October 31, 2025

A strong online presence is significant in today’s digital scenario for both working professionals and students and LinkedIn is considered the best among all networking platforms. This is because even before hiring, your LinkedIn profile says a lot about you and your approach to career. Also, the platform helps you showcase your skills, achievements, and your career objectives. Thus, having a strong LikedIn profile benefits you whether you are applying for your dream job role or it is your very first internship.

A common misconception among students is that LinkedIn platform works only for working professionals but actually it is not the case. The earlier you understand this platform and preferably in your college years, the more advantageous it is. You get an opportunity to connect mentors, professionals and industry experts of your field which can significantly guide you in your career journey. In this blog, we will learn how to make a strong LinkedIn profile step by step by focusing on each minute aspect like your profile picture, your bio section, and overall summary.

Choose a Professional Profile Picture

Before initiating the actual conversation, it is your profile picture that interacts on behalf of you. So, it should be a clear and professional one. But it doesn’t mean you have to hire a professional photographer. Just remember a few things – you should be all tidy up – hair, clothes, and overall professional grooming and smile naturally.

Use a light background with adequate lighting so your face can be clearly visible. Also, try to avoid over editing, selfie pictures and group photos as it may appear unprofessional. The purpose of your profile picture is to make you approachable and give you a confident look. According to a study

Use a Catchy and Unique Headline

The headline appears right under your name. Most students make this mistake of just simply mentioning their stream like BBA or B.Tech student/ graduate. Instead, you should choose a headline that shows your interest and likings for a specific field.

For example, when you write ‘Aspiring Software Engineer’, it helps the people to identify your current situation and when you add – Passionate about Data Science, AI & ML, it enables them to understand your key focus areas. This helps recruiters and community people to reach out to you faster based on your interests and domain.

Create an Engaging About Section (Summary)

The ‘About’ section of your LinkedIn profile is actually your career journey. But that doesn’t mean to stuff it with your qualifications. It is more important to showcase your current learning, what made you choose the field, and what are your future career expectations. You can follow these points to draft your summary section-

• Give a short introduction about yourself – include your interests and academic background.
• Mention your strength and your academic and non – academic achievements
• Lastly, clearly state your future aims and what opportunities you are actively searching for in the field.

The key purpose of the summary is to provide a personal touch to your profile through which people can relate. And this is what makes it a perfect LinkedIn profile for students.

Add details about your Education, Achievements and Skills

As per the requirements, fill details about your college, course, subjects, degree, your participation in different activities and your achievements for the same. In case you have been provided any scholarship or received recognition/ award, adding that will enhance your LinkedIn profile. Depending on your field, you can add relevant skills to your profile. Below we are sharing preferred skills that can be included in the profile based on your field:

• Engineering – Problem-Solving, Programming, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analysis etc.
• Management – Leadership, Communication, Teamwork, Marketing, Digital Marketing etc.
• Humanities – Creative Writing, Research, Graphic Designing, Proofreading, Translation etc.
• Commerce – Software proficiency on Excel and Tally, E-Commerce, Financial Skills, Time Management etc.

Include Projects and Internships in the Experience section

As a student, it is quite obvious that you will not have any professional experience of corporate working. But sharing details about the college project, work experience gained during internship, or preparing a research paper differentiates your profile from that of other students.

For example – website creation during internship or working on digital marketing advertising tools like Google Adwords and Meta Ads all should be added to your experience. Furthermore, if you have learned any new skill while working on the project or during internship, it should be also mentioned as it shows your initiative towards learning new skills for successful accomplishment of a given task.

Build Trust by getting Recommendations

Recruiters while searching for candidates prefer to choose profiles which have recommendations. For students, teachers and mentors can help you in this by writing genuinely about work ethics and performance. For interns, their seniors and colleagues can share their opinions. This will make your LinkedIn profile more credible. Next is to focus on building connections as this will grow your network and visibility among the recruiters. You can connect with your classmates, professors, seniors, professionals from your field and alumni members of your college.

Conclusion

Using professional networking tools like LinkedIn to build your online visibility can be the smartest and wisest decision in your career journey. The above explained LinkedIn profile tips for students not only help you explore internship and job opportunities but also connect with industry professionals who can guide you well with their experience. Moreover, a well managed LinkedIn profile also shows professionalism which depicts your transformation from a student to a working professional. Furthermore, you should also update it regularly and stay active. Your profile is not just an account on the platform, it is your professional identity and therefore, at University of Technology,  we advise students to spend some time understanding the platform and learn how to use it well for your future success.