7 LinkedIn Tips for Fresh Graduates

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LinkedIn is an excellent platform you can use to help you start your job search after you graduate from college or university. It has various tools you can leverage to help you find your ideal job, regardless of how new you are to the industry.

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Unlike other platforms emphasizing casual social interactions, LinkedIn provides a space to connect with industry experts, learn about new industry developments, and find a job. You can take numerous actions to help you get noticed as a fresh graduate.

1. Complete Setting Up Your Profile

Recruiters may overlook your profile if there is any vital information missing. Avoid leaving blank areas, and try to fill in each profile section.

Create a Compelling Headline

Your headline is an opportunity to display your creativity. Consider your headline a professional slogan. If you’re experiencing writer’s block, think about what you want hiring managers, recruiters, or future co-workers to know about you.

it’s possible to include subjects that excite you, such as new industry developments or research. You can also check out the profiles of people you admire for ideas and inspiration.

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Add Skills, Certifications, and Languages

When completing the summary section, you can add content that you use in your best-written cover letter. Highlight your skills, including published articles you’ve written, foreign languages you know, and certifications you’ve earned.

The summary section is your opportunity to boast about your achievements. you could add relevant videos, images, presentations, and links to showcase your work and achievements.

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2. Use a Professional Headshot for Your Profile Picture

Unlike other social medial platforms, not having a profile picture or one with your pet as the image won’t get the results you’re looking for. If you want to be taken seriously by hiring managers and recruiters, you should use a picture that portrays your professional image.

If you’re hesitant to include a photograph of yourself because you’re a bit shy, you should know that, according toLinkedIn, profiles with a profile picture get 21 times more views than those without. You should also consider that some potential connections, hiring managers, and recruiters use the lack of a profile picture as their first filter when determining who they want to connect with.

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You should avoid using cartoon avatars, party pictures, or animal pictures as your profile image. If you need to update your profile picture, you may be interested in learninghow to change your LinkedIn profile picture.

If you are looking for work in an industry that relies heavily on social media or marketing, keep your profile picture consistent across the platforms you have an account on. This consistency can help hiring managers and recruiters identify you, making you appear more professional.

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3. Include Career-Specific Keywords

The keywords you want to include in your profile depend on the type of employment you’re seeking. Consider the skills and qualities hiring managers and recruiters seek and add them to your profile. Look at the job listings you’re interested in and make a list of the skills they have in common.

If you have the skills, list them in your profile. Once you start adding skills, LinkedIn offers skills related to the keywords you’ve entered in the search box. LinkedIn provides this feature to help you find skills you have but may have forgotten about.

Your connections can endorse you for the skills you’ve listed, which gives hiring managers and recruiters confirmation that you possess the skills. As you write your list, don’t forget to include any programming languages you know and industry-specific tools such as Photoshop or Google Analytics.

After you complete your skills list, using keywords you’ve located in job postings, you should review the section. You might want to check theoverused buzzwords you should remove from your LinkedIn profile.

4. Add Work Experience, Including Volunteer Work and Internships

In the employment section, you can include your current and past jobs with a concise description of the responsibilities. It’s up to you if you want to be more or less detailed than your resume.

If you received a promotion within an organization, you should identify each position you held with dates so hiring managers and recruiters can see your progress. As a new graduate, you might not have much work experience, and you could include volunteer experience if you have it.

Including volunteer experience is a positive addition to your profile because it displays something personal and unique about you. you may also include part-time, unpaid, contracting, and internships that you have had.

If you have organizations you support or are involved with, you’re able to include those to help potential employers better understand the causes important to you. Once your profile is complete, you may be interested in learningways to build a professional network on LinkedIn.

5. Request Recommendations From Current and Former Colleagues

Recommendations are an excellent way to demonstrate your skills because someone else is saying they recommend you for your ability. You can ask current and former colleagues to write detailed recommendations.

If possible, see if you’re able to get a recommendation for each position you’ve had. You may find people more willing to write you a recommendation if you also offer to write one for them.

Hiring managers and recruiters notice the recommendations from direct managers or people who work closely with you. If you’re unsure how to get started, you might be interested in learninghow to ask for recommendations on LinkedIn.

6. Claim Your Unique URL

If you want to increase your visibility when hiring managers and recruiters look for you online, you should make your profile public and create a unique URL. Once you have your unique URL, you could add it to your resume, email signature, and social media bio.

You can create your unique URL in your profile settings on LinkedIn. A unique LinkedIn URL helps potential employers find you easier on Google and other search engines. If you need help creating your URL, you may be interested in learninghow to find and customize your LinkedIn URL.

7. Ask Someone to Review Your Completed Profile

When you’ve completed your profile and reviewed it, you should get another set of eyes to review it. It’s easy to miss something because you’ve been looking at it for a while.

Ask a colleague or two to look at your profile and provide feedback. They may find typos and grammar mistakes, but they may have questions about things you’ve included, which can help you clarify things before hiring managers and recruiters view your profile.

Introduce Yourself to Recruiters and Hiring Managers

Your LinkedIn profile can be your introduction to a potential employer. First impressions are critical, so you need to create a LinkedIn presence that highlights your experience and expertise. you may do this by posting a professional profile image and showcasing your skills.

Having recommendations about your skills is social proof of your abilities, which is what many hiring managers and recruiters seek. You can increase your visibility by creating a unique URL so potential employers can find you easily online.

Using LinkedIn’s Open to Work feature, it’s possible to signal everyone or only recruiters if you are looking for a job. Here’s how to use it!

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