What is LinkedIn?

Think of LinkedIn as the professional version of Instagram. Although, instead of watching reels and posting about your last vacation, it’s all about showing off your skills, experience, and career goals. By creating a professional profile, you can also connect with classmates, professors, and professionals in your field, and use it to find internships, jobs, or learn about companies you may want to work for!

Tips & Tricks

Additional Resources

1. Choose the right profile picture

  • Make sure the picture is recent and looks like you
  • No long distance shots, make sure your face takes up 60% of the photo
  • Wear what you would wear to work

2. Customize your URL

  • Go to “Settings and Privacy”, select “Name, location, and industry”
  • Scroll down to “Edit contact info”, then change your profile URL

3. Consider making your headline more than just a job title

  • Use the headline to describe more about your role
  • Use keywords that draw employers attention to the field you are targeting

4. Use your About section to tell a story

  • Don’t just list skills, describe why they are important
  • Explain how you want to make a difference in your line of work

5. Connect with others

  • Grow your network by sending out connection requests with classmates, professors, and employers within your industry/major
  • Use the messaging feature to start a conversation with a recruiter or employer

6. List your relevant skills

  • Identify from the provided list of skills which ones you identify best with
  • Take the time to narrow down the key ones instead of creating a long list that doesn’t get to the core of who you are

7. Share relevant connect to your LinkedIn feed

  • After connecting with others, repost content that you think who add value to your profile
  • This also shows that you are active on LinkedIn

8. Don’t neglect the obvious

  • Make sure your contact information is accurate and up to date
  • When you have a change in employment, education or skill set, update your LinkedIn profile
  • Only use AI to generate ideas for your profile setup and summary, not as a way to produce your entire account