On Nov. 5, an informational workshop event on Networking and LinkedIn took place in SCI-215 at Cosumnes River College.

Event speaker Olga Prizhbilov, a CRC Career Center representative, spoke about what networking is and how someone could use it professionally to benefit their job search.

“Successful networking requires that you have as many people as you can in your network,” Prizhbilov said. “It’s not what you know, but it’s who you know.”

The second part of the event talked about how someone can use social networking to their advantage for their job search. Social networking provides opportunities to brand, network and search for jobs, Prizhbilov said.

LinkedIn was the social network that the event focused on.

LinkedIn is a social networking website that is used by those in professional occupations and for people looking to get into a professional occupation.

Prizhbilov talked about what exactly LinkedIn was and how to use it. She went over each individual section of a LinkedIn account so the audience understood how to use the website.

“I never even heard of LinkedIn before,” said Emily Wilkerson, 19, a communications major. “After this event and seeing how LinkedIn can be used professionally to help me get a job, I think I will make one right away.”

Different types of networking were discussed, as well as the five best ways for someone to look for a job. The number one way to look for a job is to ask around for job leads from friends and family, Prizhbilov said.

“The fact here is, 80 percent of jobs are never even posted,” Prizhbilov said. “Because they are taken by people who know someone, so they get hired right away.”

Prizhbilov also talked about how to introduce yourself correctly and how giving the right first impression is important. The first step was to introduce yourself by first and last name.

“I hate introducing myself by my first and last name and was shocked to see that we should mention our last name,” said Kristen Bierdeman, 21, a business major. “My last name sounds funny and some people have a hard time pronouncing it so I hate to even say it.”

The event also talked about different ways for people to get help when it comes to job searching and networking.

“Be the person who is the connection,” Prizhbilov said.

There will be another workshop held on Nov. 15 at 2:30 p.m in the same room on the topic of “Looking for a Job,” highlighting finding on and off-campus jobs.