Unlocking the Power of LinkedIn: How College Students Can Leverage Their Profiles to Land Their Dream Job

00:00:00 Um hey there, future leaders. I am Kristina butler, certified HR Professional and founder and creator of The Keys to the Office, where I teach young black and brown students everything I know about charting a career path and gaining powerful experience to build a solid resume. Let's jump in.

00:00:32 Hey. Hey. We are back for another episode. In this podcast episode, we will discuss the importance of a strong LinkedIn profile for college students and how it can really help them stand out in a competitive or uber competitive job market. At this point, we'll also explore how career services teams at all colleges and universities can support students in building a professional online presence and share practical tips and strategies for optimizing their LinkedIn profiles.

00:01:04 Allow me to reintroduce myself, since I know it's been a while. Welcome to The Keys to the Office, a coaching and consulting firm under the leadership of me, Kristina butler, MSHRD. PHR Sherm, CP, dedicated to partnering with colleges and universities to empower their career services teams with the knowledge, expertise, and strong partnerships needed to successfully prepare their students for the workforce. Some of the common responses I receive from college students in recent grads to a fairly standard question do you have a LinkedIn profile? Are I don't have any or enough real work experience, or christina no, I haven't done that yet.

00:01:47 I don't really know where to start. Or do you really think I need one since I'm just getting started with a real job or I wouldn't know who to connect with, which is very common? I'm going to tackle each of these in this podcast episode today, so get ready. Make sure you have pen and paper. Let's dive in.

00:02:08 First of all, I don't have any or enough real work experience. So who was defining enough or real for you? Have you ever volunteered? Have you completed any classes? And do you have an EDC or estimated date of completion for your degree program?

00:02:27 Do you have any skills? Do you have a desire to obtain any skills? Let's talk about LinkedIn learning and why I love it so much. You don't really need a lot of experience or a lot of skills, but I'm willing to bet you have more than enough to create a profile and get you started another one. No, I haven't done that yet.

00:02:49 I don't really know where to start. Christina so start with the basics. Right? I tell my clients all the time. Don't overthink it.

00:02:57 Develop a compelling headline that succinctly summarizes your skills and experience. Use a professional profile picture that conveys a very positive image. Right? I've seen some questionable images, so let's go professional for LinkedIn. Customize your LinkedIn profile super easy to do, and you can use that to share with potential employers.

00:03:24 I'd say write a summary that certainly showcases your unique value proposition and highlights your career goals. Make sure you add relevant skills and endorsements to your profile. Critical and if you feel like, again, you don't have the skills, I love LinkedIn Learning for that. Reach out to me if you need assistance, and we can certainly get you scheduled for a call. We can talk about your needs as it relates to that, and I'll even slide in a free month of LinkedIn Learning.

00:03:55 So sidebar there. I'd also say with your new profile, you can start sharing articles, you can share projects you're working on, or other content that really shows your education and your interest in a specific topic. Last but not least, I challenge you to start joining some groups that are related to your industry and start really expanding your network. So those are just a few really quick wins, right? Again, we're not overthinking this.

00:04:27 Another one. I get the whole do I really need one since I'm just getting started with a real career? And my short answer is yes. My long answer, which you knew I was going to give you, is yes. And you really have so much value to add to an organization even before you have a resume full of work experience, right?

00:04:48 You have strengths, you have interests, you have perspectives that are unique to your life experiences, so you have value to add. Don't ever minimize those. Start with a profile, even if all you do is share articles of interest and follow and engage with organizations you admire. Right? I think that's a good starting point.

00:05:11 And then we can build from there.

00:05:15 Last and totally not least, when I'm told I wouldn't know who to connect with and I'm like me hand raised, right? You certainly want to connect with me. You want to connect with your classmates. You want to connect with your favorite professors. I'm connected with one of mine from grad school.

00:05:34 I love his content. He will never forget me because I'm so engaged with his content. So connect with your favorite professors there. They'd be ones to write a review, right? They'd be ones to recommend you for roles.

00:05:49 Don't overlook that. Your guidance counselor certainly connect. There your friendly neighbors. I'm connected with a few of my neighbors on LinkedIn, and did I mention me? Like, no, I started with that.

00:06:03 But just in case you missed it, be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn. There are more people on LinkedIn than you might imagine. So people I think you could possibly, like, maybe connect with, beyond those I just mentioned are former bosses, right? As long as you had great interactions with them, former colleagues. Let's say you had a summer job, you worked with a couple of individuals.

00:06:30 Connect with them as well. These are people who are going to write your first review for you or endorse you for certain skills. So start building out that professional network right there. And then career services teams at colleges and universities I think, truly play a vital role in supporting students and building a professional online presence. So as someone who has been a recruiting professional for well over a decade, it's kind of like heartbreaking.

00:07:01 When I see a recent graduate who does not have a LinkedIn profile, I just feel like that should be a no brainer, right? You should have the resume, you should have the profile. So I think as career services teams continue to work on those efforts and really positioning themselves as adding value as a critical institution, preparing students for the workforce, for the real world, let's make sure they all leave with a LinkedIn profile. Oftentimes they offer workshops, right? They offer coaching, they offer resources to help students really create a compelling profile that highlights their strengths and achievements.

00:07:44 So tap into your career services team at your local school if you have not done so already. And again, I am here to provide support. I do offer discovery calls and one on one coaching for students. So please, absolutely use me as a resource. And I'd say just to recap, really, and take it from the top, it is going to be important for you to work on your professional network.

00:08:12 And as we go into this new season, this spring season, really thinking about how you're going to freshen that up. If you already have one and if you don't have one, commit to putting that in place. Again, partner with your career services team. Partner with me. Let's make sure you have that so you can really leverage it to land your dream job.

00:08:33 I hope you have found this podcast helpful. Reach out to me with any questions. Thank you so much for your time today. I hope you have a fantastic, fantastic rest of your day and we'll chat sooner. Thank you all so much for hanging with me today.

00:09:01 I am certain the keys you received will help you unlock the door to your own career path. As you might expect, there is an ask. So subscribe to the podcast today and follow me at Keysteady office on Instagram and TikTok to stay updated on the latest tips and tricks. It has been a pleasure. I'll see you in the next episode.

00:09:23 In the meantime, stay amazing.