Charlene Burke, a marketing and training expert and owner of SearchbyBurke, presented on why it is important to use LinkedIn, personal branding and networking.

“Networking is meeting with people on purpose, with a purpose in mind,” Burke said.

She said networking is not just socializing. Burke also provided networking tips for introverts at job fairs. She recommended practicing ahead of time what you will say.

She recommends taking breaks after talking to your limit amount of people. Burke’s suggested strategy is to go find a place to recharge for a few moments, take deep breaths and then prepare yourself to return to have more conversations.

Burke suggested using the sites KnowEm and About.me to help you develop a greater online search presence.

“This will put you ahead of most students,” Burke said of LinkedIn. “Right now the statistic says that about 11 percent of active, in-college students are on LinkedIn.”

Burke said she has extensive daily activity on multiple social media platforms that use her name. However, when she recently completed a Google search of her name, her LinkedIn profile was the first result.

“It’s because LinkedIn is huge and according to Google, it is the place to have a profile,” Burke said.

Burke’s recommendations for LinkedIn connections included those you already know, alumni from your university, recruiters and human resources personnel. Burke recommended sending a personalized message with LinkedIn connection requests. She also recommended following companies.

“If you’re following a company, their social media manager is paying attention,” Burke said.