Is LinkedIn the new Instagram?

Do you have a few spare minutes in your day? Then get yourself on LinkedIn and utilise that time to make more connections and improve your commercial awareness. If you swap out scrolling on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter for a quick scroll on LinkedIn, you would be surprised at the opportunities you'll find.

Spending time on LinkedIn, liking posts, and following people and companies of interest to you will allow you to find opportunities that may have a positive impact on your professional life. It can be time consuming to start with, but you'll soon become familiar with the platform and will quickly build up a range of connections. Your connections might post work experience opportunities and recruiters might seek you out with job opportunities that suit your profile – the legal world is your oyster.

By the end of your first year it is recommended to have made 20-40 connections on LinkedIn. By the end of your final year at University it is recommended to have made 100-150 useful connections. Only connect with people who are interesting to you, or that you have met, otherwise your feed will not be beneficial to you. When at networking events be confident and ask the legal professionals if it’s okay to connect with them and once you do, always leave a little message. This may well leave a lasting impression on them, and they may even message back.

To encourage engagement with your profile and to show yourself in your best professional light, try to only create posts that are achievements for you or highlights of positive experiences or work, and try and stick to professional material. Remember to include hashtags so people can find your post through other pages and tag the relevant members – if you did something for the law school, then tag Leeds Law School. There is nothing better than someone else sharing or commenting on your post if they have a strong following.

Happy networking and good luck!