What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the internet. You can use LinkedIn to find jobs or internships, connect with people in your industry, strengthen professional relationships, and learn the skills you need to succeed in your career. You can access LinkedIn from a desktop or a mobile app.
Who is LinkedIn for?
From university onwards, we would suggest having a LinkedIn profile. Its important that you start building your professional network while at university and to apply for internships during your study breaks and holidays. Once you graduate or just before graduation, you can use LinkedIn to apply for graduate roles. Building your network is crucial because you never know where your next job or opportunity will come from. A lot of people are referred to companies/recruiters. LinkedIn is for anyone looking to advance their career and grow their professional network.
How to use LinkedIn
Create a profile: Sign up and complete your profile with a professional photo of yourself and fill in your acacdemic background and work experience to date. Make sure you include information on what your role entailed and any achievements from the different roles you’ve had. It’s also a good idea to highlight any academic achievements you have next to your studies and extra curricular activities you were a part of. LinkedIn is like an online CV. Anything you would put on your CV, should be put on your LinkedIn profile.
Build your network: Your network plays a crucial part in unlocking the power of LinkedIn. This will help you understand what is happening in your industry and in your network. Start by adding family, friends, classmates and/or colleagues. You can also connect with people who are working in your industry and doing well in their career but make sure you send a message explaining why you would like to connect with them when you send the invite. It’s vital that you keep growing your network. When you meet people at networking events, ask them what their LinkedIn is and add them. As the saying goes, ‘your network is your net worth’. Make sure you are making the right connections. You can also follow companies/firms and thought leaders to keep you in the loop of whats going on in the legal and business world.
Looking for jobs: LinkedIn is a great place to look for new opportunities and they also tell you who is hiring (the name of the recruiter). You can connect with the recruiter and ask questions about the role. You can connect with people who work at the company/firm and ask them questions as well. There are a plethora of jobs that are posted on LinkedIn. You can use LinkedIn to do your research on companies as most companies/firms have company profiles on the platform. Another great function is that you can use LinkedIn to notify people that you are open to opportunities and you can save jobs and go back to them and apply at a later date.
Participate in conversations and post content: You can get involved in conversations and debates that matter. Participating in conversations will allow you to share your perspective and also learn from the perspectives of others. You can like and comment on posts on LinkedIn which can open the door for new networking opportinites too. LinkedIn allows you to write articles and share them with your network. This is a great way to voice your ideas, thoughts, opinions and perspective on various topics.
We hope this is helpful and makes you open a LinkedIn account today, or even edit your current profile to better reflect your capabilities and aspirations. Networking is so important, don’t wait another day to grow your network.
Follow us on LinkedIn: Young East African Aspiring Lawyers Network.
Young East African Aspiring Lawyers Network 