Are you a teen who would like some tips about using LinkedIn?

In order to be able to use LinkedIn, you must be at least 16 years old. As with other social media sites, you need to abide by the terms of service of LinkedIn.

For example, you must use your real name, and you can have only one account on LinkedIn. Click here to learn more about LinkedIn’s terms of services.

 

Resources for Teens Using LinkedIn

Before creating a LinkedIn account, you might want to ask a relative or friend to show you their LinkedIn account. Also, ask them to tell you some basic tips for getting started on this powerful platform.

A Google search will also provide many helpful resources. I especially appreciated Kathy Jamison’s article: “LinkedIn – Building Your Teen Profile.” She provides great ideas for teen LinkedIn users who have limited or no work experience. In particular, I appreciated her point “Before a teenager connects on LinkedIn, it is important to remember this is a professional networking site. Think of your LinkedIn profile as a virtual resume.”

Another source of information for teens using LinkedIn is LinkedIn itself. For example, there’s a helpful tutorial called “Increasing Your Privacy as a Teen on LinkedIn.”

By this point, you may be wondering: “What’s the point of using LinkedIn while still in high school?”

 

Five Reasons for Teens 16 – 19 to Use LinkedIn

  • Enhance your reputation. From the time you start using any social media, you are building a “digital footprint.” Your LinkedIn presence helps others to know more about you, what you believe in, and what you offer the world.
  • Connect with people in the line of work you hope to pursue after high school. Start by inviting people you trust to connect with you on LinkedIn. They could be family members, friends, co-workers, and people you volunteer with. Then, through these people you can meet others who you could get to know in the field you want to pursue.
  • Publicize the organizations you support and causes you believe in. Along with a Work Experience section, LinkedIn has a section called Volunteering. You can list the entities where you volunteer and what you have done as a volunteer. Bringing attention to these organizations can help them to recruit more volunteers and potentially more financial support.
  • Research colleges and universities. Most higher education institutions have a company page on LinkedIn. You can read posts by representatives of these institutions and see recent videos. Also, you can search alumni by where they live and where they work.
  • Learn more about the type of career(s) that intrigue you. Use LinkedIn’s search tool to find people who work in the type of career(s) you are considering. When you find people you’d like to meet, ask one of your LinkedIn connections to introduce you to them.

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 55 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially LinkedIn and Facebook. She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations.  She has recently created an initiative to help young people 16-24 to better understand and use LinkedIn. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.