As the end of the school year is fast approaching, the scramble for jobs is in full force for graduating seniors. And for many of those seniors looking for jobs, that means facing the reality that LinkedIn will probably become one of their most frequently used social media platforms.
Unfortunately, in order to fully take advantage of LinkedIn, one must be willing to part with not insignificant sums of cash. The cheapest paid subscription, for example, is $30 per month, or $300 a year, while the most expensive one costs $100 a month, or $900 a year.
Given that the University has successfully partnered with businesses like HBO and Adobe to broaden access to students, it would likewise be helpful if the University could strike a partnership with LinkedIn to drive down the cost of its paid subscriptions for students.
Obviously, not every student uses LinkedIn, nor does every student plan to look for a job immediately upon graduation.
As a result, this board does not advocate brokering a deal with LinkedIn if it might also lead to increases in tuition or more student fees. The deal should benefit the students, but not come at any added expense to what they already pay to go to school.
However, it would be useful if the University could alleviate the financial strain on seniors, particularly in the first few months after graduation, when many are still in the midst of job hunting while lacking a consistent stream of income.
