LinkedIn for beginners

LinkedIn

for beginners

These days your online presence isn’t complete without a LinkedIn profile, and you might have been thinking about it for a while, without knowing where to begin.

Follow our four steps to get started:

1Think of LinkedIn as an online CV Use the headline to summarise who you are and your career goals, and then add your education and work history to build a picture 3 of your knowledge, skills and experience. Don’t forget to add a professional photograph to help your profile stand out.

2Build your network First of all connect with friends and other students from your course. Add in your lecturers and, if you have a part-time job or volunteer, your manager and colleagues. If you 4 speak to an employer at a careers fair or event, follow up afterwards with a message and request to connect.

Explore your interests

Search groups for the sectors you are interested in working in and request to join. You can also search for companies, and follow them. You’ll gain great insight into industry trends and company updates, which is invaluable when working on an application, or preparing for an interview.

Find job opportunities

Try LinkedIn’s Job Search tool to find advertised vacancies, and set up alerts so you don’t miss out on any opportunities. You’ll also see posts from individuals to say their company is hiring, or see vacancies listed in company posts, so use a range of channels to help your search.

Aashna Khan

Second year MSci Biotechnology

How I approach professionals to expand my network

"Having a regular step-by-step process to follow has not only helped me make some great connections but also removed a lot of the worry and stress. ■ Start by reading about new and relevant research in your field of interest ■ Design some well-researched questions to ask the author. Contact the paper’s author by sending a personalised LinkedIn invite message, highlighting that you've read their paper and would like to talk to them more about it ■ At the end of the conversation, ask if they have any advice for new graduates who want to get into this type of work. I’ve found this an invaluable way to gain great insights that I wouldn’t have been able to elsewhere and has really helped me with knowing how to find good opportunities ■ Thank the person for their time and, if appropriate, keep them updated with the progress you make and how beneficial it’s been putting their advice into practice"

Read Aashna's blog post

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