What High School Seniors and College Students Should Know About Creating a Professional LinkedIn Account
Creating a LinkedIn account can be a great way …
… to build a network, showcase skills and experiences, and explore career paths.
There are several reasons why high school seniors and college students should create a professional LinkedIn account:
Networking: LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool that allows students to connect with professionals and experts in their fields of interest. By building their network on LinkedIn, students can gain insights, knowledge, and potentially find job or internship opportunities.
Branding: A LinkedIn profile can be an important part of a student's personal brand. By creating a strong profile, students can showcase their skills, experiences, and achievements to potential employers and collaborators.
Job and internship search: Many companies use LinkedIn as a recruiting tool, and having a strong profile can increase a student's chances of being discovered by a potential employer or internship provider.
Career exploration: LinkedIn can also be a valuable resource for students who are still exploring career paths. By following companies and professionals in various industries, students can learn more about different career paths and gain insight into the skills and experiences required for various roles.
Overall, creating a professional LinkedIn account can be a great way for students to build their networks, showcase their skills and experiences, and explore career paths.
When creating a professional LinkedIn account, students should be sure to include the following:
A professional profile photo: A high-quality headshot in professional attire with a plain background. This will help to make a good first impression on potential employers and collaborators. There are a near limitless availability of instructional guides through a simple Google search of how to take a LinkedIn profile pic (headshot), whether they do it theirself (DIY) or have it taken professionally.
A strong headline: A headline that captures their career goals or highlights their skills and experience. For example, "Aspiring Data Analyst with strong analytical skills and experience in statistical modeling."
A summary of their skills and experience: A brief summary of their skills, experience, and career goals. For example, "I am a recent graduate with a degree in Computer Science and a passion for software engineering. I have experience in Java, Python, and web development, and I am seeking an entry-level position in software engineering."
Relevant work experience: A detailed list of their work experience, including job titles, companies, dates of employment, and a brief description of their roles and responsibilities. This will help to showcase their experience and skills to potential employers.
Education: A list of their educational background, including the degree(s) earned, the institution(s) attended, and any relevant coursework or academic achievements.
Skills and endorsements: A list of their skills, including both hard and soft skills, and endorsements from their connections. This will help to showcase their skills and expertise to potential employers.
Volunteer work and extracurricular activities: Any volunteer work or extracurricular activities that demonstrate their skills, leadership abilities, and commitment to their community.
Be Transparent about Their Student Status
It is perfectly acceptable to reflect that they are still a student on their resume and LinkedIn profile. In fact, it is important to be transparent about their current student status, as this can help potential employers to understand their background and level of experience. Here are some ways to reflect their student status on their LinkedIn profile and resume:
Education section: In the education section of their resume and LinkedIn profile, include information about their current academic program, degree, and expected graduation date. They can also include relevant coursework or academic achievements.
If they have an objective or summary statement at the top of their resume or LinkedIn profile, they can mention that they are a current student pursuing a particular career path or goal.
If they have attained relevant work experience, indicate that they were a student at the time of the experience and highlight any relevant skills or accomplishments.
By reflecting their current student status, they help potential employers to understand their background and level of experience. It can also demonstrate that they are actively working towards their career goals and committed to learning and growing in their field.
Include Eagle Scout accomplishments
Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a significant accomplishment that demonstrates a range of valuable skills and qualities, such as leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and dedication. It can be beneficial for several reasons:
Demonstrating leadership: The Eagle Scout award requires that a candidate complete a significant service project that demonstrates leadership skills. Including this accomplishment on a LinkedIn profile or resume can help to demonstrate leadership abilities to potential employers.
Highlighting dedication: Earning the Eagle Scout award requires a significant amount of dedication, as it typically takes several years of commitment and hard work. Including this accomplishment on a LinkedIn profile or resume can help to demonstrate a strong work ethic and dedication to achieving goals.
Showcasing relevant skills: The Eagle Scout award involves a range of activities and experiences that can help to develop a range of skills that are valuable in the workplace, such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. Including this accomplishment on a LinkedIn profile or resume can help to showcase these skills to potential employers.
Demonstrating character: The Eagle Scout award is often seen as a reflection of an individual's character, as it requires a commitment to living by the Scout Oath and Law. Including this accomplishment on a LinkedIn profile or resume can help to demonstrate strong moral character to potential employers.
Overall, including Eagle Scout accomplishments can help to showcase valuable skills, qualities, and experiences that can be beneficial in the workplace.
Keep their LinkedIn profile and their resume in sync
While they can create a multiple versions of their resume, especially if they want one that is targeted to a specific job or prospective employment opportunity — it is important to keep their resume and LinkedIn profile synchronized. Employers often use both of these artifacts jointly to learn more about skills, experiences, qualifications, and attention to detail.
Consistency: When their resume and LinkedIn profile are consistent, it helps to demonstrate attention to detail and professionalism. Employers may be less likely to consider them as a candidate if they notice discrepancies between one’s resume and LinkedIn profile.
Completeness: Their resume and LinkedIn profile should contain similar information about education, work experience, skills, and accomplishments. Keeping both documents in sync ensures that they don't accidentally leave out important details that could be relevant to potential employers.
Searchability: Recruiters and hiring managers often search for candidates using LinkedIn's search functionality, which looks for keywords and phrases that match their job requirements. When the LinkedIn profile and resume contain similar information, it makes it easier for recruiters to find them.
Efficiency: When one’s resume and LinkedIn profile are in sync, they can save time and effort by using the same information for both documents. This can be especially helpful if they are applying to multiple jobs and need to tailor their resume to each position.
It is important because it helps to demonstrate their professionalism, completeness, and attention to detail, and can improve their chances of being considered for job opportunities.
“Begin building a professional network by connecting with family friends, neighbors, church members, scout leaders, and teachers. This is especially important when one is just starting out in their career.”
Here are some reasons why:
Expanding their network: By connecting with people they know, they can start to build a network of professional contacts who can offer advice, support, and potential job opportunities.
Establishing credibility: When they connect with people they know, it can help to establish their credibility and reputation within their network. This can be especially important when one is just starting out in their career.
Building relationships: LinkedIn is a professional networking platform, but it's also a social platform. By connecting with people they know, they can start to build relationships that should lead to new opportunities and connections down the road.
Learning from others: Connecting with family friends, neighbors, church members, scout leaders, and teachers can provide valuable insights and advice about career paths, industries, and job opportunities.
When building their LinkedIn network, it's important to be thoughtful about who they connect with and to make sure that their connections are relevant to their career goals. so, starting with people they know can be a great way to get started and build momentum as they start to establish theirselves in their chosen field.
When creating a professional LinkedIn account, there are a few things that one should avoid:
Inappropriate content: One should avoid posting anything on their LinkedIn profile that could be considered inappropriate or offensive, such as controversial political or religious views, personal rants, or inappropriate images.
Inaccurate information: Ensure that all the information on their profile is accurate and up-to-date. This includes their work experience, education, skills, and achievements. Providing false or misleading information can damage their professional reputation.
Unprofessional profile and cover photos: Students should choose a professional-looking profile photo, as first impressions are important. Avoid using selfies or casual photos, and instead opt for a headshot with appropriate clothing and a plain background.
Lack of engagement: LinkedIn is a social networking platform, and students should engage with their connections by commenting on posts, sharing relevant content, and messaging people in their network. A lack of engagement can make it harder to build relationships and grow their network.
Using LinkedIn like other social media platforms: LinkedIn is a professional platform, and should not be used in the same way as other social media platforms. Students should avoid sharing personal information or posting content that is not relevant to their professional life.
Do not litter their LinkedIn career history (or resume) with ‘clutter’
It is generally not necessary to list every part-time or temporary job that a person has held on their LinkedIn profile (or resume), especially if they are not relevant to their career goals. Instead, abbreviate or summarize work history during that period in a couple of lines. Here is an example:
"Summer jobs during college (2018-2021): Worked various part-time jobs to support myself through school, including retail sales associate, fast-food restaurant crew member, and office assistant. Responsibilities included customer service, cash handling, and data entry."
By summarizing these jobs in this way, the individual is acknowledging their work history during that period without going into too much detail. This information can still be valuable to potential employers, as it demonstrates their work ethic and ability to balance multiple responsibilities. However, the focus of their profile or resume should be on their relevant work experience, skills, and accomplishments.
By avoiding these common pitfalls, high school seniors and college students can create a professional and engaging LinkedIn profile that helps them build their network and showcase their skills and experiences to potential employers and collaborators.
Avoid overly formatted resume templates
Simpler and more basic formats are often easier to read and more accessible for applicant tracking systems (ATS) that many employers use to screen resumes. Also — what may look good to you, may be considered busy or distracting to the employer.
Reasons why basic is better and why you should limit boxes and borders on one’s resume:
Simplicity: A simple resume format is easier to read and allows the employer to focus on skills, experiences, and qualifications. Overly formatted templates may distract from the content and make it difficult for the employer to find the information they are looking for.
ATS compatibility: Many employers use ATS to screen resumes, and these systems often struggle with overly formatted templates. By using a simpler format and limiting boxes and borders, you increase the chances that their resume will be read and considered by the system.
Professionalism: A basic, well-organized resume can demonstrate professionalism and attention to detail, while a busy or overly designed template may give the impression that they are trying too hard to stand out.
Flexibility: A simple format is more flexible and can be easily adjusted for different job applications or industries. An overly formatted template may limit their options and make it difficult to tailor their resume to specific job requirements.
A basic and simple resume format can be more effective than an overly designed template. By limiting boxes and borders, they can increase the chances that their resume will be read and considered by both human recruiters and automated screening systems.
We are blessed to have a senior graduating high school and a junior in college, starting an internship. Unquestionably, that has been the inspiration for this post.
Hopefully it provides helpful context for you or someone close to you.