You’re looking for a simple and functional way to make the leap into the career industry. Perhaps your only source of media is Facebook, and maybe Instagram. This is not going to work. Five distinguishing and basic steps you can take to polish up your pro act is…

1. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is incredibly easy to make and the most important step in establishing yourself as someone who is interested in finding a career and networking.

2. A Decent E-Mail Address

You need to have one, maybe even two. If you’ve had your current e-mail address for over 10 years, it’s time to use one that resembles something mature and isn’t accumulated with spam. I strongly do not recommend using your school e-mail for e-mails that are not academic. I suggest some configuration or your name @ Gmail, Yahoo or AOL.

3. A Profile Picture

You can do it.

Choose an appropriate picture with your face that has substantial lighting. It’s not cool to be faceless, you appear sketchy to say the least. Entering the workforce means you’re ready to be noticed, especially as yourself.

4. Content

Whether you upload your resume, get Tumblr, make a Twitter account, or focus on YouTube- pick an outlet to get comfortable with and build it. When the internet was young, I started with Blogspot. If you’re ready to grab life by the horns I highly recommend starting with WordPress. (small tip: don’t be afraid to upgrade to a better color scheme or domain for appx $30)

5. Read the News

Not to be confused with watching the news, talking politics, or just reading what’s trending on Facebook. Read real news, some way, somehow. If you don’t have a twitter, get Feedly. Feedly is a great news aggregate that allows you to choose sources of news and media. You can opt to view a short summary without scrolling through a whole story. Also, don’t just focus on fashion and sports, even if that’s your main go-to. Try to incorporate a little variety. In the professional field, reading the news will help you seem aware, involved and mature. Because you’re well read, you can participate in conversations, if you want. If you don’t read the news, you won’t be able to participate in conversation because you can’t, you’re uniformed.

Best of luck!