Leveraging LinkedIn: 5 Tips for Aspiring Law Students

At UB School of Law, we recognize the importance of students building an online presence with LinkedIn. Incoming UB Law students are invited to their class LinkedIn group after receiving their law school acceptance, where they can engage in conversations with classmates and stay on top of law school news and events.

Our Career Services Office (CSO) recently hosted Karen Sharp-Price, who presented “Tips from a Career Coach: How to Make Yourself Stand Out on LinkedIn.” Karen is a Professional Career Coach (CPCC), Certified Veteran Career Strategist (CVCS), Certified Digital Career Strategist (CDCS) and a Certified Human Resources Professional (PHR and SHRM-CP). She also hosts a podcast, SharpHR Career Corner. During her recent session at the law school, she provided students with valuable suggestions on setting up their profiles and utilizing LinkedIn. Keep a look out for Karen’s key tips included throughout this blog!

Let’s explore five strategies that will help set you apart in the vast world of LinkedIn.

When landing on a LinkedIn profile, three key components strike a viewer first: the background image, profile picture, and tagline. This is a great place for you to start making a great impression.

Select a professional portrait.

• Choose an image with a plain background, close-up, and with a smile! It should be up-to-date, professional, and accurately represent you.

Add a unique background image.

• Show off your personality and experience by choosing an image that is inviting and strikes up a conversation. For example, a recent place you traveled to, your hometown, or a visual representation of your dream career.

Create a tagline.

• Your tagline reflects who you are and where you are in your career journey. Be descriptive, include your education, experience, skillset, and career aspirations.
• For example, current law students should mention they are a J.D. candidate and identify their law school and the area of legal study they are interested in. Undergraduate students should mention the degree they are pursuing, identify their school, and indicate that they are aspiring law school candidates/ lawyers.

You may often hear “Keep your resume to one page” but LinkedIn is different. Think of your profile as an extension of your resume. On LinkedIn, you should include all your professional experiences. This will come in handy if employers want to dive deeper into your background. Always include your LinkedIn profile URL on your resume so it’s easy for potential employers to find this additional information. 

Build a complete profile by filling out each section thoroughly. Here are some details to consider:

About Section

• Tell your story and show off your personality. This is your hook, so readers will continue to look at your profile. Make sure to include your career goals using keywords for that industry. These keywords will help employers find you.

Experience Section

• This should look different than your resume. For example, if you use bullets on your resume, use paragraph summaries on your LinkedIn profile.

Education Section

• Confirm you have selected the correct degree and school. Double-check your diploma, if necessary.

Volunteer Experience

• Don’t skip this section. Show off your diversified experiences!

Skills Section

• Demonstrate your expertise. Consider all that you have learned in your previous positions, volunteer work, and in school.

Now that you have an optimized profile that shows off who you are, it is time to make some connections. This can start small. Begin by connecting with your classmates and mentors and you will watch your feed fill quickly. Join various groups, like schools you attended or would like to attend and companies where you have worked, or where you would like to work. Search for attorneys who work in a geographic region or practice in an area of interest to you. Your network will quickly expand with like-minded colleagues.

Your connections are growing. Now it is time to engage with them. This is the step that often goes by the wayside but is key to creating valuable relationships. Push yourself outside your comfort zone and feel confident in the knowledge you have gained throughout your academic career. The first step is to like, support, or celebrate your connections’ posts. As you become more comfortable with what others post on this platform and you continue to gain experience, start to comment. Your responses should be short, relevant to the post, and provide new insights or add to the conversation. As your comfort level rises, you can begin to repost!

Remember, LinkedIn is a professional platform, and you should treat it as such. Do not use LinkedIn like you would other social media platforms. Always double-check spelling and grammar before posting and avoid using abbreviations. The legal world is filled with abbreviations and acronyms, but this is not the place to showcase them. Spell out organizations, degrees, etc. to avoid confusion and to provide accessibility to those from all backgrounds. Posts and comments should always be written in a professional voice, avoiding casual language and internet slang. And clarity is key! Your errors are not just mistakes but reflections of your attention to detail, a crucial trait in the legal profession. Finally, always be courteous and show respect for diverse viewpoints.

And just like that you are creating your professional identity in the legal community! 

• LinkedIn
• Sharp HR Career Corner
• The Office of Admissions