LinkedIn is a professional networking and career development platform that allows you to make connections and access job opportunities.

As a student, you might feel that it’s too early to be on LinkedIn but here are a few things that might shift your outlook. You can use the platform to: –

• Tell a holistic story about your academic journey by highlighting your skills, projects, volunteer, and internship experience. Consider joining a club within the University to develop your transferable skills like problem solving, teamwork, leadership, among others and highlight these on your profile. Employers want to see instances of how you have used these skills and your achievements as it gives them an idea of your potential as a hire.
• Connect with people in the professions you are interested in. You can go one step further to check the qualifications and skills these people have as well as reach out for an informational interview (a chat where you can find out about a particular job, industry, sector, a day in the life of…) to help you make informed career decisions.
• Find a career mentor through your connections. Use the ‘My Networks’ tab to find people you know or search for potential connections based on your career interests.
• Access LinkedIn learning resources. Interested in learning Advanced Excel, Content Creation or Project Management? LinkedIn is a great resource for accessing free learning material and videos.
• Share things that matter to you through LinkedIn posts or articles. If posting your views feels a bit intimidating, join a group and share your content.
• Eventually get recruited – Create an authentic profile; include a profile photo, where you’ve studied, and describe what you do – including your strengths or some of your achievements. Remember to activate the open to work option to indicate to recruiters that you’re interested in job opportunities.

We strongly recommend that you explore the platform and see what works for you.

This article was written by Ivy Muthoni, Associate Manager, Career Development Services