When do you need to get a LinkedIn profile as a student?

By McKenna Burns
News Services Marketing and Communications Assistant

Here’s something you might begin to think about during your college career. When do you get on LinkedIn? Some may have been “forced to” for an assignment in class or maybe to apply for a job, but let’s say that’s not the case. So, when should you join?

Since LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network online, you should join when you want to network. Networking is “the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.” So whenever you want to start expanding your contacts, whether it be within your related field of study or something else, LinkedIn is a great way to start.

Keep in mind that it’s super easy to join and use. LinkedIn walks you through a couple of easy steps to get started. Just like any other social media, you begin by creating your profile. Next, build your network. You can do this by connecting with the people you know or want to know and reaching out to them accordingly. Next, post and react! You can write posts on LinkedIn using the share feature, and you can also respond to posts from others. Finally, you can find a job. Start your job search on LinkedIn, and you can save jobs, apply directly, and reach out to those who are hiring. You never know what you might find.

Whatever you choose to be your reason to join this media platform. Whether it be a job search, to network, to intern, or to see what others are doing in your field. Feel free to join whenever you are ready to explore the perks of this site. Keep in mind that you can choose to have a comprehensive, in-depth profile, or you can choose to have the bare minimum. Remember, it’s another form of social media, so what you choose to share is what people and possible employers will see. So put your best work out there and see what comes of it.

https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin