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LinkedIn Guide
Build a profile that makes sense, connect with the right people, and use LinkedIn without making it awkward.
You don’t need years of experience or a perfect career plan. A clear profile that shows where you are now, what interests you and what you’ve done so far is enough.
Profile at a glance
Your name
What you’re doing · what interests you
Where you are now
What you’ve done so far
What you’re curious about next
Make it easy to understand — not impressive.
What is LinkedIn actually useful for?
Most students open LinkedIn and think: why would I even use this?
It isn’t only somewhere you go when you need a job. Before that, it can help you:
- Explore different careers
- See how people got into jobs you’re interested in
- Follow companies
- Find internships, apprenticeships and placements
- Stay in touch with people you meet
- Add projects and experience
- Learn from people already working in a field
- Find events and useful posts
Start with a profile that makes sense
Someone opening your profile should quickly get who you are, what you’re doing now, what interests you, and what you’ve done so far.
Profile photo
Aim for something clear, recent, well-lit and recognisably you. Keep the background fairly simple. It doesn’t need to be a studio headshot — a good phone photo in natural light is fine.
Headline
“Student at University of X” is okay, but it doesn’t tell people much. A simple structure works better:
What you’re doing + what you’re interested in
Software Engineering Degree Apprentice | Interested in Cybersecurity & Technology
Psychology Student | Interested in Mental Health & Research
S6 Student | Exploring Engineering & Technology
You don’t need to pretend you already know exactly what you want to do. It’s fine if your headline just shows what you’re exploring right now.
About section
This doesn’t need to be a long autobiography. Keep it short:
Who you are → what interests you → what you’re doing or exploring
I’m a second-year Computer Science student interested in software development and cybersecurity. Alongside university, I’ve been building small projects and getting involved in tech societies. Happy to chat with people in tech and hear how they got started.
“I have nothing to put on LinkedIn”
A lot of students think LinkedIn only works if you already have impressive work experience. That isn’t true.
Things that can go on your profile include:
- Education
- Part-time jobs
- Work experience
- Volunteering
- Societies and clubs
- Competitions
- Projects and hackathons
- Personal projects
- Courses and certifications
- Awards
- Apprenticeship experience
- University projects
- Leadership roles
How to describe experience
You don’t need fancy corporate wording. Say what you actually did. Where it helps, mention what you were responsible for or what you contributed — without inventing numbers or impact.
Weaker
Retail Assistant
Served customers and worked on tills.
Clearer
Retail Assistant
Served customers during busy periods, handled payments and worked with the wider team to keep service running smoothly.
Don’t dress up ordinary student jobs. Clear and honest is enough.
Built something? Put it on there.
Projects are especially useful when you don’t have much work experience yet. A website, coding project, research piece, design work, engineering project, society campaign, competition entry, portfolio, presentation or personal project can all count.
A simple way to describe one:
- 01What was it?
- 02What did you do?
- 03What tools or skills did you use?
- 04What came out of it?
You probably already have a network
Networking doesn’t start with strangers. Your network can include classmates, teachers, lecturers, colleagues, apprentices, people from work experience, society members, volunteers, mentors, people you met at events, and people you’ve actually worked with.
Connect or Follow?
Connect
- You know the person
- You met them
- You worked or studied together
- You have a real reason to stay in touch
Follow
- You don’t know the person
- You find their career or posts interesting
- You want to learn from what they share
- There’s no real reason to send a connection request yet
If you add a note to a connection request, keep it short and specific. On a free account, LinkedIn currently limits how many personalised notes you can send each month — so save them for people you actually want to introduce yourself to.
What do I actually say?
Knowing networking could help is one thing. Knowing what words to use is another. Keep messages short and natural.
After meeting someone
Hi Maya, it was really nice meeting you at the event today. I really enjoyed hearing about your route into engineering — would be great to stay connected!
Connecting with someone whose career interests you
Hi Alex, I came across your profile while looking into UX careers and found your route really interesting. I’m currently exploring the field myself and would love to connect.
After they accept
Don’t immediately message “Can you get me work experience?” Ask something small and specific instead.
Thanks for connecting! I noticed you moved from engineering into product management. What made you decide to make that switch?
Be curious before asking for something.
Networking without making it weird
Networking is not
- Collecting random connections
- Immediately asking strangers for jobs
- Pretending to be interested because someone works somewhere impressive
- Sending the same copy-pasted message to everyone
- Trying to speak to the most senior person in every room
Networking is
- Meeting people
- Being interested in what they do
- Asking questions
- Staying in touch
- Learning from people
- Helping someone when you can
- Remembering people you enjoyed speaking to
09
Do you have to post?
No.
You can still use LinkedIn well by following people and companies, reading posts, commenting, sending messages, finding opportunities and events, and staying connected.
If you do want to post
Easy ideas: something you worked on, something you learned, an event you went to, starting a role / placement / apprenticeship, a project, or a useful link with a short thought of your own.
You do not have to turn everything into a life lesson.
Started my summer placement with [company] this week and really looking forward to learning more about [area].
It does not need to become
“As I embark upon this transformational chapter of my professional journey…”
Commenting without sounding fake
“Great insights! Thanks for sharing.” is fine sometimes, but it doesn’t really add much.
I hadn’t thought about your point on [topic] before. Do you think this has changed much for people entering the industry now?
Really interesting — we covered something similar at university recently, particularly around [topic].
A good comment is just joining the conversation. It doesn’t need to sound clever.
The small things people forget
- Clear photo
- Useful headline
- Short About section
- Education
- Relevant experience
- Projects, if you have them
- Volunteering, if relevant
- Relevant skills
- Spelling checked
- Custom LinkedIn URL
- Privacy / public profile settings checked
A quick note on privacy
LinkedIn profiles can show up in search engines depending on your public-profile settings. Check what is public, what personal information you’ve added, and which sections are visible outside LinkedIn.
Keeping LinkedIn useful
You don’t need a complicated routine. Once in a while:
- Update anything new
- Connect with people you actually met
- Check messages
- Follow something useful
- Save an opportunity
- Comment when you genuinely have something to say
That is enough. No weekly posting targets. No engagement quotas.
LinkedIn isn’t about pretending you already know exactly where you’re headed.
It’s just a place to show where you are now, what you’ve done, what interests you, and where you might want to go next. You can build it gradually.
Career Blossom