LinkedIn can be an incredibly useful tool for students. It allows you to build your professional network, search for jobs and internships, connect with alumni, research companies, and showcase your skills and accomplishments. Knowing how to leverage LinkedIn as a student can help give you a leg up in your future career. In this article, we’ll explore different ways you can use LinkedIn while in school to help advance your professional goals.
Building Your Network
One of the most important things you can do on LinkedIn as a student is to start growing your professional network. These connections could potentially help you land internships, find job opportunities after graduation, and more. Here are some tips for building your network on LinkedIn as a student:
- Connect with classmates and other students at your university. Fellow students may be able to relate tips, opportunities, and insight. Stay connected after graduation too.
- Follow relevant companies and organizations. This gives you a glimpse into their work culture and any open positions.
- Connect with professors and faculty. They can be great resources for career advice or recommendations.
- Join relevant LinkedIn Groups and participate in discussions. Great way to meet professionals in your desired industry.
- Follow your university’s LinkedIn Alumni page. Allows you to connect with grads working at companies you’re interested in.
- Connect with friends and family members who are professionals. Tapping into existing connections is a great start.
- Follow companies you’re interested in working for after graduation. Allows you to learn about their culture.
Building up your connections while still a student allows you to start establishing a professional network that can support your career goals and growth.
Finding Internships
One of the most valuable ways to use LinkedIn as a student is to find great internships. Gaining professional work experience in your field before graduation can really boost your resume. Here are tips for using LinkedIn to land worthwhile internships:
- Customize your LinkedIn URL and headline. Include your major/field and that you’re an aspiring professional seeking experience.
- Browse internship listings in LinkedIn Jobs. Look for openings at companies that interest you.
- Follow companies you want to intern for. Doing so alerts you to any openings.
- Connect with current employees at target companies and ask about internship opportunities.
- Check company pages for their internship programs and openings.
- Search for and connect with alums who interned at companies of interest.
- Join relevant LinkedIn Groups and check for internship postings.
Using LinkedIn as part of your internship search provides access to opportunities you might not find on job boards or your university’s career site.
Showcasing Your Skills
In addition to networking and finding opportunities, using LinkedIn as a student allows you to showcase your skills, experience, and interests to potential employers and connections. Be sure to:
- Craft a detailed LinkedIn profile summarizing your background, academics, experience, skills, and goals.
- Include any on-campus activities, clubs, sports, or organizations you are involved in.
- List key course projects that demonstrate relevant abilities.
- Highlight volunteer work, internships, or extracurricular activities.
- Publish articles on LinkedIn to exhibit thought leadership and expertise.
- Get recommendations from professors, faculty, or past managers.
- Add media samples such as design work, writing samples, or presentations.
Properly filling out your LinkedIn profile signals to future employers that you are serious about your professional pursuits. It gives you credibility and exposure.
Researching Companies
LinkedIn is also a great resource for researching target employers. Using it, you can gain key insights into company culture, popular interview questions, salaries, workplace reviews, and more to find organizations that are a good fit.
- Follow Company pages to see recent updates, news, and posts.
- Check the Career Pages for open positions and get a feel for the hiring process.
- Read employee reviews and ratings on LinkedIn and Glassdoor to learn about corporate culture.
- Search employees by company and position to see backgrounds of those in roles you want.
- Join industry or alumni Groups related to the company to crowdsource opinions.
- Look at employee profiles for common skills/majors to see fit.
- Search interview questions other candidates have been asked.
Vetting employers before applying allows you to assess compatibility and fit. This ensures you apply to places you genuinely want to work.
Connecting with Alumni
Fellow graduates from your university who now work in your field can provide invaluable career advice and mentorship. LinkedIn offers an easy avenue for connecting with alumni from your school.
- Join your university’s LinkedIn alumni Group to connect with and message grads.
- Follow your school’s Alumni Page to see updates on successful alumni.
- Search alumni at companies of interest to ask for career tips and guidance.
- Check out alumni profiles for common threads, paths, and insights.
- See where alumni now work to identify companies that recruit from your school.
- Connect with alumni in your desired roles or organizations to hear their career journeys.
Tapping into the alumni network at your school can open doors and provide candid career advice and mentoring.
Following Influencers
Following thought leaders, executives, authors, and professionals in your industry provides exposure to cutting edge ideas, opportunities, and advice. Here are tips for following influencers:
- Search for authors of books/articles you find insightful and subscribe to their posts.
- Identify founders or executives at companies you admire and follow them.
- Look for professionals speaking about topics you want to learn more about.
- Follow professors, faculty, or teachers providing valuable lessons and perspective.
- Search trending hashtags or keywords related to your interests to find relevant voices.
- When you come across an interesting post or article, check out the author and potentially follow them.
Following thought leaders and experts provides a window into how professionals navigate and evolve in your field. It supports your lifelong learning.
Joining Groups
Groups on LinkedIn centered on specific professional topics, industries, interests, schools, and more enable you to gain information, access opportunities, and make connections.
- Search Groups by keyword based on your major, career interests, or target companies.
- Join Groups for extracurricular activities or affiliations you belong to outside of classes.
- Look for student Groups specifically for aspiring professionals in your desired field.
- Seek out industry/field related Groups to connect with current professionals.
- Join your university’s LinkedIn Group as well as larger student Groups.
- Follow Group discussions and ask targeted questions when beneficial.
Groups allow you to crowdsource information, learn about open positions, and meet like-minded professionals focused on the same field or interests.
Searching Jobs
Once you near graduation, LinkedIn becomes an excellent tool for surfacing available job opportunities suited to your situation and goals. Tactics for using LinkedIn Jobs include:
- Populate the Jobs homepage with targeted searches based on your preferences.
- Look for entry-level or new grad openings requiring your major or degree.
- Search by keywords, companies, location or other filters to narrow in on ideal roles.
- Turn on notifications for saved job searches so you’re alerted to new postings.
- Follow specific company pages to get notifications when they list openings.
- Connect with recruiters at target companies to express interest even when a specific role isn’t listed.
- Check Group discussions and announcements for open positions posted by members.
LinkedIn Jobs provides access to opportunities not always posted on public job boards. The advanced search and alerts enable a customizable passive job search.
Applying to Positions
When you do find an appealing opening on LinkedIn, make sure you put your best foot forward in applying through the platform. Follow these tips:
- Carefully review the job description and highlight in your application how you meet the requirements.
- Mention any connections you have to the company when relevant (i.e. alum, current employee connection).
- Have a version of your resume and cover letter optimized for applicant tracking systems.
- Write a unique cover letter for each application instead of a generic one.
- Follow up after applying by connecting or messaging employees at the company on LinkedIn.
- Sign up for LinkedIn Pro to view additional analytics on job postings and your application.
Putting effort into your LinkedIn applications gives you an advantage over candidates that hastily submit general materials.
Interview Preparation
After you land an interview from a LinkedIn application, the platform remains an invaluable resource for getting ready.
- Research your interviewers by looking at their LinkedIn profiles for talking points and relatability.
- Look at employee profiles to identify commonly required skills and popular qualifications at the company.
- Search interview questions other candidates were asked.
- Join relevant alumni or company Groups to crowdsource sample questions.
- Review the LinkedIn company page, news, and updates to be familiar with their current priorities and projects.
Preparing for exactly who will interview you and leveraging networks yields specific insights you wouldn’t get from generic internet searches alone.
Following Up Post-Interview
LinkedIn also enables you to easily follow up with your connections after an interview to further advance your candidacy.
- Connect with the people who interviewed you on LinkedIn if not already connected.
- Send thank you messages re-emphasizing your interest and qualifications.
- Provide any requested follow-up items like work samples or references promptly.
- Ask connections at the company for updates or tips for moving forward.
- Share relevant articles or posts to stay engaged with your interviewers.
- Inquire about the possibility of connecting for an informational interview to learn more about the company.
Following up after your interview can leave a lasting positive impression with your interviewers well after the interview itself is over.
Conclusion
Using LinkedIn to maximum advantage as a student provides a wealth of opportunities to grow your network, find positions, conduct research, and begin advancing your career years before graduation. By crafting a stand-out profile, applying tips in this article, and actively engaging with the platform, you will graduate with robust connections, desirable experience under your belt, and a head start pursuing your professional goals. Consistent effort put into your LinkedIn presence while in school will pay dividends for your future.
