For some students, finding the right career path starts with finding the right school. LinkedIn announced new tools that use data from members to help students figure out which universities are most likely to help them find their dream jobs.
“Decision Boards” are like Pinterest for universities; they let students create pinboards with cards like post-it notes that contain information about schools or subject areas. They can add their own notes as well.
To help students figure out which schools or fields to add to their decision boards, LinkedIn also has a new university ranking tool. By analyzing member profiles, it determines which careers are most often chosen by graduates of particular schools—making it possible to which universities are best at turning out, say, software developers.
Students can also search on a number of variables, such as career field, location, and even a specific company they’d like to work at, to see which university was most frequently attended by LinkedIn members who fit that description. So you could search for “fashion merchandiser who works for Nordstrom and lives in New York” to get a list of promising schools.
LinkedIn has put an increased effort in attracting young people and students to the network. Last year the company introduced university pages and lowered the age limit to 14, and sometimes works with student groups to help set up LinkedIn profiles and meet professionals in fields they want to pursue.
The company also recently introduced an algorithm that can predict future careers for current professionals on LinkedIn. Now it appears the company wants to expand its fortune-telling capabilities to majors and universities.
Lead photo by Jimmy Thomas on Flickr; screenshot courtesy of LinkedIn
