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7 LinkedIn tips for a recent high school or college grad
New to LinkedIn? Newly-graduated students may have used the platform before, but the game changes as the stakes increase after college.
Presenting a professional and friendly persona through your profile is vital to potential employers. Experience, interests and a great bio can all get you far.
We’re here with advice for graduates hoping to make a positive splash on their LinkedIn feeds. Whoever said social media won’t get you anywhere in life?
1. Create a well-written summary
You’ll want something attention-grabbing but nothing too out there. Introduce yourself honestly and briefly describe your desired role and what you have to offer. Be sure to check for typos and punctuation!
2. Specifics, specifics, specifics
Don’t just leave it at your alma mater and cover letter. Each experience can and should be supplemented with details regarding what you’ve done in previous roles and how you grew.
For example, include skills acquired and the duties you were responsible for in previous work experience entries. Who are you, and what do you do?
3. Use a professional profile picture
We recommend adding a photo featuring you in your perfect interview outfit. According to LinkedIn, profiles with professional headshots may receive up to 14 times more attention from employers.
You may not even need to spend a bundle. One idea would be to dress up and ask a friend with a great camera to take a few shots. Smile!
4. Capitalize on your experience
This may not always be easy, especially if you’re a recent high school grad. Still, you might be able to use different forms of enrichment to express who you are and where you hope to go. Your new degree should be added to your profile. What else?
Internships, retreats, volunteer opportunities, certification courses you’ve taken, and special projects can make you stand out. Of course, if you have suitable work experience, you should also share this.
5. Think of relevant skills to add
The Skills section is a valuable way to describe what you’re great at. Start with what you can think of on your own, then find more that others are using.
Look at the profiles of other people who work in your desired field to find suggestions for skills for various roles. Profiles like these can show where your current skills may be lacking.
6. Research other profiles in your industry
As mentioned, other profiles can inspire newly graduated students interested in putting their best foot forward on LinkedIn. You can type in the role you want to land and find many successful professionals and their bios.
Emulate what you see working well. You’ll also find some inspirational posts from many of these professionals, which are fantastic in and of themselves.
7. Label yourself clearly with a descriptive headline
Finally, one of the most overlooked LinkedIn tips for grads — using a great headline. It’s one LinkedIn feature that lets you join your field publicly. It can even help you network with others.
Your headline allows potential employers to identify you by your role immediately. It’s also an SEO tactic to bring recruiters to your profile. Get ready for the career of a lifetime!
Small business tip: Find your next great employee
Sure, you can post on a free job board like Craigslist. Those sites can attract many candidates, but you won’t necessarily get the right ones. When you need to hire someone, you don’t have time to wade through many resumes that don’t fit the job.
It’s a ton of work sorting through all that, and you might not find anyone who fits the job description.
That’s why you should use LinkedIn Jobs instead. It can help by matching your role with qualified candidates to find the right person quickly. LinkedIn screens for skills, and you can use different tools to narrow your search. It is so much less work. Visit LinkedIn.com/Kim and post a job for free. What do you have to lose?
Tags: camera, Feature, network, social media
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