At university, you may hear your lecturers nagging you to get on LinkedIn and “start building your brand.” This is a typical line for courses that produce creatives, medical, marketing, legal or business professionals (to name a few.)
Depending on your course, some don’t mention LinkedIn at all, but the platform is a useful tool for anyone currently employed or seeking employment. Here’s why students should jump on the app as soon as possible:
Branding
LinkedIn is a way to promote what skills you have gained so far as well as show people what interests you.
Connect with fellow coursemates and lecturers to build your network and then when you get braver, reach out to people that share similar interests or someone that is currently working your dream role.
Issy Newenham says in a piece for THG, “In an increasingly competitive job market, especially when it comes to Placement Year and Graduate Opportunities, personal branding has the power to become a student's secret weapon. As you take your first steps into the professional world, it is important to consciously consider how you want to come across, and the values you want to be synonymous with.”
She also shares that “It is an intentional and strategic practice, building the narrative of your professional life.”
Reach out to people
If you are looking for internships, LinkedIn is a great way to find these opportunities, especially if you want to work for a largely recognised company. Connect with employers that you share something in common with and don’t be afraid to ask them questions – the worst thing that can happen is you don’t receive a response (it’s not the end of the world!)
Even just talking to people about their career route can be enlightening and can help you decide which path you wish to take – possibly opening you up to the consideration of opportunities you hadn’t realised existed.
Follow brands that interest you, you never know you might even see them repost a role that is opening up!
Industry insights
Following groups that interest you, for example publishing groups, can allow you to meet like-minded people. It is also a great way to keep up to date with that industry and lots of group participants tend to share their own tips and experiences which can be handy!
Job roles and internships are sometimes shared within these spaces too.
Some groups also share workshops or events (free and paid) which can be great to add to your CV.
CV
Nowadays having a digital portfolio and positive online presence is essential for many jobs. LinkedIn can be added at the top of your CV as a link to your account and is a way to display your work as well as anything that you have managed to get published, and any courses or work experience you have completed.
All of this allows employers to gain further insight into what you are like as a person as well as what relevant skills you have that you can apply to the job role.
Jobs
On the app and web browser, there is a section dedicated just to finding jobs. The algorithm uses your interests (as well as your job search history if you have looked for jobs on LinkedIn before) to find the most relevant roles for you.
You can even apply via the platform using the quick apply option, if not, the ‘apply’ button will take you to the company’s site or give you details on how to send in your CV.
You can save jobs that you find interesting and apply to them later if you don’t have the time to do it right then too.
Getting started
You might not know where to start when it comes to your first couple of posts, or you might even think you have nothing to share – this is a lie, everyone has something interesting to share on LinkedIn that can provide some form of professional insight if worded correctly.
You could begin with posting about things that you have learnt about on your course that interested you – maybe a particular module sparked your newfound enthusiasm to go down a certain career route.
Don’t forget to post about skills you have developed whilst volunteering, during part-time jobs or work experience.
You’ve got this
Begin with building connections and following your interests and take it from there – good luck with your professional journey!
Find out how else you can become successful by making a few changes to your routine.
