LinkedIn and your online presence

Recruiters search LinkedIn every day. A complete, keyword-rich profile brings opportunities to you.

Profile essentials

• Photo: a clear, friendly headshot with a plain background. Profiles with photos get far more views.
• Banner: something related to your field (a simple design with your focus area).
• Headline (the most important field for search): not just "Student at XYZ". Use role + skills + proof: "Aspiring Data Analyst | SQL, Power BI, Python | Built sales dashboards for 2 startups".
• About: 3 short paragraphs: who you are and what you do, highlights with results, what you're looking for and how to contact you. Include keywords naturally.
• Experience: internships, projects and positions of responsibility with bullet points (reuse resume bullets).
• Featured: link your best project, portfolio, article or certificate.
• Skills: add 10–20 relevant skills; ask peers and mentors for endorsements.
• Recommendations: ask internship managers or professors for specific recommendations.
• Set "Open to work" with your target roles and locations (visible to recruiters only if you prefer).
• Customise your profile URL: linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname.

Building visibility

• Post about what you're learning or building once a week: a project demo, lessons from an internship, a short breakdown of a concept. Specific posts with visuals do well.
• Comment thoughtfully on posts by people in your target industry (adds value, builds recognition).
• Connect with alumni, recruiters, and people in roles you want, with a short personal note.

Other profiles

• GitHub (developers): pinned repositories with READMEs, screenshots and live links; consistent contribution activity.
• Portfolio site (designers, writers, developers): case studies with process and results.
• Behance/Dribbble (designers), Kaggle (data), Medium/Hashnode (writers and developers).
• HireSol profile: a complete profile with skills, projects and your resume helps companies find you, and the courses you're shown here are matched to it.

Google yourself: make sure what appears is professional.

Check yourself

• Write a LinkedIn headline for your target role.
• Draft a 3-paragraph About section.
• Pick one project and write a LinkedIn post about what you learnt building it.