As most of us know, LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented service that operates via websites and mobile apps. The platform is mostly used for the purpose of professional networking, which includes employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their CVs.
The basic services of LinkedIn allow one to create profiles, which for employees commonly consist of a curriculum vitae describing their work experience, education and training, skills, and a personal photo. Here, employers can list their job openings and search for potential candidates. One can find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one’s contact network. One can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs that they would like to apply for. One can also follow different companies.
The site works like any other social media platform. One can connect with people by sending them a connection request. One can post articles, or updates, they can message their connections and see what they are doing.
Among Law students, the competition is fast increasing today. This community of law students today comprises a pool of talent. With the potential for law as a career growing rapidly, the number of students aspiring to enter this career are also growing. As a law student, there are several activities that a student has to manage – like academics, internships, research, moot court competition, debates, article writing competitions, among other things. Even after mastering all of these activities, the question is, where does a law student display their achievements and talents? Not quite only on a C.V. This is because a C.V will be viewed by only a handful of people from a handful of organizations. It won’t get far. So, what will get far? The answer is – LinkedIn.
Having once understood the features of LinkedIn and how to use it by studying the page and following the instructions, it will be time to know how LinkedIn will help you grow. So, how does LinkedIn do that? This is with the help of a marketing tool called ‘Personal Branding’. Personal branding is basically the practice of marketing people and their careers as brands. It is essentially an ongoing process of developing and maintaining a reputation and impression of an individual, group, or organization.
One can be the most talented person in the room, but it is not going to do them any good if they cannot sell their talent.
Many law students these days develop a variety of skill sets. In addition to knowledge of the law and the skills required therein, many of them also are skilled in finance, economics, computer science, designing, digital marketing, etc. Again, many students pursue different courses along with law like CA, CS or something in the capital markets. This provides them with an edge. But the problem arises when one is not looked at individually but in a collective of law students.
One’s talent might not be spotted right away. This is where personal branding becomes important. When one markets oneself as an individual with dual skills/expertise, they become more valued. But one will only become more valued if they market themselves. It is here that LinkedIn comes up as the perfect platform for one to market oneself. This is because the features of LinkedIn allow them to add any number of skills that they want.