Hey, it's Casey here from Student
Job Search, the online platform for
hiring emerging student talent like
you and me.
As a student or recent graduate,
hunting for your first job,
your LinkedIn profile is just as
important as nailing your CV.
Did you know that hiring managers
often look to LinkedIn when deciding
whether or not to interview someone
for the role?
Users with a complete LinkedIn
profile are 40 times more likely
to receive job interviews and
opportunities.
So today we're gonna go through your
LinkedIn profile from top to bottom
to help you get to the top of the
pile. This will cover tips
for a great professional profile
pic, then we'll look into
the key information you'll need to
include in your headline, summary
and experience sections so that
they're optimised and searchable for
recruiters and hiring managers.
Finally, we'll talk about
endorsements and recommendations,
why you should bother with them and
who you should ask.
All right, are you ready to make
sure that your professional digital
CV is up to scratch?
Let's get started.
First things first, record your
name so that prospective employees
know how to pronounce it correctly.
You can do the recording by viewing
your LinkedIn profile from the
mobile app.
Once there, click on the edit icon
and select ad name pronunciation.
Now you can record your name.
This is great for me because
sometimes I get called Casy
instead of Casey.
Let's talk about your profile
picture.
Remember, LinkedIn is a social
network, but it's different from
Facebook and Instagram.
Selfie profile pics are no-go,
and so are holiday photos, and one
where you are wearing sunglasses or
a hat or holding a beer!
If you need a photo for LinkedIn,
put a professional outfit on and ask
a friend to take a few snaps of you
against a neutral wall with a good
quality camera or a smartphone.
Awesome. I think I have my new
professional photo to upload now.
Time to talk about the headlines.
If your LinkedIn profile were an
essay, then your headline would be
your statement, it should be clear
and concise and basically sum up who
you are professionally in 120
characters.
So as a student or a recent
graduate, use your headline to show
that you're looking for a role, but
avoid generalised statements like
'actively looking for work' or
'recent graduate looking for
opportunities'. Instead use
keywords related to your preferred
industry and your headline.
That way you'll be able to more
likely show up in a recruiter's
search.
Some examples of headlines might
include 'marketing specialists -
seeking internship', 'bachelor of
science student majoring in
chemistry - aspiring lab researcher'
or 'BComm majoring in economics -
seeking a finance role'.
I've just completed my degree in
environmental studies and I would
love to work in conservation and
sustainability.
I'll change my headline to
'Environmental studies graduate -
aspiring to make a difference in
conservation'.
Okay, I've got my headline covered.
Next, let's look at your summary.
It's easy to be intimidated by this
section and a lot of people miss
out by not opting to include it.
However, a well-formed summary does
not only give you a complete
profile, but it also is a great
place to spark the interests of
potential employers.
In your summary, communicate your
key skills and recent
accomplishments.
For example, talk about just finish
your honours design degree and how
you've recently won an award for
that piece in your design portfolio.
Your summary section is also a great
place to describe your career or job
aspirations.
Approach this with a 'What can I do
for you' mindset.
Describe why you are uniquely
qualified to solve the problems for
the industry that you want to work
in.
The summary section is limited to
around 400 words, which seems
like a lot, but it will go fast.
Be thoughtful in the sentences that
you include and like a headline,
avoid generalised statements
or non-descriptive buzzwords.
A final tip for your summary, make
sure that you really capture the
attention in the first two lines
as LinkedIn cuts off your paragraphs
until the user clicks 'see more'.
Okay, my summary is written and
we can keep on moving.
On to the next section of your
LinkedIn profile, experience.
Your LinkedIn experience area is a
record of your previous roles,
responsibilities and achievements.
Think of it as a public searchable
record of your CV.
Now, if you've already written a CV,
then you've got a head start.
Use these details from your CV to
populate the descriptions for each
of your roles.
Keep in mind that this is another
great opportunity to include
keywords relevant to your industry,
which will help you become more
visible to recruiters and again
avoid any language that's too vague.
When updating the experience
section, make sure to link the
company, location and select
the right dates.
LinkedIn also allows you to include
links or images with your roles so
that you can add work samples, if
relevant.
If you don't have a lot of
experience yet, that's okay too.
One-off and casual work is all good
experience.
Perhaps maybe just under one general
heading with details of the industry
and the responsibilities that you
did. Make sure to include your
university achievements under the
education section.
All right.
My experience is up to date.
So the final sections that we're
going to look are the skills and
endorsement section and the
recommendation section.
Adding skills to your LinkedIn and
being endorsed to them as the
third-highest factor that makes your
profile appear in search results.
So it's worthwhile doing.
I recommend adding skills that are
relevant to your industry.
In my case, I'll add problem
solving, field mapping and
stakeholder engagement, as someone
that's going into environmental
studies.
Pin your most relevant skills is
your top three.
These will be featured on your
profile.
Once you've added skills, it's time
to collect endorsements.
The best way to do this is to
endorse former or current classmates
or colleagues and ask them to do the
same in return.
Now, let's talk about
recommendations.
Recommendations might seem hard when
you've got limited professional
experience, but think about all the
different people you've worked for.
Was there someone that you
volunteered for last summer or
a neighbour that you always pet sit
for?
Don't be shy about connecting with
these people or with your lecturers
and asking for recommendations.
Remember, they want to see you
succeed and are probably more than
happy to help.
You could send a message like 'It
would be really helpful if you could
provide a recommendation mentioning
that I was great with customers,
always arrived on time and was
responsible and reliable'.
Just make sure to say thank you.
And there you have it a top to
bottom look at how you can optimise
your LinkedIn profile and stand out
to hiring managers.
Let us help you land your next role.
Join Student Job Search, jobs on our
site are exclusively and
only for students.
It's fast and simple.
Just head to www.sjs.co.nz to
register, search and apply for
jobs where employers want students
or recent graduates like us.