The Modern Student's LinkedIn

How to optimize your profile for professional exposure and success.

by Devynne Honsa

​Understanding how to optimize your LinkedIn profile is key to gaining exposure and getting employed. As a student, it can be difficult to know how to show off what skills you have without years of experience under your belt. Using these three tips can help make your profile stand out, tell the story of who you are and show what you can bring to the table for a company.

1. Emphasize Your Personal Brand
Your LinkedIn profile can be a great introduction for potential employers to get to know your brand. To maximize your profile’s potential, keep the keywords, bio and job descriptions inline with the content on your other professional accounts, like Facebook and your website. For example, if you have brand colors and images on your site, keep those consistent with your profile photo and background on LinkedIn. Doing this will emphasize your professionalism and will show that you are consistent in your presentation of yourself and your work.

2. Streamline Your Bio
Your LinkedIn bio is likely the first thing that someone will read on your profile. It sets the tone of who you are as a professional, and within the first few sentences should convey what you have to offer. Nothing is worse to read than a boring bio. Be sure to have your skills, accomplishments, goals and personality shine through while keeping it short and sweet.
Many students wonder - What do you write if you don’t have much experience? The answer is simple: emphasize your personality and your work ethic. Incorporate a short anecdote that shows off your soft skills and makes you seem like an interesting person to work with. There are several different ways to form a bio, so don’t think it is a one-size-fits-all deal.

3. Talk About Your Experience
Job descriptions can be a bore to read, especially if you have less than five years of experience. To make your skills stand out, use active verbs and conversational language. Don’t just write the duties of your previous and current jobs like it was presented in the job description. Remember, your profile is not your resume; it is an opportunity to explain what you did at your job and how you did it well. Write as if you were explaining what you did to an employer over coffee, using first person, concise sentences and giving quantifiable accomplishments to bring out the personality behind the skills.

With these tips, you can create the perfect LinkedIn profile and stand out to employers and colleagues. Perfecting your LinkedIn profile is the key to networking and landing your dream job, so be sure to keep your profile active and up to date.