Top 10 Benefits of LinkedIn for Students in 2024 [How to Optimize the LinkedIn Profile]

LinkedIn is the most widely used professional social media network available today. It is an opportunity for business corporates and individuals to build a relevant career network. It allows one to find appropriate, like-minded individuals to help explore industries, get recommendations and exploit the right opportunities.

It is essential for every student who plans to enter into the corporate realm to have an account on LinkedIn. While Facebook and Instagram are used for personal growth, LinkedIn helps improve the professional outlook. 

A compelling LinkedIn profile is the best way to present oneself to the rest of the world. LinkedIn gives students an additional boost as it helps them establish their bona fides even if they need more corporate exposure. Personal branding has become vital to achieving success in today’s world. LinkedIn comes in handy in this process and is an effective tool to guide students to accomplish their goals.

Top 10 Benefits Why Students Must Use LinkedIn in 2024

Here are the Top 10 benefits of why students must use LinkedIn. Let’s dive in!!

1. Build your network

It is never too late to build a network with people in one’s career choice. They might be classmates, friends, or faculty members. Alumni associations help to develop the network. There might be a possibility of them becoming your future business referrals. 

Connecting with professionals in your field is essential as it provides the ability to gain industry insight and details on industry changes and innovations. It can also open the door to career opportunities down the road. Students can seek the right guidance and mentorship from their role models or industry leaders across the world since everybody is a DM or connection request away. 

2. Recommendations and Endorsements

Once the process of making connections begins, one can gain recognition. Well-written LinkedIn recommendations from professors or individuals with whom the student has interacted or worked in a particular field can open new career opportunities down the line.

Mutual connections enable individuals to connect with someone whom they desire to meet, making networking easier.

3. Get job alerts

Students studying abroad or away from home tend to look for internships and jobs. LinkedIn is a powerful tool that helps you find a job quickly. It shows job links that are compatible with one’s profile. One can also search for additional job openings.

While having access to jobs posted on LinkedIn, the app also provides its user information about the people in one’s network who have/had worked in the company.

Those people can significantly help while applying for jobs in that particular organization. It is one of the top benefits of LinkedIn, which is not provided by other applications.

4. Personal branding

One’s LinkedIn Profile acts as a branding tool. LinkedIn allows people to share their thoughts, ideas, and insights into specific issues or interests. Such sharing of information helps future recruiters to know about your knowledge and passion. It effectively shows would-be employers that the individual is on top of the industry trends and insights. 

5. Extended resume

Most companies prefer receiving one-page resumes from candidates. This makes it difficult for the students to display all the information. LinkedIn provides a place to have more in-depth information about the individual. Thus, It is advised to put a LinkedIn profile URL on resumes. Future employers can visit the candidate’s profile and know the ‘real’ person.

6. Share Updates

When one updates their LinkedIn profile or experiences, their network is automatically informed about new developments. Such automated notification brings attention and awareness to the individual concerned. This helps to improve personal branding and enables people to remember when they learn about job possibilities that might fit the person’s qualifications.

7. Research

All corporates and organizations establish their presence on LinkedIn. According to a report, 93 % of employers are on Linkedin.

They provide a brief description of themselves which helps the individuals to review them. Background information about the company and essential details about the work culture enables individuals to evaluate and make decisions. This allows them to land their dream jobs easily. LinkedIn news is a valuable feature provided by LinkedIn. It is a dedicated team of 100+ global journalists who are creating, curating, and cultivating the business news and insights individuals need to know now, reaching 135 countries and 9 languages.

Research about the company and the recruiters also helps the candidates during their interview process. Having background knowledge about the company they wish to work for establishes an instant positive image in the eyes of the recruiter.

8. Growth

LinkedIn is an excellent platform to learn and upskill oneself. It provides ways to enhance students’ knowledge. As LinkedIn provides vast exposure, students can capitalize on this opportunity and make an effort to learn particular topics from thought leaders firsthand. This leads to joining focus groups, communities, research studies, and educational programs. Such interaction helps to broaden the horizon of the individuals. It promotes student development. When individuals participate in these domains, people begin to notice. 

LinkedIn Learning is an essential resource that offers e-learners a platform to access 1000s of different programs and certifications, many focused on technology and business. Like other online educational programs, LinkedIn Learning courses offer users flexibility which is lacking in traditional education. Content via video makes learning easier. Such education is popular among Gen Z (younger users). There are currently more than 16,000 courses on LinkedIn in more than seven languages, and according to a report, LinkedIn adds more than 50 courses each week. LinkedIn Learning offers complete professional learning certifications with hours of curated content on multiple subjects and topics. These programs focus on enhancing expertise in respective fields. Domains like Excel, Javascript, and Python observed higher engagement.

9. To prove dedication

Having a LinkedIn account as a student demonstrates that the individual is dedicated to pursuing a career. When individuals portray specific details and interests in their summary, the LinkedIn algorithm helps them connect with people within that particular industry. Posting content on topics of their interest and following organizations where they seek to work shows dedication to the recruiters. The first selection stage becomes easy as the employers know that the concerned people are committed to working. The only thing left for them is to evaluate their efficiency and other various factors.

10. Increase in online presence

Establishing an online presence has become vital in current times. Individuals and organizations well established on the internet are ranked high on search engine result pages. Usually, employers and recruiters look for the candidate’s name on the WEB. If the candidate has a solid online presence and an appealing portfolio, it will be easy to attain a high-paying job/internship.

To leverage the power of LinkedIn, one needs to have a compelling profile that immediately grabs the attention of professionals.

Ways to Optimize a LinkedIn Profile for Students

1. Decent Profile picture

It is the first thing people view on search results. An excellent relevant picture is 11 times more likely to be considered. Individuals should refrain from using funny and quirky images. A recent, minimal, and professional photo must be used.

2. Appealing headline

It is another piece of information that catches the recruiters’ eyes during their search. It is a place to tell people what they are pursuing and want to do in the future. Thus, to boost visibility, individuals must take the time to craft a unique and attractive headline. It must answer three basic questions – What can you do? What have you done? What do you want to do?

3. Professionalism in the About section

This is a detailed version of one’s profile headline. It should provide a quick overview of the individual. As students, the section usually includes information about their academic achievements and extracurricular activities.

4. Show off your Education

This is one of the areas which highlights individuals amongst other people. One should list down all the schools and universities they have attended. An esteemed institute’s name on one’s profile establishes instant credibility. It allows individuals to present their accomplishments and learnings at their respective institutions. Mentioning college and school names on their profile helps people easily connect with their batchmates and alumnus. 

5. Volunteer Experience

Social work enhances a person’s profile. Volunteering for Non-Profit Organizations proves that the individual believes in humanity. 

6. Showcase Skills

LinkedIn allows individuals to present their skills to the rest of the world. A maximum of 50 skills can be included in one’s profile; however, only a limited set of abilities must be provided to find relevant matches for jobs and internships. 

7. Projects and Courses

One must include all the courses they have undertaken. During the educational process, students are involved in multiple projects. The diversity of courses and projects indicates an individual’s intelligence and problem-solving skills.

8. Claim a unique URL

Initially, the URL that LinkedIn assigns is a combination of random alphabets and numbers. Such URLs are difficult to remember and need to be more professional. However, LinkedIn allows people to create a short and unique URL for their profile that can be easier to share and remember. A customized URL increases the visibility in the search results.

9. Join LinkedIn Groups

These are focus groups where people with similar interests interact to establish long-lasting connections. Thought leaders of specific industries usually become a part of their respective industry groups. Discussion of ideas within these LinkedIn groups increases the chances of fabricating helpful something.

10. Share industry-relevant content

To attract potential connections, one must share relevant content regularly. LinkedIn allows sharing of text, pictures, and videos. The quality of the content helps the contacts and recruiters to evaluate the proficiency of their knowledge.

According to Dunbar’s number, a human can only maintain 150 stable social relationships. LinkedIn allows individuals to find, maintain, and increase that number beyond their wildest imagination. Currently, LinkedIn has over 830 million members worldwide and nearly half of those are active monthly users.

Conclusion

LinkedIn helps students to stay ahead in the competition of the corporate world. A good network of associates, detailed information about career prospects, and a wide variety of companies can help one achieve the job of their dreams faster. Even if one’s not looking for a job, LinkedIn can serve as a guide to navigating your destination. Thus, it is one of the best places for students to invest time.

FAQs

1. Can a 17-year-old be on LinkedIn?

Yes. Any 17-year-old can use LinkedIn. Technically LinkedIn can be used by people above 13 years.

2. Do you pay for LinkedIn?

We do not have to pay for LinkedIn Basic, it is available for free. Though there are many premium packages that you can subscribe to if you need them. LinkedIn also offers a free 30-day trial for these packages.

3. Can you tell if someone viewed your LinkedIn?

LinkedIn Basic does not give the opportunity to tell who has viewed your profile. But with LinkedIn premium features you can have access to it and a few more features.

4. Is it safe to use LinkedIn?

Yes. LinkedIn is a completely safe platform for users above 13 years. You can take some precautionary steps to feel completely on the platform.