8 reasons why high school students should start building their LinkedIn profile now.
It’s true that LinkedIn isn’t the social channel that all the cool kids are spending copious amounts of time on. You can’t add video selfies with animated puppy filters. And that’s the point! What you share on Snapchat and Instagram isn’t necessarily what you want future employers to see when considering you for a position.
But I’m here to make a case that LinkedIn is worth delving into early – even when you’re still in high school. Forbes did a great article on “Eight Reasons High School Students Should Be On LinkedIn” – and they provide some pretty convincing benefits to beefing up a LinkedIn profile before college.
You can connect with teachers and supervisors at volunteer jobs. You can also branch out from your contacts to other people, who you don’t know first-hand. Getting introduced through a connection is much better than cold calling when you need a job! Even if you were just to connect with family and your immediate circle, you would put yourself in a stronger position to do future networking.
Other great reasons to create and maintain a LinkedIn profile include:
Cultivating your professional relationships
Creating a hub for recommendations
Highlighting and keeping a record of awards, projects and volunteer work
Claiming your custom LinkedIn URL
Read the full article here to learn why this is important.
I know it’s just one more thing to do on top of homework, college prep, etc., but this will be an invaluable hub of your professional profile that you can nurture and grow over the years. Who knows? Who you connect with now can make all the difference in years to come.
Shameless plug – connect with us on LinkedIn! Follow our page for the latest updates and enter your Ambassador Leaders experience to your LinkedIn profile. You’ll be able to find fellow Ambassador Leaders, our staff and teachers for recommendations and connections down the road.
By Lindsey Suda
Lindsey helps run the social media side of Ambassador Leaders. Stop by our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Youtube and say hi. Post your summit or throwback pics with #ambassadorleaders - we love to see them!