Love your Career: What is LinkedIn and why is it useful for students
LinkedIn is the biggest online social network for business professionals.
It's different from Facebook, etc., because it's specifically designed for professional networking instead of chatting with friends. Nevertheless, it's a really useful way to network with graduates and recruiters, particularly if you're job hunting. It's also a great way to keep up to date with developments in your area, as well as having a professional and online presence.
Many employers now use LinkedIn to recruit. They can shortlist candidates based on qualifications, location, experience and skills at the touch of a button.
- If you haven't already, go into LinkedIn.com and set up a profile
- Profile: Populate your profile as much as you can. Include a happy professional photo. Display everything you are doing. Employers like to see what else you have to offer besides your degree. The better and more complete your profile is, the more likely it will appear near the top of the page in a Google search on your name.
- Connect with your Classmates, Lecturers, Guest Speakers, Alumni, Professionals in your Area, Friends & Family. Personalise your request to connect, telling them why you want them in your network.
- Alumni Function: Go into the universities section on the top tab and look for TU Dublin. Once you find it, you should see over 150k+ profiles listed. Next, click the Alumni Function; using keywords, narrow down your search until you find graduates from your course.
- LinkedIn Groups: Go into the group section on the top tab and, using keywords from your course, identify and join relevant groups, including TU Dublin Graduate Network.
- Company: Go into the company section on the top tab and search for organisations that recruit graduates in your area. There's often useful information here that's in addition to what's on their website and Jobs.
- Research: When writing your CV/Cover Letter or Preparing for Interview, LinkedIn Company Pages Post provide lots of relevant and up to date information to research the company you are applying to.
- LinkedIn Jobs is widely used. Many Companies post Graduate Roles/Positions here.
For more advice, look at these short LinkedIn videos designed for students and graduates.
More LinkedIn Resources
- LinkedIn Ultimate Cheat Sheet
- LinkedIn Job Hunting Tips
- Using LinkedIn for Networking
- Conducting Employer Research on LinkedIn
- LinkedIn Etiquette Guide