LinkedIn – Benefits and how I use it as a final year Medical Science student

I was first introduced to LinkedIn through ARU’s Employability and Careers service, every trimester we have a live brief with someone from the service and they provide help and advice on the basics of LinkedIn such as how to create an account and how to use the platform.

Here are the main benefits of LinkedIn:

1. Networking:

LinkedIn allows you to meet and connect with people, join groups, follow companies or futures employers. You can find interesting people and see their academic journey in order to get inspiration to shape your own.

2. Communications:

Following futures employers or experts allows you to be up to date with news, articles and new discoveries directly from the sources. You can share your own experiences, build your own brand, demonstrate your knowledge, career development and engagement.

3. Job market:

One of the main functions of the platform, there is a colossal job market in LinkedIn, companies hire specialist recruiters to go through possible candidates’ profiles to find the best match for the job they are trying to fill, so having an updated profile and relevant experience can be crucial for you to be found.

On the other hand, you can find jobs there instead of being approached, the platform has a very specific search engine where you can personalise what jobs come up, salary, date posted, experience level, job type etc. Finally, you can set up reminders to when a job that meets what you are looking for you is posted.

4. Training and LinkedIn Learning:

Besides being able to attend meetings and events that are promoted in the platform, you have access to LinkedIn Training being an ARU student for free, this includes communication and presenting skills, data analysis, interview tips, study skills and even programming.

How I use it as a final year Medical Science Student:

I started using LinkedIn in my first year of University, I have been able to connect to expert and get advice from them, interact with other students and share my accomplishments and experiences. I have been using it to be updated with new findings in the scientific field, provide my own opinions and discuss it with other like-minded people.

I use LinkedIn to see the journeys of people I look up to and discover how they got there, this motivates and guides me to achieve my goals.

Finally, LinkedIn has been pivotal for me to find a job, I have reminders of jobs always coming through and I have been able to find jobs that suit me, LinkedIn recommends you jobs that meet your skill set and experience. This enables me to be up to date with the job market and find new opportunities!