This document provides guidance on using LinkedIn to build a professional brand and network. It outlines steps to create a LinkedIn account, build a professional profile, connect with others, search for jobs and internships, and get career advice. The key steps are to define your professional brand by identifying your unique skills and experiences, create a complete LinkedIn profile showcasing your brand, and build your network by connecting with others and engaging on the platform.

1. for Students
Building Your
Professional Brand

2. What We Will Cover in This Session
STEP
02
Introduction - What is LinkedIn?
Define Your Professional Brand
Create A LinkedIn Account
STEP
03
STEP
04
EC
Build A LinkedIn Profile That
Attracts Employers
Build Your LinkedIn Network to
Connect to Opportunities
Search For Jobs, Internships in
LinkedIn
STEP
01
STEP
05

3. What You Do on Other Social
Media
I like donuts
Watch me eat a donut
Here’s a cool photo of my donut
Here’s a donut recipe
I’m listening to “Donuts”
Anyone want a donut?

4. On LinkedIn: A Professional
Mindset
I hope to operate a donut franchise
one day.
I’m looking for a job at a
donut company.
I have three years experience
making donuts.
My top skills are donut production
and sales.
Here are 3 recommendations from
former donut colleagues.

5. Connect to Jobs and Internships
2.5 million people on
LinkedIn are hired through
their connections every year
92% of recruiters
use LinkedIn
daily
Over 10 million
employers posting 7.5
million jobs per
month

6. Define Your
Professional Brand
What Makes a Good Brand?
Identify Your Brand
Show You’re the Right Choice
STEP
01

7. What Makes a Good Brand?
A brand is a company’s promise to its
customer.
It tells customers what they can
expect from the company’s products
and services.
It shows how its products are unique
from its competitors’.
STEP
01

8. Nike vs. Adidas
How do you decide which kind of
shoe you like more?
What does each brand promise
its customers?
What can you expect from a
Nike Air vs. an Adidas high top?
How are they different?
STEP
01

9. So wait - I have my own
brand?
Your brand is your promise to those
around you.
It tells people what they can expect
from working with you and around you.
It shows how you are unique from other
people.
You can shape your brand by the
way you present yourself to others.
STEP
01
Who are

10. The Value of Your Brand
Why choose you?
How does an employer, coach or
college decide who to choose?
What do you promise your
employer, team ?
What can they expect from you?
How are you unique?
STEP
01

11. Show You’re the Right Choice
Your brand includes who you are now:
 Skills: Your school, work experience
and specific skills you learned in each
job or class
 Network: How you are to be around
and work with, as told by the people
you know
 Information: Your areas of expertise
and wisdom
STEP
01

12. Show You’re the Right Choice
And what you want in the future:
 Values: Things that are important to
you and give meaning to your life
 Goals: What you want to be doing in ,
10 or 30 years
STEP
01
Honesy

13. Show You’re the Right Choice
Decide what you want people’s first
impression of you to be!
 Make a strong LinkedIn profile so your
professional profile shows up in Google
first
 Stay active on social media to build our
your online presence
 Be careful what you post that could
your professional brand
STEP
01

14. Create a
LinkedIn Account
DID YOU KNOW? 9 out of 10 employers
use LinkedIn during the hiring process.
Set Up Your Account
Import Your Contacts
Add a Photo
Download the LinkedIn Mobile App
STEP
02

15. Set Up Your Account
Go to LinkedIn.com and complete
the prompts, including:
 Location
 Industry
 Reason for Joining LinkedIn
STEP
02

16. Import Your Contacts
Sync your email account to
connect with people you already
know on LinkedIn.
STEP
02

17. Add a Photo
Members with profile photos
receive up to 21x more profile
views and 9x more connection
requests.
STEP
02
We’ll talk more about
professional profile photos
later!

18. Build a LinkedIn Profile
That Attracts Employers
DID YOU KNOW? Over 50% of hiring
managers use LinkedIn profiles to
qualify jobseekers
Profile vs Resume
Take a Great Photo
Edit Your Profile
Privacy Settings
STEP
03

19. Profile vs Resume
STEP
03
There are big differences between
your LinkedIn profile and your
resume.
For example, your LinkedIn profile:
 Speaks to all potential employers, not
just a single one
 Goes into more detail with skills,
projects, interests, certifications, & more
 Contains recommendations and
endorsements
 Allows other professionals & employers
to interact, learn, and contact you

20. Take a Great Photo
Before taking your photo, make
sure you:
 Use a background that isn’t
distracting
 Dress for the job you want
 Smile & have a friendly expression
To create a good profile picture,
double check that your face takes
up a majority of the frame.
STEP
03

21. Edit Your Profile:
Your story in your words
Click the “Me” icon at the top of your
LinkedIn homepage.
On the right side of the page, click
“Add new profile section” to begin
editing and adding to your profile.
Add your:
STEP
03
 Location & 
Industry
 Work & Internship
Experience
 Volunteer
Experience
Education &
Certifications
 Skills
 Program or
Organization

22. Edit Your Profile:
Headline spotlight
Your headline is an opportunity to
show what you are – not just what you
do.
When writing your headline,
ask yourself:
 If this is the only thing someone
sees, what does it convey
about me?
 Does this represent my
professional brand & show why I
am unique?
 Does it capture what a
recruiter would care about?
STEP
03

24. Edit Your Profile:
Summary spotlight
Your summary is prime real estate for
your professional brand. It’s where you
can put your own spin on your
experience & tell the story you want to
tell. We recommend:
 Including past accomplishments and
future goals
 Sticking to 3-5 short paragraphs
 Writing how you speak – be
authentic!
 Using keywords
STEP
02

26. Privacy Settings
Click the “Me” icon at the top of your
LinkedIn homepage.
In the dropdown menu, select “Settings &
Privacy” to begin managing your account
settings.
For example, you can:
 Add an additional email address
 Change your password
 Control your notification preferences
STEP
03

27. Build Your LinkedIn Network
to Connect to Opportunities
Discover Existing Connections
Search for New Connections
Message Connections
Get Career Advice
STEP
04
Engage With Your Community

28. Discover Existing
Connections
Click “My Network” in the top
navigation to find people you
already know.
STEP
04

29. Search for New
Connections
Use the search bar in the top
navigation to find new connections
by:
 Name
 Company
 Keyword
STEP
04

30. Message Connections
Send messages to your
connections directly from:
 The LinkedIn messaging
page
 Your connections page
 Their profile page
STEP
04
If you don’t know the person
you’re messaging in real life,
clearly explain why you are
reaching out.

31. Request
Recommendations
Recommendations on LinkedIn are
like references from people in your
network.
On a connection’s profile, click
More… and then Request a
Recommendation.
You can select your relationship to this
person, indicate whether you worked
with them in a particular role, &
customize your message.
STEP
04

32. Get Career Advice
From your profile page, select the
Career Advice hub located in Your
Dashboard.
Set your preferences by answering
questions related to receiving advice
and LinkedIn will suggest members
who have relevant experience.
STEP
04
If you don’t have Career
Advice as an option, you may
need to add more connections
or more content on your profile.

33. Engage With Your Community
STEP
04
Give testimonials and
recommendations to others
Join groups and
exchange insights with
school or program
alumni
Like and share things
that people in your
network will
care about and post
Invest time in your
connections, take them
to lunch or even just
listen
Make
introductions
for others

34. Search for Jobs,
Internships and
Schools on
LinkedIn
Get the LinkedIn Job Search App
Set Career Interests
Search for Jobs
Review “Jobs You May Be
Interested In”
Use Your Network
Follow Companies
STEP
05

35. Set Career Interests
Include potential job titles and
locations in your career interests to
receive more relevant job suggestions
Turn on the Open Candidates
setting to let employers know
you are actively searching and
available for a new job.
Download the LinkedIn Job
Search Mobile App to see new
job notifications quickly
STEP
05

36. Search for Jobs
Use LinkedIn’s search filters to
find jobs by:
 Keyword
 Job title
 Company
 Location
 Function
 Industry
 Experience
level
 Date posted
STEP
05

37. Review Jobs You May
Be Interested In
For the best jobs, make sure your
profile is filled out with accurate:
 Work experience
 Skills
 Location information
STEP
05

38. Use Your Network
Ask for a job referral by reaching out
to your connections at a company
you would like to apply to.
STEP
05

39. Thank You