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 16, pages 194, 195, 197, and 202:
On these pages, I’m recommending that your child (who’s just completed 10th grade) record his or her activities on a LinkedIn profile. On June 7th, 2017, however, LinkedIn.com changed its user agreement, increasing the minimum age for opening a LinkedIn account from 14 to 16. “Existing members who happen to be under 16,” LinkedIn says, “will be allowed to remain members and use our services.”
This minimum age change means a change in strategy for families who follow me.
1. If your child is age 14 or 15 and already has a LinkedIn.com account, no worries. Keep on using the clear, step-by-step LinkedIn strategies you’re learning about in LAUNCH.
2. If your child is age 14 or 15 and doesn’t yet have a LinkedIn.com account, simply keep track of his or her activities and connections on paper.
A spiral notebook will work, as long as you keep that notebook in a safe place and put a reminder in your own calendar to update it frequently.
3. Once your child turns 16 (or as soon as possible after that) help him or her to open an account on LinkedIn.com.
You might want to put a reminder about this on your personal calendar now.
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.