LinkedIn For Students 2021 [Complete Guide & Tips]

LinkedIn is a popular networking website that allows you to take the job hunt completely online. Data shows how up to 95% of recruiters are using LinkedIn to source their employees.

This is why LinkedIn for students is always recommended for graduates in every field to start networking right away for accurately transitioning to the professional world. While students may know a lot about most social media platforms, LinkedIn is perhaps not as easy as Instagram or Facebook.

To make your LinkedIn profile stand out from contenders with more experience, students must focus on an often-overlooked yet incredibly vital section of a LinkedIn profile: the summary.

This is why when it comes to writing LinkedIn Summary for students, you will need some pro tips and examples, which we will be helping you out with.

Is Making a LinkedIn Profile Even Important?

The first question many graduates think of before creating a LinkedIn profile is whether or not it is even necessary?

If you want to launch yourself professionally, then yes! All kinds of networking are done on LinkedIn now. Whether it’s connecting yourself to an old employer or even landing your dream job, you can do it all on one platform.

Get Organized

With the hyper-competitive job hunt out there, it is very easy to feel disorganized and disconnected. Linkedin for students helps establish a platform where you can connect yourself to the right people, companies, fields and improve your skills and experience.

This allows you to always know about positions opening up, what opportunities can benefit you, and who to reach out to just in time.

The majority of recruiters are now using LinkedIn to hire, so if done right, you can attract a lot of interest and connect you with some great people.

Build Your Online Identity

LinkedIn also helps you establish an online presence. People are just one Google search away from finding out who you are.

LinkedIn directs people in the right direction and allows you to showcase your skills, personality, and experience. Features like recommendations and work samples allow users to highlight all that they have learned.

Learn More About Potential Employers

It’s not only the employers who can use LinkedIn to find out more about you; you can use it too. You can always look up some common grounds and interests to strike up a conversation.

Now, before we get to know how to create a perfect LinkedIn profile for students, let’s first know more about creating the right summary for students.

Why Is A LinkedIn Summary Important?

If you are looking to create the perfect profile, you need to know that the perfect summary is exactly what you need to kickstart the profile.

A Short Summation Of Your Work

Your summary is the first thing the employers see, so it’s a good window into your work, internships, externships, part-time work, or even business ventures.

It is a great way to showcase your unique strengths without having to go into too much detail. It also pushes the employer to view the rest of your profile and assess your qualification.

Talk About Your Interest

The summary is not always about just your professional work. Many people with a lack of professional experience talk about passions and interests.

It is a great way to show what you plan to do in the next 5 years, your career aspiration, and your core interest.

Give Insights On Your Experience

You can talk about your experience as a university-going student! You can talk about your leadership roles, give insight into your experience on different projects, and even your professional work experience. 

Tips on Creating The Perfect LinkedIn Profile For Students

Most graduates are all over the place when it comes to creating the right LinkedIn profile. We have many LinkedIn summary examples for students to help you find out how to fill out all sections.

After making a LinkedIn account, you can start off by entering all your important details and start building your profile.

Add A Photograph

Adding a photograph is perhaps one of the first things you should be doing. Try to pick out a professional and approachable picture that fits your profile. A good headshot always works, and there is no need to fidget over what picture to keep.

Ps: A good smile goes a long way!

Write A Complete Headline

When you click on the ‘Me’ section in the upper right-hand corner, it will reveal an option that says ‘View Profile.’

Here you can use a set-up wizard to help you go through the entire platform and set up all the essential information.

You can also click on ‘Add Profile’ and write down your headline. It’s basically the first thing anyone reads about you when they click on your profile.

You can use this to highlight many things. The options include:

• Your job title
• The company you work for
• Degree, Program, or School
• Student or Graduate

However, this is also a great opportunity to write down your experience, achievements, or even certain certifications that can help you stand out.

Here is an example;

Bryan Thomas

Digital Media Marketer – Content Creator: Blog.us – XYZ University’ 2024 – Seeking creative internships

Carson Leeroy

Aeronautical Engineer (Or a rocket Scientist)

Contact Information

It is absolutely essential to have your contact information. Options include adding your email, phone number, or other mediums. You can also link your website or portfolio to explore your work further.

There are other sections as well that you need to give your time to as well. Make sure you fill out all sections properly from your work experience, education, licenses, certification, volunteer experience, skills, and endorsement.

Pro tip: A detailed profile is a great one!

The next step is to create a LinkedIn summary:

LinkedIn Summary For Students

When you click on the ‘Add Profile’ section and then go on to the about section, you can view Summaries. This is an opportunity to describe your experience and skills in a go!

Here is a Linkedin Summary example for students that allows you to showcase your experience in a few lines if you are a fresh graduate. 

A great tip is to always show that you are currently employed or working on a project. You can do this by adding your job title and role to your own LinkedIn profile as well.

You can write whatever you want in a LinkedIn summary, but it would be wise to keep it between 2 to 5 paragraphs, so the employer actually reads it, and it grabs their attention.

Here are some things you can highlight using Summaries as a student

• Your current experience
• Where your interest lies
• How can you add value to their company?
• Unique qualifications
• Industry Keywords
• Professional anecdotal experience

However, it is important to know how your summaries can change respective to your experience and area of expertise. For example, A summary for a finance student might be entirely different than an art student.

We have some other Linkedin summary examples for students from a different area of expertise, so you get the gist of how to write one relevant to your own experience.

Summary For  Finance Student

As a finance student, you need to highlight what you plan to do with your skill, and more importantly, how you plan to build your skills.

A good projection of your 3 to 5-year plan is actually insightful on where you are career! Here is an example of a summary for a finance student.

Summary for an Engineering Student

Engineering students need to concentrate their summary on a specific area where their interests lie. Whether mechanical, computer, or electrical engineering, you need to establish an end goal or what you would like it to be.

A great example of such is one given below. Notice how the person uses pointers to organize and separate their data.

Summary for Educational Field

The educational field requires you to be constantly updated with your knowledge and skillset. It is important to highlight your qualifications, certifications, and other unique skills within a summary.

In the Linkedin Summary example for students below, you can also see the passion and a connection the person is trying to establish with their area of expertise.

Summary for Law students

Law students have excellent jargon use, which is exactly what you should be showcasing in your summary. It allows the employee to have insight into how comfortable you are with legal jargon and how skill-related it is. 

Tips On Writing The Perfect Summary

LinkedIn Summaries have a lot of freedom on what you can write in them. The limit is around 2000 words, which is why you can play around with what you mention.

You have an excellent opportunity to talk about your story, experience, and professional work. Here are some tips for writing LinkedIn summaries:

Engage The Reader

It sometimes can be difficult to articulate what you want to write, especially when it comes to your ‘story.’

Thus, always remember that your summary should be memorable! As soon as a potential employer reads it, they should want to know more. It should be interesting as well as professional.

You can use some terms to describe yourself,

• Detail-oriented
• Problem solver
• Fluent communication skills

You are essentially just wording common day-to-day skills; however, the right words can make it appear much more polished and engage the user.

First-Person Narrative

Always write your summary in the first person. It gives a personal touch to your narrative. It helps establish communication between you and the reader.

So you need to use ‘I,’ ‘me’ and ‘my’ in the conversation. It is much better than writing your text in the third person, as it does not translate the same way.

It is a great way to write your story, showcase how you have the first-hand experience in certain fields, and how it contributed to your growth and development.

The same context cannot be achieved with a second or third-person narrative.

Think About The Reader

You cant write anything successfully if you don’t think about your audience and who is actually reading this summary. 

Your writing influences those who read them, which is why it is important to incorporate that in your writing style.

If you are a freelancer, you can talk to your potential client. If you are looking for a corporate job, you may refer to a recruiter within a corporation.

Thinking about who reads your text makes it a lot easier to craft it in the first place.

Call To Action

Many writers are familiar with the term ‘call to action’; it is usually towards the end of your text that re-direct users to interact with the person.

You cant simply state your email address and as them to contact you. It should be articulated in a way that the person naturally ends the summary on your contact information. 

Here is an interesting example;

‘I always look forward to new challenges and projects. If you have a plan on your mind, I would love to be on-board and help out. You can contact me directly at abcd@gmail.com.

See how it sounds much more natural and intertwined with what you are trying to establish with your audience?

LinkedIn Profile Tips

1. Connect with your teachers, classmates, and colleagues. Take the time to write a short personalized message when you add a new connection.
2. Focus on your educational experience. Write about your specialization subjects or about the rewards of your university.
3. Join alumni groups on LinkedIn and try to network.
4. Keep your profile up-to-date.

Linkedin For Students: Final Words

We live in a day and age where everything is digital, and we have to use this technology to stand out among the crowd. Being a student, you need to seize the right opportunities at the right time, which LinkedIn allows you to do.

However, to make a difference, you will need to know how to create LinkedIn summary for students, which you do now with all the pro tips and LinkedIn summary examples for students we shared. So, make use of these and see how quickly it all benefits you.