36 answers
Christie
Student
Wellesley, Massachusetts
4
Questions
Asked
2989 views
What are some best practices for building a LinkedIn profile as a college student?
On a more specific note, should I include my role in an executive board for a student organization in the experiences section or in the volunteering section? #student #resume #job #career #college #linkedin
#job-search
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36 answers
Elizabeth Saulsbury
Brand Manager
8
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Elizabeth’s Answer
Aside from the great advice above, I would recommend being proactive about regularly checking LinkedIn just like you do any of your other social media accounts. Your activity (e.g. posts, likes, shares, etc.) will appear in your connections' timeline, and it will make a good impression if they see that you regularly engage with good content.
On that note, follow some reputable organizations on LinkedIn that are related to your field. For example, medical journals if you're pursuing a career in health care, or big and well-established ad agencies if you're looking for a job in advertising.
To answer your specific question, I would recommend including the student organization position in the Volunteering section, unless it was a paid role.
Hope this is helpful!
Start following reputable organizations on LinkedIn that are related to your field.
Visit LinkedIn several times a week.
On that note, follow some reputable organizations on LinkedIn that are related to your field. For example, medical journals if you're pursuing a career in health care, or big and well-established ad agencies if you're looking for a job in advertising.
To answer your specific question, I would recommend including the student organization position in the Volunteering section, unless it was a paid role.
Hope this is helpful!
Elizabeth recommends the following next steps:
Syed Ferdous
Program Manager
101
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Syed’s Answer
Hi Christie,
Great question! Nowadays your LinkedIn profile is a more elaborate digital resume, professional forum and sales tool all combined. As a college student, your extracurricular experiences should definitely go in your experiences section. The more substantial your contributions, the more impressive it looks. When you graduate, you can move these things to the Education section.
First off, pick a professional photo that is not a crop of a group photo or is otherwise low quality.
Your bio should be comprehensive enough that no one has to read your entire profile to know the gist of your background.
Don’t copy your resume word for word in the Experiences section. Expand upon what you have on your resume with more context.
Keep your volunteer experience limited to work related to nonprofits or charity.
Seek out feedback from your peers and current/former supervisors to get “Endorsements”.
Great question! Nowadays your LinkedIn profile is a more elaborate digital resume, professional forum and sales tool all combined. As a college student, your extracurricular experiences should definitely go in your experiences section. The more substantial your contributions, the more impressive it looks. When you graduate, you can move these things to the Education section.
First off, pick a professional photo that is not a crop of a group photo or is otherwise low quality.
Your bio should be comprehensive enough that no one has to read your entire profile to know the gist of your background.
Don’t copy your resume word for word in the Experiences section. Expand upon what you have on your resume with more context.
Keep your volunteer experience limited to work related to nonprofits or charity.
Seek out feedback from your peers and current/former supervisors to get “Endorsements”.
Doc Frick
Career Coach and Mentor
1037
Answers
California, CA
Updated
Doc’s Answer
Christie LinkedIn has become the go-to job search tool in today's job market for both employers and job seekers. It is mandatory to be on LinkedIn when 94% of recruiters are using it to search for and vet job seekers. And if they can't find you, they can't hire you. Since LinkedIn is so widely used you want to make sure that you have a professional presence. Your profile is your virtual business card. This is your face to the business world so let's make sure you are making a great first impression.
5 WAYS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE
PROFESSIONAL LOOKING HEADSHOT
You don't have to spend money on a professional photographer but you should look like a professional in your photo. This means a business suit or whatever is considered business appropriate for your company or industry. Avoid the cute photos from graduation day with your cap and gown or from your best friend's wedding reception. Save those for Facebook and Instagram.
DESCRIPTIVE HEADLINE
The headline is the line right below your name and is the next most viewed piece of real estate on your profile because this is the line that tells people what you do or what you want to do. So you want to make sure it is descriptive enough to catch the attention of a recruiter who is scanning profiles for the right candidate.
e.g.: "Marketing Major Seeking Position With Social Media Start Up."
It is important to keep this updated and use keywords that are relevant to the industry and role you want to be in. For clues as to what keywords to include look at the headlines of other professionals who have the job you want.
SUMMARY
having a great summary sets you apart from the average job seeker. Just like a cover letter, this is your chance to tell your professional story in a way that highlights why someone should hire you. It should sum up your experience and accomplishments as well as give a little taste of your personality.
EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
Christie what most people don't know is that by filling out your experience section completely you improve your position in LinkedIn search results. In addition to adding where you went to school and what you studied, you can also add your praiseworthy GPA, honors, awards, student executive board position, your volunteerism and your internships in chronological order starting with the most recent. You can also add the relevant classes you took, special projects you worked on, or competitions that you participated in. Don't be afraid to show off how hard you worked to get to graduation day!
Your experience is what gets you hired and just like your resume you want to have your experience descriptions tailored to your ideal job so list your student executive board position, your volunteerism and your internships in chronological order starting with the most recent.
Another great way to highlight your experience is to include a list of skills you want to be endorsed for. By listing your relevant skills this serves as another way to increase your chances of being found in search results.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In the land of social media, social proof is how you get people to believe how great you say are. And just like a product, a good recommendation can be the difference between an employer choosing you or someone else. The recommendation option is one of the features that makes LinkedIn more than just your online resume and it would be a waste for you not to take advantage of it.
Christie spend some time on this platform every day to discover new opportunities and get updates.
I hop this was helpful, If you have any thoughts or questions leave a comment below.
5 WAYS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE
PROFESSIONAL LOOKING HEADSHOT
You don't have to spend money on a professional photographer but you should look like a professional in your photo. This means a business suit or whatever is considered business appropriate for your company or industry. Avoid the cute photos from graduation day with your cap and gown or from your best friend's wedding reception. Save those for Facebook and Instagram.
DESCRIPTIVE HEADLINE
The headline is the line right below your name and is the next most viewed piece of real estate on your profile because this is the line that tells people what you do or what you want to do. So you want to make sure it is descriptive enough to catch the attention of a recruiter who is scanning profiles for the right candidate.
e.g.: "Marketing Major Seeking Position With Social Media Start Up."
It is important to keep this updated and use keywords that are relevant to the industry and role you want to be in. For clues as to what keywords to include look at the headlines of other professionals who have the job you want.
SUMMARY
having a great summary sets you apart from the average job seeker. Just like a cover letter, this is your chance to tell your professional story in a way that highlights why someone should hire you. It should sum up your experience and accomplishments as well as give a little taste of your personality.
EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
Christie what most people don't know is that by filling out your experience section completely you improve your position in LinkedIn search results. In addition to adding where you went to school and what you studied, you can also add your praiseworthy GPA, honors, awards, student executive board position, your volunteerism and your internships in chronological order starting with the most recent. You can also add the relevant classes you took, special projects you worked on, or competitions that you participated in. Don't be afraid to show off how hard you worked to get to graduation day!
Your experience is what gets you hired and just like your resume you want to have your experience descriptions tailored to your ideal job so list your student executive board position, your volunteerism and your internships in chronological order starting with the most recent.
Another great way to highlight your experience is to include a list of skills you want to be endorsed for. By listing your relevant skills this serves as another way to increase your chances of being found in search results.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In the land of social media, social proof is how you get people to believe how great you say are. And just like a product, a good recommendation can be the difference between an employer choosing you or someone else. The recommendation option is one of the features that makes LinkedIn more than just your online resume and it would be a waste for you not to take advantage of it.
Christie spend some time on this platform every day to discover new opportunities and get updates.
I hop this was helpful, If you have any thoughts or questions leave a comment below.
Thank You Angel. “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” – Elizabeth Andrew
Doc Frick
Morgan ☁ Lucas
@ runtcpip.com
18
Answers
Panama City, Florida
Updated
Morgan ☁’s Answer
Everyone has given great advice, so I'll add something else -
Learn how the algorithm works.
Links to articles are good, but they will penalize you for not keeping the content 'on' LinkedIn via shares, pinging people to the post, and hashtags.
Learn how the algorithm works.
Links to articles are good, but they will penalize you for not keeping the content 'on' LinkedIn via shares, pinging people to the post, and hashtags.
Anaya Kalawat
Network Engineer
3
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Anaya’s Answer
Hi Christie,
From my personal experience, adding a photo helps get your profile recognized more.
In the "About" section, you can precisely explain what is your education background and the career path or industry that interests you.
Do not forget to include your accomplishments and projects that you have taken up during college.
Try to add more skills related to the industry you might be interested in and it would be great if you can have peers or seniors endorse the same.
Also, I suggest you to add the student organization role as part of your experience.
Like any social media, use relevant hashtags when posting new content.
From my personal experience, adding a photo helps get your profile recognized more.
In the "About" section, you can precisely explain what is your education background and the career path or industry that interests you.
Do not forget to include your accomplishments and projects that you have taken up during college.
Try to add more skills related to the industry you might be interested in and it would be great if you can have peers or seniors endorse the same.
Also, I suggest you to add the student organization role as part of your experience.
Like any social media, use relevant hashtags when posting new content.
Chassidy Peete
Physical Therapist Assistant
1
Answer
Memphis, Tennessee
Updated
Chassidy’s Answer
In addition to Syed's Answer, you could break up your executive board experience into both sections. Place your specific role on the executive board in your experience section and in the volunteer section put community service you participated in with that organization.
Mike Cassidy
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
9
Answers
Vienna, Virginia
Updated
Mike’s Answer
Lot of good responses above. I would recommend the following in addition to enhancing your LinkedIN profile above as recommended by the previous answers.
1). Post Links to Articles in Your Field - Take articles that are relevant to your major/profession of choice and then take key parts of the article/paper and highlight why your LinkedIN followers want to read it. Many people post a link with no analysis, go the extra mile and add value. Once I started doing this two years ago I have increased my profile and connections by 5x.
2). Write a Article - I would focus on posting article summaries first before starting writing a post. Once you feel comfortable then write a short post on a topic of interest with references. This shows off your analytical and writing skills and will grow your network.
3). Connections - Do not connect with anyone and everyone, connect with people in your field and preferably people you have met in person. Going to Meetups on topics of interest is a great way to grow you network.
I think was you fill out your LinkedIN profile doing the above two items will really help establish your LinkedIN profile.
1). Post Links to Articles in Your Field - Take articles that are relevant to your major/profession of choice and then take key parts of the article/paper and highlight why your LinkedIN followers want to read it. Many people post a link with no analysis, go the extra mile and add value. Once I started doing this two years ago I have increased my profile and connections by 5x.
2). Write a Article - I would focus on posting article summaries first before starting writing a post. Once you feel comfortable then write a short post on a topic of interest with references. This shows off your analytical and writing skills and will grow your network.
3). Connections - Do not connect with anyone and everyone, connect with people in your field and preferably people you have met in person. Going to Meetups on topics of interest is a great way to grow you network.
I think was you fill out your LinkedIN profile doing the above two items will really help establish your LinkedIN profile.
Vaibhav Malankar
Program Manager
5
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Vaibhav’s Answer
Be sure to feature any/all experience you have working with and/or leading others. Employers are always looking for individuals who: (1) are self-motivating, (2) follow directions and (3) work well with others. Any experience you do can list articulating these skills will help make your resume stand out.
You should definitely, I include your role as an executive board member. That is very impressive. Be sure to explain what you did in that role to help future employers understand better. Hope this helps and good luck!
You should definitely, I include your role as an executive board member. That is very impressive. Be sure to explain what you did in that role to help future employers understand better. Hope this helps and good luck!
Sangameshwar Adaka
Manager
11
Answers
Attibele, KA
Updated
Sangameshwar’s Answer
Hi Christie,
Good Question. LinkedIn profiles should be as accurate as possible to ensure your CV is in line with it. As a student, you would not have much experience to add but need to have the following.
1. Good Photo
2. Summary
3.Extracurricular activities / Experience
4. Projects you have done / Interested subject.
5. Contribution to society
6. Education details
Revisit you profile and do modification to have accurate information.
Good Question. LinkedIn profiles should be as accurate as possible to ensure your CV is in line with it. As a student, you would not have much experience to add but need to have the following.
1. Good Photo
2. Summary
3.Extracurricular activities / Experience
4. Projects you have done / Interested subject.
5. Contribution to society
6. Education details
Revisit you profile and do modification to have accurate information.
Staci Birkendahl
Recruiting
3
Answers
San Jose, California
Updated
Staci’s Answer
LinkedIn is a great resource and tool to help build your online professional identity. Definitely include your extra curricular activities and personalize it a little bit too - make sure it is unique but remains professional. Join and be active in groups.
Rachel (Treat) Kennedy
Operations
4
Answers
San Jose, California
Updated
Rachel’s Answer
Looks like you've already gotten a lot of great advice already! As someone who currently works at LinkedIn, I would recommend checking out the "rock your profile" presentation for some quick tips on how to build a stellar LinkedIn profile! https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/marketing-solutions/agency/decks/Rock-Your-Profile---site-version.pdf
Check out "rock your profile" https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/marketing-solutions/agency/decks/Rock-Your-Profile---site-version.pdf
Rachel recommends the following next steps:
Absar Ul Farooq
Engineer
12
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Absar Ul’s Answer
Hi Christie,
Since everyone has shared their wonderful experience and advises. The only thing I would explicitly mention is to focus on recommendation sections, you can reach out to your peer groups, seniors, teachers, mentors for that.
It will surely help you to boost your linked in Profile.
Hope this helps :)
Since everyone has shared their wonderful experience and advises. The only thing I would explicitly mention is to focus on recommendation sections, you can reach out to your peer groups, seniors, teachers, mentors for that.
It will surely help you to boost your linked in Profile.
Hope this helps :)
Akshata Lingasur
3
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Akshata’s Answer
1. Add a decent Profile Photo.
2. Attention-grabbing Headline.
3. Professional Summary (Your summary should provide an introduction about you and an overview of achievements in academics and extracurricular activities. Also, describe what you’re skilled at)
4. Show off your Education and Emphasize your Volunteer Experience.
5. Showcase your Skills.
6. Display proficiency in Languages you know.
7. Add Certifications and Awards you’ve earned.
8.Highlight the Courses you’ve taken.
9. Share the Projects you worked on.
10. Connect with friends and professionals.
11.Share Industry relevant updates regularly.
2. Attention-grabbing Headline.
3. Professional Summary (Your summary should provide an introduction about you and an overview of achievements in academics and extracurricular activities. Also, describe what you’re skilled at)
4. Show off your Education and Emphasize your Volunteer Experience.
5. Showcase your Skills.
6. Display proficiency in Languages you know.
7. Add Certifications and Awards you’ve earned.
8.Highlight the Courses you’ve taken.
9. Share the Projects you worked on.
10. Connect with friends and professionals.
11.Share Industry relevant updates regularly.
Kari Bertsch
Recruiter
1
Answer
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Kari’s Answer
There is a lot of great information here. Dont forget about recommendations. Recruiters often read those. Even if you dont have a lot of professional work experience, think about mentors, teachers and perhaps some of the volunteer work you have done. Be sure its still professional and performance related 😄.
Ramya Nair
Consulting Engineer
17
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Ramya’s Answer
Few of the best practises for building a good linked in account include:
1.Add your photo so that you are recognised.Your photo helps people recognize you.Make sure you have a professional photograph.
2.Make sure your education and the experience which you have got so far is well documented and highlighted.
3.Highlight your strengths for eg: if you are good at soft skills,coding etc so that you would get the right recruiter's attention.
4.Display your achievements.
5.Make sure you write an informative headline.
6.Reach out to your seniors/teachers to get endorsements .
Hope this helps :)
1.Add your photo so that you are recognised.Your photo helps people recognize you.Make sure you have a professional photograph.
2.Make sure your education and the experience which you have got so far is well documented and highlighted.
3.Highlight your strengths for eg: if you are good at soft skills,coding etc so that you would get the right recruiter's attention.
4.Display your achievements.
5.Make sure you write an informative headline.
6.Reach out to your seniors/teachers to get endorsements .
Hope this helps :)
David Loi
Casino Marketing Executive Host
170
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
David’s Answer
Everything that you do that is worth letting the network know you should put, LinkedIn is like a cyber resume were a lot of professional people, company, employer and recruiter will stop by your profile and take a look at your experience(s) you have and maybe recruit you or ask you for some networking recommendation. LinkedIn, main purpose as I am seeing is networking with profession in your interest, field, future career and etc. but there is also a lot of employer, recruiter, company, organization as well is on LinkedIn. So it is not limited for you to put or not put your experiences you have plus it is like a online resume for other people to see or network with you.
Raghava Shyam Y
Network Engineer
3
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Raghava’s Answer
Hi Christie
Great Question!!! Its really important to build linkedin profile for a student. Here are the few tips for you.
Write an informative
profile headline.
Your headline is a short, memorable professional slogan. For example, “Honors student seeking marketing position.” Check out the profiles of students and recent alumni you admire for ideas.
Pick an appropriate photo.
LinkedIn isn’t Facebook. Upload a
high-quality photo (your profile will
be 7x more likely to be viewed) of
you alone, professionally dressed.
No party shots, cartoon avatars, or
puppy pics!
Show off your education.
Include all your schools, major(s)
and minor, courses, and study
abroad or summer programs. Don’t
be shy — LinkedIn is an appropriate
place to show off your GPA, test
scores, and honors or awards.
Develop a professional
Summary.
Your Summary statement is like the
first few paragraphs of your
best-written cover letter — concise
and confident about your
qualifications and goals. Include
relevant work and extracurriculars.
Fill “Skills & Expertise”
with keywords.
This section is the place to include
keywords and phrases that
recruiters search for. Find relevant
ones in job listings that appeal to
you and profiles of people who
have the kinds of roles you want.
Update your status regularly.
Posting updates helps you stay on
your network’s radar and build your
professional image. Mention your
projects, professional books or
articles, or events you’re attending.
Many recruiters read your feed!
Show your connectedness.
Groups you join appear at the
bottom of your profile. Joining
some shows that you want to
engage in professional
communities and learn the lingo.
Start with your university and
industry groups.
Collect diverse
recommendations.
The best profiles have at least one
recommendation for each position a
person has held. Recruiters are most
impressed by recommendations
from people who have directly
managed you.
Claim your unique
LinkedIn URL.
To increase the professional results
that appear when people search for
you online, set your LinkedIn profile
to “public” and create a unique URL
(e.g., www.linkedin.com/in/JohnSmith).
Share your work.
You can also add actual examples of
your writing, design work, or other
accomplishments on your profile,
where you can share rich media or
documents. What better way to sell
your skills than to show employers
exactly what you can produce?
Great Question!!! Its really important to build linkedin profile for a student. Here are the few tips for you.
Write an informative
profile headline.
Your headline is a short, memorable professional slogan. For example, “Honors student seeking marketing position.” Check out the profiles of students and recent alumni you admire for ideas.
Pick an appropriate photo.
LinkedIn isn’t Facebook. Upload a
high-quality photo (your profile will
be 7x more likely to be viewed) of
you alone, professionally dressed.
No party shots, cartoon avatars, or
puppy pics!
Show off your education.
Include all your schools, major(s)
and minor, courses, and study
abroad or summer programs. Don’t
be shy — LinkedIn is an appropriate
place to show off your GPA, test
scores, and honors or awards.
Develop a professional
Summary.
Your Summary statement is like the
first few paragraphs of your
best-written cover letter — concise
and confident about your
qualifications and goals. Include
relevant work and extracurriculars.
Fill “Skills & Expertise”
with keywords.
This section is the place to include
keywords and phrases that
recruiters search for. Find relevant
ones in job listings that appeal to
you and profiles of people who
have the kinds of roles you want.
Update your status regularly.
Posting updates helps you stay on
your network’s radar and build your
professional image. Mention your
projects, professional books or
articles, or events you’re attending.
Many recruiters read your feed!
Show your connectedness.
Groups you join appear at the
bottom of your profile. Joining
some shows that you want to
engage in professional
communities and learn the lingo.
Start with your university and
industry groups.
Collect diverse
recommendations.
The best profiles have at least one
recommendation for each position a
person has held. Recruiters are most
impressed by recommendations
from people who have directly
managed you.
Claim your unique
LinkedIn URL.
To increase the professional results
that appear when people search for
you online, set your LinkedIn profile
to “public” and create a unique URL
(e.g., www.linkedin.com/in/JohnSmith).
Share your work.
You can also add actual examples of
your writing, design work, or other
accomplishments on your profile,
where you can share rich media or
documents. What better way to sell
your skills than to show employers
exactly what you can produce?
John A. Steinhable
Paralegal
4