LinkedIn Profile Building

July 30, 2025
By Dhivya Venkat

LinkedIn is a social networking platform where recruiters and employers can view your academic and professional background. It’s basically an online resume that anyone can access. LinkedIn already has great formatting, so all you need to do is fill in what each section asks for and write a short description for each. 

What do I put?

• A nice, professional profile picture. Usually, something in a formal setting or an official school picture. 

• You have to make a description, which is usually broken down into:

  • Who you are (high school student)

  • Your main skills

  • Your area of interest

  • What you hope to achieve

• Experience:  As a high school student, you probably won’t have formal job experience yet, and that’s completely fine. What you can add is any leadership or working role from an extracurricular. Examples: club officer, part of a school publication, internships, or volunteer leadership roles.

• Education: List your current high school and your expected graduation year.

• Licenses and Certifications: If you’ve completed any online courses or summer programs, you can include them here. You can also add formal certifications like CPR, Microsoft Office, etc

• Volunteering: Any community service or unpaid work, usually done through nonprofits, goes here. Examples: tutoring, food drives, environmental clean-ups, etc.

• Skills: Add any hard skills (like Excel, graphic design, coding) or soft skills (like leadership, communication). LinkedIn has a list of skills to choose from, but you can also add your own.

• Courses: Only include advanced or college-level classes (AP, IB, dual enrollment, or honors). Don’t list regular high school classes as they don’t really stand out.

• Honors & Awards: Include awards or recognitions from competitions, schools, or extracurricular activities. Try to avoid super old or less relevant ones (like “Best Student in 7th Grade”).

• Languages: List any languages you speak fluently or are currently studying. Be sure to choose the correct proficiency level.

• Organizations:  Add any school or community organizations you’re part of—clubs, teams, committees, etc.

Everything else is up to you! Explore other sections, follow companies or colleges, and start making connections to grow your professional network.