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View from the top: Dan Nye, CEO of LinkedIn
E.K: You were a government major and are now leading a technology company.
D.N: My plan had been to go to Washington and get involved in the political world. I spent the summer between my sophomore and junior year on Capital Hill as a congressional intern for Les Aspin and I spent the summer between my junior and senior year working in New Hampshire for the Dukakus for President campaign. Through those experiences I came to the conclusion that the political world was not where I wanted to be. There was no comparison when I compared the skills I would develop in Washington to those that I would develop at Procter & Gamble. P&G made it very clear that they would challenge me, coach me, and invest in me. I did not know that I was excited about technology until I went to Harvard Business School where I found my passion. I came to the realization that I needed to work in high tech because it provided a chance to work in an industry that is changing the world and moves at a really fast pace. Of course, the pace has only accelerated since then. I spent the summer working at Dell Computer and came out to Silicon Valley just before the Internet boom that started in the mid 1990's.
E.K: When you talk to the student generation, what do you find most surprising about what we want in a job search?
D.N: The most surprising thing is that the younger generation does not understand how significant their professional networks actually are. They don't realize they have very valuable professional networks already in place. These are available through the connections they have and the people who are willing to open doors for them.
The second surprising thing is that many recent graduates don't appreciate the importance of building and maintaining their professional brand on the Internet. Many names will show up when someone does a Google search on their name, and sometimes it is not flattering. With LinkedIn you control your own professional image and we enable you to have a public profile so when a Google search is done, your LinkedIn profile shows up under your name. It is your representation of who you are in a professional context.
Current and recent graduates need to understand that in this world of open and available information, there are tools available � liked LinkedIn � to leverage and present yourself in a professional way.
LinkedIn is also full of great job opportunities and it allows you to find people who have worked at the hiring companies so you can check to make sure it is the right place for you. Of course there are lots of people who use LinkedIn to find candidates for positions. So, even if you have modest experience, it is important to have a rich profile to enable recruiters or managers to find you.
