How to build a LinkedIn student profile

Building a LinkedIn student profile doesn’t have to be daunting. It also doesn’t have to be done all at once. I spent a good few months curating information about myself that I wanted to show in the spotlight. Think of it like a gallery space all about you! If you have an Instagram, think about how over time your profile probably changed. Cringey bios were replaced with slogans, institution affiliations or links to your side hustle endeavours. I think of my LinkedIn as the parts of my instagram that I wouldn’t block my parents or boss from seeing. Let’s dive into the four key areas that are crucial to building a LinkedIn student profile, areas that are bound to keep developing into your academic and professional career.

1. Building up experience

I cannot stress this enough. No one cares that you worked in a cafe when you were 15. While building a LinkedIn student profile, I saw I had the clunkiest experience section, listing every cafe or restaurant I did a  few months in. I got nothing against the hospitality industry, we have all been there. A lot of us as students are still there doing the afternoon shift at Costa after lectures. When it comes to the way your public profile is viewed, employers want to see your most recent and most RELEVANT experience. Don’t put your passion projects on the back burner. No one said it has to be paid experience, so have a go making use of all the different sections for work, volunteering, [self]published works, personal projects. Those studying law are not ‘lawyers’ yet. Your fellow STEM friends aren’t ‘engineers’ yet (hug your STEM friends every now and then, they need it). What we are as students are contributors! Any contribution to the field is a big part of building a LinkedIn student profile. Committee members, campus event volunteering, self- proclaimed freelance titles such as “blogger”, “photographer”, “columnists” for my creatives and journalists. Put it all in there. Don’t be perturbed by the section that asks how long you ‘worked there’ for, the point is you did something and put yourself out there. Don’t sell yourself short just because you think paid work like hospitality and retail work is the only things that counts.

2. Making connections

The key to making connections is your initiative and intention. Request everyone that is even the slightest bit related to your field. Hiring manager at publishing house? Connect! Director of internships at law firms or research lab? Connect! There’s a 2010s Facebook boomer within us all, so ‘poke’ people, don’t be shy. I want to be friends with everyone. Building a LinkedIn student profile is much more of a free reign platform. For example, on Instagram I would never just request a random person unless I know something somewhat about them or if we have mutual friends. LinkedIn is the universe where any possible connection or just a shared interest is enough to justify a request. The more the better.  The best place to start building a LinkedIn student profile is through your institution. Looking for current students, your friends, course mates and alumni. If your feeling extra brave, go seek out your lecturers and TA’s. I am connected with all my TAs so far and I have found it useful when seeng their progress and journey in life after uni. Look at companies that come up as relevant, look into their employees, look into people at your current job if you have one. When building a LinkedIn student profile, make connections that are aspirational and meaningful, even if right now it seems like fantasy. LinkedIn themselves share an info page on all the technicalities of building your profile, such as profile picture advice and how to build professionalism.

4. Crafting the feed

Once you have sorted through your profile and connections, your feed should start adjusting to show relevant aspects of the field you are trying to insert yourself into. Following companies, organisations and institutions is also a big part of the connections aspect. Making use of the following feature is key to building up your student profile and keep it up to date. My favourite thing to do to keep my feed stimulating is to joining community groups. I have joined groups for young writers, journalist associations, public sector and charity committees. Interacting with these posts and giving your two cents on a topic is the best way to keep your feed rolling. No question is a silly question, even if you think you already know the answer. It shows you are making use of the affordances of the platform to build up your student profile. Posting yourself is a great way to fore front your identity as someone who is ambitions and inquisitive about your career progress. My favourite way to post is simply when I publish a new article, I circulate a link with a little caption explaining the project. I am getting more into using the poll section, don’t be discouraged if you get two or three responses and they’re all from your uni friends. It is your way of interacting with a wider platform base and crafting your feed. Showcasing yourself as an active member of a dialogue is the best way to keep your feed well… feeding you!

5. The power of the direct message

I think I saved the best for last, so I’ll keep it short and sweet. Send that message. I have written in the past about the Excel spreadsheet when prepping for second year of university. My most recent one is full of companies, people or authors I had messaged. I tracked what I asked them for, be it an opportunity, work experience, a question about a job posting or general advice. I tracked their response, their contact info and any leads they gave me. Nine times out of ten, I got a response. Even if it isn’t exactly what you want to hear, its all about progress when building a LinkedIn student profile. You’re not just building that list of skills and experience, you’re building a persona to stick with others. Having the chance to at least pass on your CV, have a fruitful conversation with an elder more experienced person, or express a follow up in a lead is all done through the power of the direct message. It is definitely a skill of confidence and communication. Wording and politeness is a huge aspect of not coming off as too presumptuous, but don’t be afraid to ask for help! There is nothing to lose from sending a well-worded message and expressing an interest. The worst that can happen is they say no or don’t reply. Thank you, next! You got this my fellow networkers, it’s a lot to take in. It doesn’t have to be done all at once. Remember your other social media platforms build themselves up as we go along. Algorithms adapt and change depending on what we want and what we need from the communities around us. Viewing LinkedIn as a community to grow in your aspirations or introduce you to something new is the mentality that will lead you to build the strongest student profile. It’s worth noting, LinkedIn also have a variety of course to help boost your skills. Make sure you check all the different online courses that can help you land a job.