As a student, it can definitely be hard to make yourself stand out in order to get a job. This is especially true if you are competing against other candidates who have had lots of experience and many other students in the same position as you!
It can be difficult to find useful tools which can be used to help you get employed quicker and impress employers. However, LinkedIn could be a great solution to this issue! It has many benefits and features which can be used to help you with business prospects and employability.
To check out what LinkedIn actually is and to discover whether it can actually benefit you, check out this article and you may be pleasantly surprised.
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What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a type of social media. However, it is very different to other social media sites you may know of!
It is actually a professional networking site, used for a very different purpose than other forms of social media. It is similar in the sense that it does allow you to make friends, however it has many other functions.
LinkedIn aims to help people make business connections, look for jobs and share experiences. It allows people to make new contacts and look for business opportunities. This can have extremely positive effects on LinkedIn user’s careers!
It can be used by people from a range of different backgrounds. For example, small business owners, people looking for jobs and even students.
You can find out more information about LinkedIn and how to actually navigate the site on this article from the Business Insider. You can also download LinkedIn as an app, which can be very useful.
Check out this article from Think Student to discover more useful apps for students, with different functions to LinkedIn.
Why should students get LinkedIn?
LinkedIn can definitely have many benefits for students. It can help students search for their dream jobs and stay connected with the industry they want to go into.
It also allows students to showcase their resumes, in order to attract potential employers. Therefore, one main advantage of LinkedIn is that it can help students become employed quicker.
This is because it helps them stay up to date with their chosen industry and build business connections. A student’s LinkedIn account can be used to impress employers.
For example, your account can be used to document all of the experience you have had through work. It can definitely be hard to find jobs as a student. If you are struggling, check out this article from Think Student to get some ideas.
LinkedIn can be used to promote a student’s skillset and show their knowledge. Employers will be able to see any reviews a student has and find evidence of where they have shown value towards a particular job.
You can discover more advantages (and disadvantages) about LinkedIn if you click here to read an article about this from the LinkedIn website.
Do universities look at your LinkedIn account?
When you are applying for university, it is unlikely that universities will look at your LinkedIn account. This is because the main content which will be put onto your account is only really experienced at university.
Whilst you are a student at university, you can make a LinkedIn account, which can be used to professionally stay in contact with your peers. It can also be used for you to show your current achievements, grades, and career goals.
You can keep your achievements up to date on your account and these will definitely stack up whilst you are at university! As a result, a LinkedIn account can be very important when you graduate.
You can choose to share your LinkedIn account with your university. However, its primary purpose is to help you build contacts and connections for after university.
You can find out more about what you can use your LinkedIn account for at university if you read this article from The Guardian.
Do college admissions look at a students LinkedIn account?
In America, students go to college instead of university. Just like the UK, American students have to apply for higher education.
Therefore, it is understandable that these students may be wondering if their LinkedIn accounts will be checked by the admissions office of the colleges they want to go to.
However, as already stated, LinkedIn accounts are most predominantly created and filled by students in higher education and not before. As a result, it probably wouldn’t be very useful for the admissions office to look at LinkedIn accounts because there wouldn’t be a lot of content!
Therefore, it is very unlikely that colleges will look at prospective student’s LinkedIn accounts. However, it can actually be useful for employers to look at student’s LinkedIn accounts.
You could ask potential employers to view yours or search for employers with your LinkedIn account. Employers are likely to check many things about you before they offer you a position. Check out this article from Think Student to find out how they check university degrees.
What is LinkedIn Learning?
LinkedIn Learning is a platform which has been built into the LinkedIn service. It is a learning tool, which can help you to develop your knowledge of your interests and boost your profile.
If you invest in LinkedIn Learning, you will have access to a variety of courses. For example, you could do a course on marketing one time and at another time, you could do a course on photography!
This allows you to build skills, which you can then showcase on your profile, impressing future employers even more. Some courses will even reward you with badges and virtual certificates.
You can put these in your profile, to show employers that you are constantly learning and building new skills. For more information about LinkedIn Learning and how to use it, check out this article from the LinkedIn website.
What is the difference between LinkedIn and LinkedIn Learning?
LinkedIn Learning is a platform developed by LinkedIn. However, they have two different functions. The main purpose of LinkedIn is to give its users access to an expansive network, where they can build business connections and create a professional network.
In comparison, LinkedIn Learning is a premium feature of LinkedIn. This is because it acts as an educational platform, offering courses for users to upskill.
It can be viewed as a large video library, with plenty of courses which you can use to develop your knowledge and impress potential employers.
You can find out more information about the differences on this article from the Skill Growth Pro website, if you click here.
Is LinkedIn Learning free for students?
To get a LinkedIn Learning account in the UK, you can invest in a LinkedIn Learning licence to work alongside your existing subscription to LinkedIn. This will cost approximately £29.99 for a monthly subscription or £16.99 for a yearly one, as of February 2023.
Considering the amount of content, you have access to and how much you can increase your employability with this tool, this charge is not very high!
However, if you are a student, you could potentially receive this tool for free. This is because certain universities offer this platform for free, as it is so beneficial.
For example, City, University of London offers a free LinkedIn Learning account for every student worth up to £250! However, after students graduate, they will not have access to this free LinkedIn Learning account.
More information about the City, University of London offering free LinkedIn Learning accounts can be found on an article from the university’s Student Hub website, if you click here.