Students blog

If you haven’t created your LinkedIn account, it certainly is not too late to do so! Not many realize that LinkedIn is purely beneficial to your career, and online persona; it’s a great resource to contact recruiters, alumni, and countless other people you’ve come across professionally. Whether you’re creating your LinkedIn for the first time or updating your profile, here are a few tips to best utilize this platform to your advantage!

First Impressions

First and foremost, make a few simple updates your profile by adding a profile picture, headline, and bio. Although a professional headshot is ideal, any professional-looking photo or even a picture taken of you against a neutral background taken with your cell phone camera should suffice. If you have an iPhone, simply place the camera app in “Portrait Mode” to achieve a clear and focused DIY headshot! Add a headline with your current job/degree prowess, and there’s a solid start right there!

Next, add a bio in the ‘About’ section on your profile. This does not need to be any longer than 100-200 words, but it is nice to provide an introduction into yourself. Think about it as a condensed cover letter. Make sure there is a space for additional contact as well, such as your email address. You want your profile to look good and to make the lasting impression that is easily transferable to a contact at any point in the future.

Experiences & Activity

All jobs, internships, and volunteer activities can be listed here on your profile! While it is beneficial when you list associations and institutions with their own respective LinkedIn pages, any experiences that have made an impact on you that can be spoken about has its place on your page. An easy way to update this section is to copy and paste bullets from your resume or supporting documents into the description text box. It is also possible to rephrase a summary of the experience in paragraph format. If choosing the second option, make sure to keep it brief!

Education is also important to list in your profile. Any degrees or programs completed or in progress should be listed here. Your alumni network is vast, and this shows potential connections that you both have the institution in common, which helps to instill talking points.

Make Connections!

When meeting someone in class, a networking event, a coffee chat, or any other occasion involving a potential life connection, you may as well add them as a connection on LinkedIn! There is an option to leave a note when connecting if you would like to say thank you for their time, or simply remind them when/where you interacted. For any number of connections up to 499, the exact number is publicly listed on your profile. Once the threshold of 500 connections is made, then it is shown as “500+”. For that reason, it is not necessary to spend time connecting with numerous individuals. Once you get connected with your high school or college class, there will be hundreds already established within your network. Once connected, one’s profile is a “1st” connection when you are signed in.

It is also doable to reach out to secondary connections! When someone is one degree of separation from your profile on LinkedIn, they show up for you (and vice versa) as “2nd”, and any more degrees of separation away is “3+”. In this case, a 2nd connection can be made into a 1st connection when your mutual puts you two together, or by personally reaching out to the 2nd connection due to a dedicated interest.

Is LinkedIn Premium Worth the Cost?

Premium has a heavy cost to it, and thankfully this can be accessed via a free trial for each account. There are a few bonuses that come with this subscription, and from personal experience utilizing the free trial, I find it can be quite helpful when actively searching for a job or internship, but not necessarily year-round.

There is a yellow badge that appears next to your name on your profile to notify others of your premium access. Those with Premium can see who specifically is viewing their profile and receive metrics based on viewers. Up to five “InMail” credits are given, which allow for direct messaging to recruiters! This can be especially helpful when applying for sought after roles to place yourself above the standard application process.

All in all, I would say it is definitely worth taking advantage of the free trial when it will be useful for you to do so. From there, it is up to you to figure out when to continue having LinkedIn premium. Just make sure to turn off auto-renewal when you begin your trial!

LinkedIn is the top networking and job searching site. It’s free set up make it easy to make connections and get noticed by potential future employers. Try these tips and you’ll get your LinkedIn profile in top shape in no time!

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started! 

If you're reading this, then congratulations! You are an accomplished student accepted into college, or maybe you are currently an underclassman. Either way, this is a big step towards your future, and it was all your accomplishments thus far that led you to this point. Now that you made it to college, it is understandable to feel overwhelmed with the amount of people and excitement going on. There is one event in the beginning of the semester that can help lead you in the right direction to find your place in the daunting environment you're now a part of—and that is your campus’s organization fair.

Take it all in

Whether or not your school holds it as an in-person event, it will likely be an overwhelming experience. I remember a large tent, with tables managed by crowds of overenthusiastic students standing idly by their tri-fold boards. Our event was divided by a multitude of categories: Cultural organizations, Sports, Community Service, Greek Life, Major-specific, you name it! I found success in clubs relating to my heritage as a minority student, as well as business centered clubs as a devoted Finance student. Think about your interests beforehand, and glance over the map or list of clubs to ensure you get time to see anything you were curious about.

Remember to be yourself

It can be hard to learn more about all the clubs and activities your school has to offer when it's presented all at once. In an effort to try and get the most out of the event, I took pictures of the tabling for those student organizations that I was even somewhat interested in. This allowed me to look on their websites or email them if I have any questions. If something even remotely interests you, attend their first meeting and see what it’s all about! The key is to not feel obligated to commit to anything if you find that it isn’t for you. These extracurriculars should be your escape from the pressures of classes; something to look forward to during the week.

Become familiar with leadership

Once you find yourself acquainted with a club that sparks your interest, look into leadership opportunities within the executive board. While this feels too early for internal board positions, such as the President and Vice President roles, there can often be representative spots available for freshmen specifically. Those are yours to take! Having a leadership position allows you to cement yourself to the organization. Instead of being a general member, you will have some sort of control that makes an impact with the added responsibility. Then comes the opportunity to showcase your leadership on your resume, pointing out to recruiters that you are strengthening your soft skills, while working on something you are passionate about.

Make your commitments

At the end of the day, there will be many choices to where you can spend your time when not attending classes and studying in college. Taking on these extracurricular activities gives you a way to hold yourself accountable and make an impact that will last longer than your four years in undergraduate education. Decide what is best for you, and not for others. You will likely meet lifelong friends by engaging in mutual interests, so be on the lookout for those who want to get to know you. Once your find your home base, your college campus will go from an enormous, daunting place to a comfortable array of opportunities.

Pearson Students, when’s your school's activities fair? Will you be in attendance?

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog? If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started!