How to Use LinkedIn: Practical Tips for Students and Professionals

Beyond job ads and CV submissions, employers now look candidates up online, and LinkedIn is the most useful platform for that. Yet many people open a profile and then leave it untouched. This guide explains how to use LinkedIn in two parts: for those who are brand new or looking for a first job, and for those already in their careers. You'll also find a profile checklist, common mistakes and answers to frequent questions.

Why LinkedIn matters

LinkedIn is a professional social network. Your profile works like an online CV but shows more than a CV can: what you are learning, what you think about, who you have worked with and what they say about you. Recruiters, clients and future colleagues can get to know you before they ever meet you.

• Jobs and internships are posted directly by organisations.
• You can learn from experienced people in your field.
• Freelancers and entrepreneurs find new clients and partners.
• Your LinkedIn profile often appears when someone searches your name on Google, so it becomes part of your professional identity.

New to LinkedIn: students and first-time job seekers

Learn to use LinkedIn as a networking tool while you are still at university. Experience is limited at that stage, so your learning and curiosity are your biggest assets. Here is what to do:

1. Add your courses and studies: list the courses that match your target career. If you did a thesis or research under a supervisor, mention it.
2. Workshops and training: add online or offline training, with certificates.
3. Extracurricular and volunteer work: club roles, competitions and volunteering show leadership and teamwork.
4. Join groups and use hashtags: join groups on topics you care about, and add 3-5 relevant hashtags when you post.
5. Follow organisations you like: follow the pages of places you want to work to understand their culture and the skills they look for.
6. Share your view in comments: comment thoughtfully on professional posts in your network. Not "Nice post", but something you learned or a question.
7. Learn how to reach out: when you send a connection request, add a short personal note saying why you want to connect.
8. Show yourself through writing: publish short notes or articles about your studies or field. They show your writing skills and depth of thought.

Profile checklist for beginners

LinkedIn for professionals

If you have worked for a few years, LinkedIn is a place for new connections, new skills and new opportunities. The main job is to present your experience clearly.

1. Quality over quantity: a few active, relevant people in your field are worth far more than thousands of random connections. LinkedIn is not a popularity contest.
2. Connect with relevant people: stay connected with people in your profession and industry, former colleagues, classmates and teachers.
3. Use LinkedIn for hiring: post jobs when your organisation is hiring and look for candidates with diverse backgrounds through groups.
4. Share your organisation's achievements: post new projects, awards and opportunities regularly.
5. Give and get recommendations: ask former colleagues, managers or teachers who saw your work first-hand. When you write one, be honest and give specific examples.
6. Describe experience with results: instead of "handled social media", write what you did and what happened, e.g. "doubled the page's organic reach in 6 months".

For advice on career planning or personal branding, you can visit Sultan Muhammad Rashed's personal website.

Open to Work: when and how to turn it on

LinkedIn's Open to Work feature tells recruiters you are looking for a job. You can choose between two visibility settings:

The steps are usually: go to your profile, click Open to → Finding a new job → choose the roles and job types you want → set Visibility → Add to profile. Note that even with "Recruiters only", LinkedIn does not fully guarantee that recruiters at your current company won't see it. Menus change from time to time, so labels in the app may differ slightly.

Headline and About examples

The most-seen parts of a profile are your name, photo and headline: they appear in search results and next to every comment. Try to include your role, your skills and the value you offer.

In your About section, answer 3 questions: who you are, what you are good at or learning, and why a reader should get in touch. You can end with a professional contact email.

LinkedIn for freelancers and entrepreneurs

LinkedIn is not only for job seekers. Freelancers can use the Featured section to show a portfolio and, with the client's permission, the results of their work. Entrepreneurs should keep a personal profile and a separate company page, and write regularly about what they are learning and their business story. People follow people more than companies, so an active founder profile builds trust in the whole business.

LinkedIn mistakes to avoid

• No photo, or a casual selfie-style photo.
• An empty About section or a headline that just says "Looking for job".
• Sending hundreds of connection requests without introducing yourself.
• Pitching a sale or asking for a job right after connecting.
• Posting political arguments, personal fights or unrelated memes.
• Leaving your profile un-updated for years.

A 30-minute weekly LinkedIn routine

1. 10 minutes: leave thoughtful comments on 3-4 posts in your feed.
2. 10 minutes: send connection requests with a personal note to 2-3 relevant people.
3. 10 minutes: write a short post about something you learned or did, or update one section of your profile.

Final word

LinkedIn won't get you a job overnight, but a little regular time on it widens both your professional identity and your opportunities. If you're a student, complete your profile today; if you're a professional, focus on the quality of your connections and on showing the results of your work. Follow these simple tips on how to use LinkedIn and you'll notice the difference within a few months.