How’s your Latin? It’s commencement season, so it might be a good time to brush up! Unless you teach Latin, you might not know that concopulo means to join or associate. Also, you might not remember the difference between alum, alumni, alumna, alumnus, and alumnae, so click here for a refresher.

I am honored to be giving my first commencement speech on Friday, so wanted to share some tidbits about LinkedIn and the power of alumni networking.

In addition, since I taught three entrepreneurship lessons (with the main focus on nonprofit) at Conestoga High School this week where I am an alumna, I learned that only a couple students had LinkedIn profiles, so I wanted to share the link to my Junior Achievement slide deck in the hopes that other local educators and students (over 16) would utilize all the resources I assembled in the appendix. bit.ly/JALynne

For current students or those about to graduate, their alumni network can be used to start building a successful LinkedIn network.

When in your LinkedIn profile, click on the round “ME” on the top to get the pull down menu and click on Open Quick Help. Type “alumni” and head to the overview page and then click on “Alumni Section” which has many links to help guide students on their profile setup, apply for jobs, and find internships. (Speaking of internships, contact me if need an internship for digital marketing and/or video editing!)

For those who have already graduated:

• type your school’s name into the search field
• select your school
• click “Alumni”

You will see the following charts on 1) where they live, 2) where they work, 3) what they do, 4) what they studied, 5) what they are skilled at, and 6) how you are connected.

You especially want to focus on second-degree connections. This might be a great opportunity to reach out to those with whom you have this same collegiate common bond and send them a professional and personalized note:

Dear xxx,

As you are a fellow alum at Penn State University in the field of xxx, I would love to connect and add you to my LinkedIn network.

Once your invitation has been accepted, thank them for accepting and continue the conversation. Perhaps you are seeking an informational interview to learn more about an occupation or company. Maybe you are moving to a new city and need to start meeting locals in that city who graduated from the same school. Maybe you are seeking a long lost friend and want to see if they are on LinkedIn. You can enter the dates attended to narrow down the search.

It’s a journey to build a network, but those with whom you have developed long-lasting relationships will be the key to your future career success. Start building connections and relationships on LinkedIn, so you have an electronic Rolodex. If you are too young to know what that is, click here.

Come learn and network with the Philadelphia Area Great Careers Group. There is something of interest for any working adult (or about to be working if you are graduating soon!) See upcoming events with links here.

Don’t miss our featured events this week including a TedX speaker, Dr. Dowling, and your truly, presenting The Art of Networking In Person and Online with Chester & Delaware County SCORE. Missed the previous LinkedIn tip? Click here.

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Lynne Williams is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Area Great Careers Group, a 501(c)3 nonprofit of over 4000 members providing career education and networking. Contact Lynne by phone at 484-393-2951, email at director@greatcareersphl.org, on social media @GreatCareersPHL and connect on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/lynnewilliams Stay tuned for the new website launch!