Internships can be stressful to navigate through, especially finding one that’s perfect for you. One of the biggest networking tools out there is LinkedIn.
For those who do not know LinkedIn, this social media platform is a network for professionals. Many college students use LinkedIn to explore future career options, connect with new people, and use your profile as a resume. It’s a great way to market yourself to future employers. It does not matter if you are a first-year or a senior, having a LinkedIn account at any time is beneficial. You may never know when you will need to use it. Here are some basic steps to navigate your way through creating your own LinkedIn Account.
Register
This one is obvious, just make an account. I personally like to use my school email instead of my personal one. This way I can pay attention to the emails and notifications I receive rather than getting lost in my mailbox full of shopping sales and Buzzfeed newsletters.
Make Your Profile Look Nice
Choose a profile photo that looks professional. You don’t have to be super dressed up, but find one where you look respectable. This is not the appropriate place to post your beach pictures; make a profile that you would want your grandparents to see. If you don’t have a good profile picture to use, put on a nice blouse and have a friend take a photo of you!
Take time to fill out the information about yourself, such as your education, job experiences and skills! Keep your jobs that you’ve had relevant, if you are a senior in college you don’t need to list that you use to babysit in high school. You don’t have to to list every little job you’ve had. You can add documents of your work experiences, this is the place where you can showcase your visual portfolio! The more you have about yourself, the more a future employer can get to know how you would fit in as an employee.
It is important to have a nice profile picture but also make your headline stand out! This is what readers will see first beside your profile picture. Keep you headline short and concise.
Be Social
Start out by finding your friends and classmates to connect with on LinkedIn. You might want to add people that you have been employed by or have worked with in the past! You will also meet new people along the way that you can connect with, the more people the better.
You can also join groups with people you have classes with, work with, or have graduated with. The purpose of this social media website is to network, network, network!
Explore
As with any social media, it takes times to learn how things are suppose to go. Explore the website and see what LinkedIn has to offer. There are many features that you can take advantage of such as getting recommendations, galleries of you artwork, and joining groups! Building a LinkedIn account is an investment in your future career. Connecting with others is a powerful tool especially in an ever growing world full of people and opportunities.
Keep Up with your Account
Like a plant you have to keep watering it to let it grow! The same method applies for your LinkedIn account! Keep up with your connection requests and add new people you meet throughout the semester. Add to your resume as you take on a new job or position!
So what are you waiting for? Go to LinkedIn and spend time creating your own profile, you never know what opportunities will come out of it. Put your resume out there and find your perfect summer internship today!