5 Reasons Why Every Student Should Have a LinkedIn Profile

Building a LinkedIn profile is an important piece of each student's professional development plan. It doesn't matter if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior; you should have a LinkedIn profile! Not only will you use it as a student, but you will be glad you have it together when you graduate as building up your profile can take some time. Not convinced yet? Below are 5 reasons why you should have a LinkedIn profile: 

1. You can connect with people you meet throughout your college career and keep them in your network. These can be fellow students, internship supervisors, professionals you met at networking events and career fairs, and more! 

2. You can join groups on LinkedIn that pertain to your industry or career track. By joining groups, you can keep tabs on trends and news in your industry and also comment on articles to further interact with professionals in your field. Additionally, you can join Hofstra alumni groups and interact with Hofstra alumni in your field or from your school. This is a great way to set up informational interviews!

3. In addition to listing your work experience and education, you can also upload pictures, projects/videos/powerpoints, etc to LinkedIn to make your profile more visual and allow employers to see some of the work you have done. 

4. You can have former supervisors, faculty, and even your peers write you brief recommendations that live in your LinkedIn profile for all to see! There is also a section were you can have your connections endorse you for various skills. 

5. Once you have completed your profile, LinkedIn will recommend jobs based on your profile information. You can also search for jobs on LinkedIn as well!

To get started with your LinkedIn profile, check out the video below from Career Realism. And remeber, if you need more help with your LinkedIn or anything else, call us at (516) 463-6060 or go to hofstra.edu/career to schedule an appointment! 

Kaitlyn Riley, Assistant Director