New Head Start! Helping Student Build LinkedIn Profiles

We're adding something new to our services at Less College Stress Consulting – helping high school students create their first LinkedIn profiles.

You might be thinking: "Isn't LinkedIn for people with actual jobs?" But the landscape is changing, and it’s good for teens to take agency, especially when they are applying as majors to business, engineering, computer science, and health/science programs to highly competitive colleges. It’s one more advantage they can choose in a process that is largely beyond their control.

What Your Student Can Do on LinkedIn 

LinkedIn may allow your student to connect with professionals in fields they're interested in, find internship and research opportunities, and discover competitions and summer programs. It can help them research professors when are writing supplemental essays. A student can create their profile at any time, and this process ties in well with the college application process.

What We're Doing

We work with your teen and really dig into what makes them unique. We help them write a summary that actually sounds like them (not like a robot), organize their experiences in a way that tells their story, and teach them how to use the platform without feeling awkward about it. Most importantly, we advise them on how to maintain their profile and use it as they grow. This isn't a one-and-done – it's giving them a tool they'll use and update throughout high school, college, and beyond.

Can 9th graders start preparing for the job market? Yes!

At my conference, I attended a session that emphasized why students should begin having hands-on work experiences and building business skills as early as 9th grade. I’m all for helping students find internship opportunities, develop resumes, and create LinkedIn pages when they're ready, but the real skills that businesses say they want--communication and critical thinking--happen organically if students become engaged in their classes, clubs, and outside-school activities.

How to build communication skills? Effective teamwork in classes and clubs like mock trial, Model UN, and student government will help you navigate awkward conversations with teachers and even make you more confident asking someone to prom. Writing papers and DBQ’s will prepare you to write better emails, speak well in meetings, write a great cover letter, and ace the interview to land that job. 

Critical thinking? When you learn to analyze information and question what you hear in English or history class, you're not just preparing for college essays or workplace problem-solving. You're also becoming the friend who can spot fake news, figure out why your group project is falling apart, or help your friend think through that complicated relationship drama.

Here’s a few more:

Time management? Learn how to make time for both studying and hanging out with friends without feeling stressed about either one. In the future, that will help you manage work deadlines.

What about technical skills? Increase your digital fluency by taking computer science, CAD, and engineering courses, but understand that those you master today will completely change by the time you enter the job market. Being adaptable matters more.

How can you, as a high school student, prepare now to enter the work world? Look up from your phone and start now! The best career skills are good people skills.

Two reasons to download your transcript at the end of junior year

Are you applying to any of the colleges on this list?

Then you'll need a copy of your transcript to fill in your high school courses, credits, and grades on the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). These colleges want this information from you, not your school counselor. Many high schools shut the systems down over the summer, so act quickly.

• Baylor University

• Clemson University

• Duquesne University

• Florida A & M University

• Florida Atlantic University

• Florida Polytechnic University

• Florida State University

• Kean University

• Louisiana State University

• Montclair State University 

• New College of Florida

• New York University (NYU)

• Pennsylvania State University

• Rutgers University, Camden

• Rutgers University, Newark

• Rutgers University, New Brunswick

• Temple University

• Texas A&M University

• United State Air Force Academy

• University at Buffalo, State University of New York

• University of Connecticut

• University of Delaware

• University of Florida

• University of Massachusetts Amherst

• University of Minnesota Twin Cities

• University of North Florida

• University of Oregon

• University of Pittsburgh

• University of Rhode Island 

• University of South Florida

• University of Tampa

• University of Tennessee, Knoxville

• University of Texas at Arlington 

• University of Texas at San Antonio

• University of West Florida

• Virginia Tech

Even if you are not applying to these colleges, you'll need your transcript to apply to a number of others that require you to enter your grades in the Common Application. Here are a few popular ones:

Amherst College, Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Loyola Marymount University, Purdue University, University of Arizona, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Oregon, University of Southern California, University of Washington, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.