LinkedIn and PwC team up to help you map your career path

LinkedIn recently launched Career Explorer in collaboration with PwC US, one of the largest employers of college graduates in the United States. The new LinkedIn Career Explorer tool provides current college students with unique, data-driven insights to help them build their careers. Career paths are easily mapped out for students, based on aggregate paths that LinkedIn's 80 million members have taken before them.

Key functionality includes:

• Career Mapping: Explore the paths taken by professionals in various careers. Students can also save and create multiple career paths with Career Explorer.
• Connections: See who in your network can help advance your career within a certain field or company, and meet potential mentors.
• Statistics: Learn interesting facts and statistics about potential professions.
• Jobs: Career Explorer has a module that shows you not only relevant job openings, but also how you can use your network to secure or find more information about those positions.
• Follow Potential Employers: Career Explorer highlights the LinkedIn Company Profiles of potential employers. You can then "follow" those companies and receive updates about them in your news feed. The updates include job postings at the company as well as notifications when people get hired or leave the company.

Career Explorer is free and available immediately for students at 60 universities across the United States that are sources of talent for PwC. Current students enrolled at those 60 schools will see a "Career Explorer" link under the "Jobs" menu at the top of the screen when they sign in to LinkedIn. The availability of Career Explorer will be expanded to a broader LinkedIn membership over time.

For more career advice, visit my blog at HeatherHuhman.com.