation.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• Research Objective 1• The first research objective was to understand how college students
access social media in their everyday environment
• Research Objective 2• The second research objective was to understand how college
students search for information pertaining to professional development
• Research Objective 3• The third research objective was to identify how LinkedIn can improve
usage among college students
SUMMARY OF RESPONDENT'S DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION• The age range of our 39 respondents was
from 19 to 38, with an average of 24.• 86% of the respondents were of the millennial
generation
• Our respondents consisted of an almost equal representation of gender• 20 Males (51%) and 19 Females (49%)
• We also had a near equal amount of juniors and seniors• 56% were juniors and 44% were seniors
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Male Female Male Female Male Female Male FemaleAges 19-23 (75%) Ages 24-28 (10%) Ages 29-33 (2%) Ages 34-38 (12%)
34%
41%
10%
0% 0%
2% 2%
10%
Respondents Gender and Age(Percentages are of total re-
spondents)
Gen
der
Mal
e
Fem
ale
Mal
e &
Fem
ale
Mal
e
Fem
ale
Mal
e &
Fem
ale
Academic Year
Junior Senior
28% 28%
56%
21%23%
44%
Academic Year of Respondents(Percentages are of junior & senior
respondents)
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR LITERATURE SEARCH• The Education Advisory Board• 94% of recruiters research a potential candidate's
social media presence• 43% of employers passed on hiring a potential
candidate due to negative information on their social media accounts• 78% of employers have hired candidates through
LinkedIn• 41% of college students use LinkedIn’s
professional services
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR LITERATURE SEARCH• The Pew Research Center• Facebook still remains the top social media site in
regards to usage with a 71% usage rate• LinkedIn has a 50% usage rate by internet users
with a college degree• Only 28% of all adult internet users have a
LinkedIn account• LinkedIn is the only social media site that has more
30-64 year old users than users in the age range of 18-29
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR LITERATURE SEARCH• The Associated Press (AP)• 54% of American bachelor’s degree holders, aged
25 and under, are unemployed or underemployed.• The amount of college graduates with a bachelor’s
degree has grown by 38% since 2000.• AP reports that students should actually be more
focused on the skills they attain while in school, and less focused on the actual diploma.
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY• According to our team’s survey college
students have an interesting take on importance of professional development.• 50% of respondents believe that professional
development is either extremely important or very important to college students in general.• However, 88% of respondents indicated that
professional development is either extremely important or very important to themselves, personally.
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY
Not Very Important
Somewhat Important
Very Important
Extrememly Important
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
2%
10%
44%
44%
8%
42%
32%
18%
College Students' Perception of Profes-sional Development Importance (n=39)
Professional Development Importance (College Students Overall)Professional Development Importance (Personal)
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY• One of the things our team wanted to find
out through our survey is what devices do college students prefer to access social media on.• 15% of respondents indicated that they used a
desktop computer.• 18% of respondents indicated that they used a
tablet.• 48% of respondents indicated that they used a
laptop.• 95% of respondents indicated that they used a
smartphone.
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY
Desktop Laptop Smartphone Tablet0%
10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
15%
49%
95%
18%
Preferred Device Used to Access Social Media (n=38)
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY• Our team was interested in finding what professional
development topics college students are most interested in and how often they search for them.• According to our team’s survey students are most
interested in finding entry level positions and internships.• 64% of respondents indicated that they were interested in
finding entry level positions• 66% of respondents indicated that they were interested in
finding internships• 77% of respondents indicated that they searched for
information on professional development at least once a month or more.
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY
Less than once a monthAt least once a month
At least once a weekMore than once a week
InternshipsEntry Level Positions
Resume WritingStudent Co-Op
Topi
cs o
f Int
eres
t
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%23%
39%28%
10%66%
64%47%
29%
PD Topics of Interest and Freq of Search (n=39)
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY• Our team was interested in finding out how
many of our respondents had a LinkedIn account established and how difficult they thought it was to use.• 72% of respondents indicated that they already
had a LinkedIn account established.• 48% of respondents indicated that they found
LinkedIn to be very easy or easy to use.• Only 13% of respondents found LinkedIn difficult to
use
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM OUR TEAM’S SURVEY
Very Easy
Easy
Neutral
Difficult
Link
edIn
Diffi
cult
y
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
72%
29%
19%
39%
13%
Ease of Use (n=31) and LinkedIn Account Establishment
(n=39)
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1• Ranking of social media popularity• Our survey findings are similar to what we
discovered in our literature review.• According the Pew Research Center, Facebook is
the most popular (87%), followed by Instagram (53%), Twitter (53%), Pinterest (34%), and LinkedIn (23%). • Our respondents’ social media use ranks in the
same order.
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1• Most Used Device to Access Social Media• 95% of respondents indicated smartphones were
their most preferred device for accessing social media.• The Wall Street Journal analyzed the user friendly
nature between the LinkedIn website and their mobile application in a recent article.• They determined that the mobile application was
easier to use.• It appears that LinkedIn may be aware of the
frequent use of smartphones to access social media.
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 2• Perception of Professional Development• Of our respondents, 88% indicated that they view
professional development as being either extremely important or very important to them personally.• Surprisingly, our respondents did not believe that
college students, in general, think that professional development is important.• Of our respondents, only 50% selected extremely
important or very important for college students in general.
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 2• Topics of Interest and Information Sources• Our respondents indicated that internships (66%)
and entry-level positions (64%) were the most searched professional development topics.• The large majority of our respondents (82%)
indicated that they utilize the internet as their number one source for locating information on professional development.
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 3• Establishment of LinkedIn Account and
Repeat Usage• Overall, we were impressed that 72% of our
respondents had already established a LinkedIn account. • This finding was well above the Pew Research
Center’s estimate of 23%.• We found from our survey that 39% of respondents
indicated that they used LinkedIn less than once a month and 36% of respondents said they used it once a week.
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 3• Ease of Use and Interest in LinkedIn Training• Of our respondents, 48% indicated that they found
LinkedIn to be very easy, or easy to use.• An overwhelming 92% of respondents said they
were unaware of the weekly LinkedIn training at the Career Development Center.• Of those same respondents 46% said they would
consider attending a training session.
FINDINGS FOR RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 3• Interest in Receiving Professional
Development Newsletters• A large portion of respondents, 49%, said they
would be somewhat interested in receiving a newsletter containing information on professional development• Of the respondents, 15% indicated that they would
be extremely interested or very interested.• Only 8% said they were not at all interested.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Continue to Develop a Market for Millennials• LinkedIn recently released their first-ever TV
commercial during the Oscars.• This was undoubtedly a step toward marketing to
the millennial generation.• Most college students are already aware of
LinkedIn, but unaware of how to use it to its full potential.
• They need to focus on presenting the benefits of professional networking.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Develop Better Training Instruction• We think LinkedIn would benefit from developing
better training or partnerships with university career development centers.• Possibly include LinkedIn training in classes.
• LinkedIn needs to do a better job of encouraging students to start utilizing their professional network long before they graduate from college.
IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS GROUP PROJECT OR THINGS WE WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY• Marketing research is a very time consuming
and in-depth process but it produces very useful information.• Effective communication among team
members is essential for things to run smoothly when working in a group.• Surveys can provide a lot of useful
information when conducted well.• SPSS is an incredibly useful tool for analyzing
data obtained through surveys.
QUESTIONS?