LinkedIn – Making the most of your profile

As with your CV it’s important to spend time developing your own profile. This will help to showcase the best of you. Try to complete all sections of the profile including: 

• Photo - you need to create a good initial impression with a smiling head and shoulders image.
• Headline - you can use it to showcase your specialism, impact and/or core skills.
• The About section - Tell your story. Describe what motivates you and what experiences you have had and if possible, try to reflect the future professional you want to be.
• Experiences - you should give your employment history with details of any achievements and transferable skills gained.
• Education - only include post 16 and above qualifications.
• Voluntary experience - you should include positions of responsibility and or community work.
• Skills & expertise - choose at least 5 key strengths/qualities to showcase. You can add up to 50 skills . Listing relevant skills helps others understand your strengths and can help match you with potential opportunities.
• Honours & Awards - provide brief detail of awards such as The Exeter Award 

To join LinkedIn and create your profile: 

• Go to the LinkedIn sign up page   or download the mobile app
• Type your first and last name, your email address, and choose a password
• Click ‘Join now’
• LinkedIn will then prompt you to fill in sections of your profile. 

For a comprehensive and easy guide, read  How to optimise your LinkedIn profile | Prospects.ac.uk 

"Only make your profile live to others once you feel you have completed it to the best of your ability and then add your customised LinkedIn URL to your CV and email signature."

Watch a review of a LinkedIn profile  by Careers Consultant Sarah Blunt to see what works well.  

Once you have completed the basics and are happy with your profile, you can share your public profile. Your public profile is a simplified, fully visible version of your complete LinkedIn profile. It will show up in search engines.

LinkedIn is more than a CV. As a social media tool, the more you use LinkedIn the more opportunities will come to your attention. Your posts also help shape the impression others get of you.  

Remember if you are reaching out to others via LinkedIn, they are most likely to look at your profile before replying. It is therefore important that your profile reflects the ‘authentic’ you, your interests and activities.  Adding a cover image or creating and posting ‘added value’ content shows you are engaged in your career planning.  

Here are some recommended ways to add impact your profile:  

• Take inspiration from others - and how they present their profile especially the About section. See what groups they follow and consider if it would be helpful for you to talk with them.
• Follow - companies/organisations/ groups and societies you are curious to learn more about. Use Linkedin Groups to build your networks and commercial awareness.
• Add posts - A starting point could be to ‘repost’ or share something not too personal about your own experience such as learning from an event you attended.
• Featured post section-  Pin key posts or media to showcase your work and things you want people to notice. This could include video/ articles or other social media content you are proud of. Over time, posting gets easier and you become more comfortable to share your own thoughts.
• Engagement- Your ‘reposts’, comments and reactions to posts show in the activity tab. This is your chance to show, how you value the contributions of others.
• Recommendations and endorsements - Invite colleagues / peers / tutors to add a short recommendation to your profile – it’s a great way to add credibility. Why not add a reciprocal recommendation, as this demonstrates collegiality. 

Remember. It's important to keep your profile up to date and engage with content on a regular basis. Avoid controversial topics and think quality over quantity. Respond to invites and messages as quickly as you can. Do not feel obliged to accept every invitation rather think about why and what could be the benefits now or in the future of connecting. It is important your profile reflect the future professional you want to be.

LinkedIn’s Alumni Tool is a hugely powerful resource for researching careers and expanding your network. It allows you to find graduates in specific subjects now working across the globe. Look to see who they work for, the types of jobs they do and the skills they have. 

You can access the tool by going to the University of Exeter's LinkedIn page and clicking on the Alumni tab on the left-side navigation. This will then open a filterable interface to narrow down your search. 

If you would like to undertake a broader search, outside of the University of Exeter community, you can do this using the top search bar – use the 'All Filters' menu to narrow down your search criteria.   

Once you have seen others you are interested to learn more from why not consider making an approach for a short informal conversation. Send a short message explaining who you are and why you want to connect. If you just hit the button, send a request to connect you are likely to be ignored. 

To read more about how to connect and have a career conversation read our webpages Networking for career conversations. 

Many recruiters actively look for candidates using social media platforms such as LinkedIn. LinkedIn is your digital CV, professional networking tool and jobs board. Used well LinkedIn is great for searching speculative opportunity and advertised positions. 

To find advertised graduate level roles and internships 

•  Use the search bar OR use the jobs tab. Search by title/location/experience level) 

You can narrow down your results using prompted filters.  

• Set up job alerts based on your previous job searches, preferences, and specific companies to ensure you’ll regularly receive relevant job notifications.
• Save jobs while browsing to come back to later.

"If you see an opportunity, you like but that isn't right for you now, make a note of the employer and contact them speculatively when the time is right."

Now is a good time to look at current adverts posted on LinkedIn and think about what employers are looking for. It can be helpful to ask ‘Do I already have these skills/experiences? If not, what could I be doing to develop them?’.