Boost your LinkedIn profile in a new job market

- Arpan Malhotra

Professional networking is essential for one’s career. As an international student, it can be challenging to build a professional network in a new country to start their career. LinkedIn is the biggest professional network platform in the world. It is a fantastic way to grow your personal brand and stand out in the market as an international student.

Why should you join LinkedIn?

The simple answer to this is that recruiters search for new talent via LinkedIn. You never know when your profile stands out, you could be head-hunted for a new role. LinkedIn has all three – jobs, news, and networking. LinkedIn has many great features that you can use to build your profile and improve your experience.

Knowing where to start from can be confusing. 

Below are a few tips to have a polished and professional LinkedIn profile. Whether you are new to LinkedIn or not, these tips will help you stand out amongst the crowd in the job market.

1. Update a professional profile picture

This is an important step. Remember, LinkedIn is a professional platform, a headshot or professional photo of yourself is the way to go. Make sure that your profile picture is and only features you. Save your fun holiday photos for Instagram.

2. Create/Update your headline. 

Located at the top of your profile page, beside your profile picture, your headline gives you 120 characters with which to grab people’s attention. LinkedIn will automatically take your job title and current employer details and pop them in the headline if you don't fill this in. But your best bet is to fill this section in. It helps to grab attention and make you stand out from the crowd.

• Start with who you are: your professional title (Communication Assistant, Accounts Coordinator).

• Move on to whom you are targeting: (helps clients to increase brand awareness)

• Finish by providing proof of your expertise: (Master of Communication Student at UQ).

3. Add your summary 

LinkedIn summary falls below profile picture and headline and is vital in demonstrating your value to businesses. Here, you have 2,000 characters with which to sell your skills and expertise.

4. Create a personalised link

If you want your profile to stand out, having a personalised LinkedIn link is the way to do it. Not only does having a personalised link keep your profile looking consistent, but it also makes it easy for contacts and potential employers to find you.

To create a personalised link, follow these steps:

1.   Go to account settings,

2.   Click the ‘privacy’ tab,

3.   Then go to ‘edit your public profile’,

4.   Finally, update your custom URL to your full name.

5. Update your work experiences.

This is where you add your work experience. It’s best not to copy and paste from your resume, as you want to demonstrate your value uniquely. To do this, list a challenge you faced and how you solved it, as well as what you achieved.

No need to worry if you don’t have previous work experience. Commsgrad is an easy way to secure internships. The platform provides re-imagined access to unbiased, equitable work experience. All we need from you is It takes three minutes to register with a few basic details (name, contact details). 

6. Add new sections (volunteering, languages and more)

Be sure to include any volunteer work you have completed and write a reflection on your experiences. Potential clients and connections will get a better picture of who you are if they know more about the things that matter most to you.

Showcase your talents by including additional languages you know, this can be stand out as an international student.  

7. Build your personalised connections

Finally, this the most important tip for an international student who came to a new country and wants to build a career in communication. Having personalised connections in the comms industry can lead to pushing your profile to others in the industry. Note that sending personalised messages invitations to potential connections can make lasting impressions. If you know the person you’re connecting with, mention where and how you met. Remember always being professional. 

 Don’t be scared to connect with people you don’t know. LinkedIn is all about building your professional network, and connecting with people in similar fields or industry pros that you admire is the best way to do this. When connecting with someone you have not met, make sure you tell them why you want to connect and introduce yourself.