How can LinkedIn help me?
LinkedIn is a global professional networking website. We would encourage you to join LinkedIn and build your professional profile while you’re still a student. It’s an invaluable tool and this is why:
- Research different jobs and career paths – see how your connections have forged their career
- Search for organisations by your preferred industry sector or location
- Connect with alumni around the world to get careers insight
- Join professional groups on LinkedIn – hear what people are talking about in the profession
Setting up your LinkedIn profile
Students have access to online courses through LinkedIn Learning which will help you set up your LinkedIn profile and learn how to build your network
Develop an effective LinkedIn profile that showcases your skills:
- Start by using your latest CV to add details of your qualifications and experience
- Add a headline that summarises the role you’re seeking
- Look how others in the sector are representing themselves online
- Refer to your career ambitions
- Include recommendations and endorsements from professional or academic contacts – you could ask for a recommendation from your dissertation advisor for example
- Include a head and shoulders photo that represents the image you’d like to show to employers–ideally looking smart, approachable and friendly
- Mention any extra-curricular activities or volunteering you’ve done outside of your studies
First steps once your profile’s set up:
- Make your profile public and customise your LinkedIn URL so it’s unique to you and makes your profile easy to find online
- Add existing contacts you have, from your friends and classmates, to part-time job contacts
- Join some LinkedIn groups – from sector groups related to your area of interest, to our alumni group, and geographical networking groups (e.g. for the city you’re looking to locate to).
- If you’d like to connect with someone you’ve never met before, always send a personal message introducing yourself and why you want to connect with them.
- Don’t directly ask for a job when networking. Ask for information and contacts and see where it takes you.
- Use the Alumni finder tool to discover what previous graduates from your course have gone to do. You can filter by location, industry and job role
We run practical sessions on developing your LinkedIn profile. To book onto one of these sessions, see TARGETconnect.