“If you are on social media, and you are not learning, not laughing, not being inspired, or not networking, then you are using it wrong.” ― Germany Kent
Are you a college student who has lately been hit by the stark reality of the working world? Are you facing a quarter-life crisis as you don’t know where your life is headed? Do you feel like you haven’t done as much and that your classmates have already accomplished a lot? Yet still, all you do is jump onto Instagram and scroll through memes after memes while constantly adding things to your to-do list and reaffirming that Mondays are for new beginnings, are we right or are we right? Well, you don’t have to feel like a lost soul in the corporate crowd anymore, allow us to help you kickstart your journey towards improvement. Have you heard of LinkedIn or are you someone living under the rock? Put simply, LinkedIn is to career-driven professionals what Bumble/Tinder is to hopeless romantics! Setting a LinkedIn profile can be a daunting experience so here we are to help you with setting up your profile:
The Importance of Profile Picture
Remember all the aesthetic photographs you have uploaded on your Instagram or the photographs with your cute pets? Those are exactly what we don’t put up on LinkedIn, a’right?. LinkedIn is a professional platform and requires a professional photograph. Now that doesn’t mean you resort to those passport size ones; here’s what you gotta do- Put on your formals Comb your hair neatly; don’t leave them shabby Choose the right posture Smile a little or keep the expression natural Do not over-edit
The Headline
When you pick up a newspaper, you glance at the photograph first and then the headline. That is exactly how LinkedIn works. The better the headline, the better the chances of you getting noticed. Mentioning your current institution/workplace will make you noticeable. Why fit in when you were born to stand out? Try setting up your headline in the following simple manner: Current Institution| Any role you play in college| An extracurricular you are good at (Example: Content Writing/Digital Marketing, etc.)| Some job role you’re interested in Try keeping it short and crisp and avoid using lame clichés like ‘Coding Ninja’ or words like motivated, responsible, etc. Remember, it is your hook to get people to visit your profile too!
The Summary
This is the field to put in your best efforts and come up with something great! Consider this as your cover letter and now try to write it. Avoid writing in the third person and do not make it tedious by mentioning irrelevant details. But don’t forget to include your qualifications, internships, hobbies and skills. If you are looking for an internship, mention that!
Pro tip: Include the keywords that recruiters use to find the right personnel. Go with the well-known terms because this can help recruiters reach you.
Educational Qualifications And Experiences
It’s time to flaunt everything that you have worked hard for! Everything that you did to fill your resume and make yourself stand apart from the crowd. Mention your high school and college achievements, positions of responsibility, internships, and everything relevant. Don’t forget to mention the volunteer experience, if any. Add a short description of all the positions and qualifications mentioned to provide more clarity. Do not leave out any critical details but flaunt the necessary details only. No one wants to know what you did in junior year at high school but what you did 2 years ago in college holds importance.
Additional Profile Sections
Now that you have mentioned everything in your headline, summary, and experience sections, there are things that still go unlisted like all the skill enhancement courses you took or the honours and awards you received or exemplary test scores! If you got’em, flaunt’em!
Networking
The majority of the job openings are not advertised but posted by the current employees of the organization. So, how do you find the right job/internship/role for you? Network! This can feel like a mammoth task so let’s start small! Start by adding your friends, family, professors, and past colleagues and you’ll eventually find more people to network with. Choose quality over quantity. Follow people who create interesting content for learning and growth.
Pro tip: While sending a connection request to someone you don’t personally know but admire, add a personalized connection request message to increase the chances of your request being accepted.
Share your work
Don’t just mention, show! Sharing your work acts as an icing on the cake to all the experience mentioned. Written something great in the past? Share it. Have the bent of a storyteller? Create your online presence by sharing random anecdotes or something fascinating you experienced professionally. Doing that consistently can drive up your follower count!
Find Internships
As college students, we are always eager to find good internships. Go to the jobs section and set an Internship alert and get notified every time a new internship is posted!
Voila! Now that you have a one-stop guide to everything you need to know about LinkedIn, stop procrastinating and set up your profile now!