March 23, 2021

Webinar Recap: Game-planning for social media, college admissions, and future employment

On Thursday, March 18, The Social Institute hosted a 30-minute SEL professional development webinar on game-planning for social media, college admissions, and future employment. TSI Founder and CEO Laura Tierney welcomed Academic Lead at LinkedIn Learning, Paul Petrone, and the Executive Director at Duke University’s career center Greg Victory to discuss: 

  • How colleges view social media for applicants, students, and alumni
  • How social networks factor into part-time and full-time job searches
  • How students can utilize LinkedIn to set themselves apart from the competition
  • How educators can embrace social media as a resource to drive student success

Here are 3 key takeaways: 

#1) The importance of soft skills 

How someone can effectively communicate their soft skills without just putting it in a box on their resume is the greatest strength. We recommend thinking about your college experience from a creative lens. Finding the “so what” behind the internship, part-time job, or skill that you have listed on your profile or resume. Duke Career Center Executive Director Greg Victory is convinced description is key, “It’s all about how descriptive you are explaining what you have done and what you do. Did you work on a team? Did you find solutions? Can you come to the table with a good attitude? Technology changes so quickly and can become out of date. However, what won’t be out of date is your ability to build teams, support teams and find solutions.”

#2) Creativity especially is the most wanted skill on someone’s profile  

A LinkedIn learning study found that the top five most in-demand soft skills now are creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. LinkedIn Learning’s Paul Petrone explained that “Hard skills are very important, yes but they can come and go. Creativity is the ability to adapt and think of new solutions to old problems. We need you to help us figure out new ways to do great things.” A creative way that he shared was when a candidate sent 12 cupcakes to the hiring manager with 12 of their skills on each. Attached was a note saying ‘my skills will last longer than these cupcakes’. After that, they got the job.  

Students with little experience shouldn’t be scared to log on to LinkedIn. Listing everything that is relevant to you can showcase your hustle. List your volunteer opportunities, part-time jobs, and most definitely your skills! 

#3) As students, we need to use social media effectively 

When you’re creating your profile it’s important we put our best foot forward. Social media is a tool to help you story tell – don’t make up a story, tell your own. If you are a visual artist Instagram is a great place to showcase your talents. Your personal social media can have an incredibly positive impact on how someone can see you joining their team just remember who could be looking at it. Paul shared that ultimately he just wants to see that someone is capable and easy to work with.

For high school and college students preparing to proactively take charge of their future which is great news for all of us. If we don’t teach students to harness social media in positive ways it could be very negative but our goal is to give students these 21st-century skills and teach them how to maximize using it in every way possible for later on in their lives. Watch the full recap of this webinar to learn more!


About The Social Institute

The Social Institute partners with schools nationwide to empower students, families, and educators to positively navigate social-emotional health, social media, and technology. Schools access our student-respected, turnkey curriculum through WinAtSocial.com, an interactive, gamified learning platform. With solutions for students, parents, and educators, we offer a systemic and comprehensive SEL program through a unique and positive approach. We are proud to serve public and independent partners such as Ravenscroft School, Woodward Academy, Oldfields School, All Saints Episcopal School, Lake Forest School District, Boston Public Schools, and more. For more information on how to empower your students to make high-character decisions online and off, please contact us.