LinkedIn has done its part to make the search for a school a little easier by introducing its newest feature, University Pages.
According to the Huffington Post, the social networking site announced the new feature Monday. Normally a tool for budding professionals and a comprehensive online resume for employers to see, LinkedIn will now aid high school seniors in their college search.
Users, who must be at least 14 to create a profile, can now view a school's profile on LinkedIn. The profile will showcase features like the most common professional fields and companies that graduates tend to work for and notable alumni. It also contains various stats like total student body, year level, whether it is a private or public institution and more.
University Pages still follows LinkedIn's central purpose of creating interpersonal connections, spokeswoman Julie Inouye told the Huffington Post.
"We have all of this great insight and data because of the LinkedIn members that have gone to these schools," Inouye said.
The new feature is not a way for LinkedIn to make money, but it will expand its base and should also attract newer and younger users. University Pages will allow users to "like" a status update from the school and comment on posts, similar to Facebook.
As teens are spending more time online, LinkedIn is simply meeting teens where they are, acting as a third party between them and the schools.
According to the Wall Street Journal, LinkedIn's source of money comes primarily from its recruiting software. The software allows employers to review and contact job seekers' online resumes, but it costs recruiters $8,500 per year. Currently, LinkedIn is valued at $20 billion.
University Pages does not cost anything to the schools or to the user, unlike a premium account. However, if successful, it will add another dimension to the already impressive hold it has on the professional social networking market.
