Why have a LinkedIn profile?
Having a LinkedIn profile as a high school student can provide many benefits that will help with future college and career goals. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 660 million users worldwide. While it’s primarily used by those who have already entered the workforce, a LinkedIn profile can give college-bound high schoolers a head start in making connections and showcasing achievements to potential colleges and employers.
Some key reasons high school students should consider creating a LinkedIn profile include:
- Getting a jump start on networking. By building connections with professionals in fields of interest, students can gain career advice, internship opportunities and mentorship.
- Showcasing achievements and activities. A LinkedIn profile allows students to highlight extracurriculars, leadership roles, special projects and honors that a college application or resume do not capture.
- Signaling professionalism and drive. Having an active, polished LinkedIn presence communicates maturity, initiative and preparation for college and career to admissions officers and recruiters.
- Gaining exposure to industries and companies. Following companies and thought leaders on LinkedIn gives insight into potential majors and career paths to explore.
- Discovering alumni. LinkedIn’s alumni tools help students connect with alumni from desired colleges and companies to learn about their experiences and ask for application advice.
With 87% of employers using LinkedIn to hire, having an early presence on the platform can help students get on recruiters’ radars before graduation. While LinkedIn requires users to be 14 and up, starting a profile freshman or sophomore year can be beneficial to make meaningful connections well before applying to colleges or jobs.
What to include in your profile
Crafting a strong LinkedIn profile for a high school student is similar to designing an effective college application or resume. You want to highlight achievements, leadership experience, talents and goals while maintaining a professional tone. Here are key sections students should focus on in their LinkedIn profile:
Profile photo
Choose a high-quality headshot of yourself dressed professionally. You want potential connections to easily recognize you and get a sense of your personality. Make sure to smile and have good lighting. Consider taking the photo in front of a plain background or an interesting location like a school activity.
Headline
The short headline under your name should quickly summarize who you are as a student and your goals. For example:
“High school junior seeking computer science degree – Chicago, IL”
or
“Future journalist excelling at Oak Hill High School.”
About section
Flesh out your profile summary with key details on your background, academic interests, extracurriculars, skills and future goals in 2-3 paragraphs. Share why you’re passionate about certain subjects or activities, and what you hope to study in college and achieve in your future career.
Experience
List any formal jobs, internships or substantive volunteer experiences you have with a brief description of your role and responsibilities. These show initiative and time management skills.
Education
Provide details on your high school, any honors or awards received, GPA if above 3.0, and graduation year. You can also mention academic interests here.
Accomplishments
Showcase relevant honors, awards, test scores, special projects or leadership experience that demonstrate your achievements. For example, Eagle Scout recognition, art competition awards, high SAT/ACT scores or spearheading a new school initiative.
Skills
Add keywords for your strongest competencies relevant to your goals. These could include foreign languages, programming, public speaking, graphic design, research, writing and other hard and soft skills.
Extracurricular activities
Highlight school clubs, sports teams, musical groups and other extracurriculars you are involved in. Share any leadership roles and special contributions you make through these activities.
Volunteer experience
Discuss any significant community service initiatives or volunteering roles you participate in outside of school requirements. These demonstrate social awareness and show colleges your values.
Recommendations
Ask teachers, coaches, employers, pastors or other mentors who can speak to your strengths for recommendations. Genuine endorsements of your abilities and character make a big impression.
Student media
Upload examples of your best work like articles written for the school paper, artwork, videos of speeches or performances, coding projects and other relevant samples. These provide evidence of your skills.
Things to avoid on your profile
While you want to make your LinkedIn profile robust and eye-catching, there are some things students should be cautious about including that may raise red flags.
- Unprofessional photos or attire in photos. Posting sloppy, provocative or inappropriate photos can immediately disqualify you.
- Immature or unprofessional tone. Any childish language or attitudes could make you seem less serious.
- Grammar and spelling errors. Check thoroughly for typos or other mistakes.
- Oversharing personal information. Don’t provide sensitive details like your address, phone number or birthday.
- Stretching the truth. Never lie or exaggerate about your experience or skills.
- Controversial opinions. Avoid any overly political, religious or radical statements.
- Negative descriptions of past experiences. Maintain a positive tone even when discussing setbacks.
The key is to project professionalism and maturity, so evaluate any questionable content from the eyes of a college admissions officer or company recruiter. Keep it clean and consistent with your brand as an ambitious student.
Growing your network strategically
The connections you make on LinkedIn can open doors to internships, mentors and other opportunities. But randomly adding everyone as a connection won’t provide much value. Here are tips on growing your network in a strategic way:
- Start with people you know well like family, teachers, coaches, employers and close friends. Ask them to write recommendations for you too.
- Look for alumni from your high school or desired colleges using the alumni tool. Reach out mentioning your shared background.
- Search for professionals in fields or companies you are interested in. Reference shared groups or interests in your connection request.
- Join relevant LinkedIn Groups based on location, school, interests and career field. Engage regularly.
- Follow companies you are interested in working for someday. Comment on their posts to get noticed.
- Consider paid LinkedIn Premium for advanced search filters and messaging credits.
- Personalize connection requests and follow up after connecting.
Quality connections that advance your goals are far more valuable than randomly amassing contacts. Target individuals who can provide industry insights, career advice and growth opportunities.
Engaging actively with your network
To gain the most benefit from LinkedIn, students need to actively participate after making connections. Here are impactful ways to engage:
- Congratulate connections on milestones like work anniversaries and promotions.
- Comment on connections’ posts asking thoughtful questions.
- Share relevant articles, resources and insights with your network.
- Recommend connections for opportunities you come across.
- Offer help to connections on topics you are knowledgeable about.
- Send personalized messages to introduce yourself and start conversations.
- Provide thoughtful recommendations for your connections.
- Reach out for informational interviews and career advice.
- Participate in LinkedIn Groups by commenting and posting.
By regularly interacting with your connections, you build rapport and keep yourself top of mind. This facilitates receiving support when you need recommendations, job leads and career guidance down the road.
Using LinkedIn to research colleges and careers
In addition to building your professional brand and network, LinkedIn provides powerful tools for researching colleges, companies and career paths.
Researching majors and careers
You can leverage LinkedIn to:
- Explore careers by title, company and location using LinkedIn Jobs.
- Research average salaries for roles using LinkedIn Salary data.
- Identify the top skills needed for your desired career using LinkedIn Skills Explorer.
- Find the colleges and universities that produce the most graduates in your intended major.
- Connect with professionals in your desired career to learn about their education and career path.
These insights help ensure you pursue the right major and career direction based on real-world data.
Researching colleges
You are able to use LinkedIn to:
- Connect with current students and alumni to get their perspectives on colleges you are considering.
- Evaluate how successful alumni are in careers by industry using Alumni Insights.
- Determine where graduates from specific colleges work using LinkedIn Alumni data.
- Assess the diversity of the student body using LinkedIn University Page demographics.
- Identify professors and potential mentors in your desired major to connect with.
LinkedIn provides transparency into real outcomes, network strength and program quality for more informed college selection.
Tips for an impactful profile
Here are some final tips for high school students looking to create a stellar LinkedIn presence that grabs attention:
- Show, don’t just tell. Provide concrete examples and proof of skills and achievements.
- Quantify accomplishments. Use numbers and data like 3.8 GPA or raised $2,000 for charity event.
- Include keywords related to your goals to help you come up in searches.
- Get creative with rich media like infographics, presentations and videos.
- Customize your LinkedIn URL to be your name for a cleaner look.
- Keep your profile updated regularly as you gain new experiences and accomplishments.
- Follow companies and join Groups to stay on the pulse of your industry.
- Engage consistently. Comment, post, like and share content with your network.
Invest time in growing your LinkedIn presence early. The work put in now can help catapult you closer to your college and career aspirations.
Conclusion
Creating a robust LinkedIn profile as a high school student allows you to get a jump start on making professional connections, exploring interests, showcasing achievements and gaining exposure to college and career options. Prioritize highlighting extracurriculars, leadership experience, awards and academic projects while maintaining a mature tone. Strategically grow your network by targeting relevant professionals, alumni and influencers who can provide value. Proactively engage with connections by sharing content, giving recommendations and asking for career advice. Leverage LinkedIn’s tools to thoroughly research majors, careers and colleges you are considering to make informed decisions about your future. Putting in the work early on LinkedIn can help propel your college admissions and career prospects to new heights.