UPDATE
If you own the first edition of the book LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward, you may benefit from the following update to Chapter 18, page 215:
On page 215, toward the bottom of the right column, I mention, “additional things that your daughter has been carefully noting all this time on her LinkedIn profile.”
Your daughter may not yet have a LinkedIn profile, however. The reason? On June 7th, 2017, LinkedIn made changes to its user agreement that increased LinkedIn’s minimum age from 14 to 16. If you’ve been carefully following the book updates on this website, you’ve probably been keeping track of your daughter’s activities on paper — most likely in a spiral notebook.
Here’s what to do now.
Once your child turns 16 (or as soon as possible after that) help him or her to open an account on LinkedIn.com.
If you’ll open your copy of LAUNCH to pages 53-55, and you’ll see all my best instructions on how and why to get your child on LinkedIn at the earliest time that LinkedIn policy allows.
Remember, your child needs one place to keep track of all of his or her accomplishments, achievements, work experiences, school and scouting awards, scholarship awards, job shadowing experiences, and volunteer and service hours and experiences.
Your child will also benefit greatly by connecting to working professionals he becomes acquainted with as a teen. LinkedIn is a spectacular place to do that, now starting at age 16.
Photo by Sheila Scarborough
Don’t stop here! Get more helpful advice from Jeannie Burlowski in her book, LAUNCH: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward,
It’s a reference book, so nobody reads the whole thing cover to cover. Pick out what you need to read in it using the fast-paced, 10-minute video instructions here.
You can see hundreds of reviews of this book on Amazon by going to: bit.ly/burlowski
(Tell your friends.)
You can see why financial advising professionals love LAUNCH, here.
You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH, here.
Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1–3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it—especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
Take a step on this right now. Get regular, inspiring help from me—every Monday morning.
Subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter here. (You’ll especially want to do this so I can alert you to important FAFSA changes that will affect you in the future.)
Do you have very specific questions for me about debt-free college and career for your kids?
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Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com. You can follow her on Twitter @JBurlowski.