LinkedIn is a powerful social networking platform that can help students and graduates kickstart their careers in a variety of ways.

For a while I was confused by LinkedIn; I didn’t understand its significance or how to use it. During my first year at university, after going on the Westminster Working Cultures Dubai international trip and visiting Westminster Alumni, I understood how beneficial LinkedIn can be.  Listening to their inspiring stories and how LinkedIn played an important role in their lives, got me to start using LinkedIn myself. LinkedIn has been extremely helpful in planning each step of my career thus far, and here’s why:

1. Building your professional network: LinkedIn allows you to connect with professionals in your industry, Westminster alumni, and other graduates who share your interests. You can connect and keep in touch by following each other’s posts, or by asking questions, you can get an insight into joining the workspace as a Westminster grad, and that can help you learn and plan your next steps, your desired career path and offer advice or guidance.
2. Finding job opportunities: LinkedIn’s ‘job search’ feature allows you to look for job openings in your field of interest. There is also a ‘recommended jobs’ section. This means that the more you search, the more targeted your ‘recommended jobs’ listing will become, increasing your chances of coming across a great opportunity you may not have considered previously.

You can also look for jobs all over the world by following industry-specific tags and even specific organisations. This means you can set up job alerts to be notified when they post about new job opportunities that matches your skillset or when there’s a trending article in your industry published. It’s an excellent way to stay up to date with current world events and to be able to discuss the current state of your industry in job interviews.

3. Showcasing your skills and experience: LinkedIn is a platform where you can showcase your skills, education, and work experience. You can also add projects, presentations, certificates, and publications to your profile to demonstrate your expertise. LinkedIn is an excellent place to showcase your professional persona. The more you post, the more visible you’ll be, which can help you get noticed in your industry.

4. Getting noticed by recruiters: Recruiters use LinkedIn to search for candidates for job openings. By having a complete and up-to-date profile, you increase your chances of being found by recruiters and receiving job offers.

5. Joining Alumni and industry groups: LinkedIn has many industry-specific groups where you can connect with like-minded professionals and participate in discussions about the latest trends and best practices in your field. You can also follow and  join the many Westminster LinkedIn pages and groups such as, Careers and Employability Service, Westminster Alumni Association, Future Ready Mentoring team,  Westminster Business School and more.

6. Learning from industry leaders: LinkedIn is a great place to follow thought leaders and influencers in your industry. You can learn from their insights and advice and connect with them to ask questions or seek guidance.

By using LinkedIn effectively, you can build your career identity, your professional network, find job opportunities, and showcase your skills and experience to potential employers.

We have a great workshop for final years and recent graduates to help as part of the Graduate Success Series: LinkedIn Masterclass  on Wednesday 28 June 2023, 5-6:30pm to cover things you need to know once you have a LinkedIn profile. You can find the upcoming Graduate Success Series workshops here.

Feel free to get in touch with us for further information and support! You can contact us via email on careers@westminster.ac.uk to support you in your career journey! Don’t forget you can book a one-to-one career consultation to help you with creating your LinkedIn profile.

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Many thanks to Zainab, our graduate intern for the Early Graduate Support project, for this excellent blog.

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