Course description

If you're looking for work and your LinkedIn profile is empty, out of date or just not doing much, this course shows you how to build a clear, accurate profile and use the site safely and calmly as one part of your job search.

You start with what LinkedIn can and can't do for a job seeker, and set up or tidy your account. Then you work through your profile part by part, from photo and headline to Experience, career breaks, skills and the open to work setting, with before and after examples for made-up job seekers. You find the words employers use in real adverts and place them naturally. You learn to protect your privacy and spot job scams, and what to do and who to report to if something goes wrong. Then you network without cringe, comment and post in a light way, ask for recommendations, search and apply for jobs, and keep a job search log.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Jacynth, a former store supervisor returning to work after a career break, as she rebuilds her profile and moves into customer support. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, an answer key and a cheat sheet, plus a profile planning worksheet, headline and About templates, a keyword finder, a privacy and safety checklist, a scam warning signs card, message templates, a job search log spreadsheet, a weekly routine planner and a glossary. The final project is a full profile rewrite with a 30-day plan and a model answer to compare against.

What you'll learn

• Getting started: what LinkedIn can and can't do in a job search, how the site works in plain words, setting up or tidying an account safely, and a clear job search goal.
• Your profile, part 1: a clear photo and a banner by type, a headline that says what you do next, an About section in your own words, your profile web address and the open to work setting and who can see it.
• Your profile, part 2: Experience entries that show results, career breaks shown in plain, accurate terms, education and courses, choosing skills and the Featured section.
• Keywords: how searching for people works in general terms, finding the words employers use in real adverts, putting them where they belong without stuffing, and keeping your profile and CV in step.
• Privacy and safety: what to make public, protecting your personal data, spotting job scams and fake recruiters, never paying for a job, and how to report fraud using the official routes.
• Networking: who to connect with, short notes and messages that people reply to, informational chats and staying in touch without being pushy.
• Activity, recommendations and endorsements: low-effort comments, simple posts, asking for and giving recommendations, and keeping your skills accurate.
• Searching and applying: job searches and filters in general terms, job alerts, quick apply and employer websites, researching employers and a job search log.
• Your situation: graduates and school leavers, career changers, returners after a break and job seekers over 50, and linking your profile to your CV and interviews.
• Final project and weekly routine: a weekly routine you can keep, then rewriting a made-up job seeker's weak profile, with a 30-day plan, message templates and a full model answer.

Who it's for

Job seekers of any age and stage: people between jobs, graduates and school leavers, career changers, people returning after a break and job seekers over 50. You don't need any experience of LinkedIn. If you want to use LinkedIn to win clients or promote a business, LinkedIn for Business and Careers: Profiles, Posting and Finding Clients is the course for that.

What this course is, and isn't

This is an introduction to using LinkedIn in a job search. It isn't a qualification and no course can promise you a job. The site's layout and the names of its features change often, so features are described in general terms and you're asked to check the current Help Centre page. Safety and reporting guidance from GOV.UK, Police Scotland and the Information Commission (still known as the ICO) is described as it read when the course was written. Jacynth and every other person, employer and figure in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Explain what LinkedIn can and can't do in a job search, and set up or tidy an account safely
• Choose a clear photo and banner, and write a headline and About section that say what you want next
• Write Experience entries that show results, and show a career break in plain, accurate terms
• Add education, courses and skills, use the Featured section and set open to work with the right visibility
• Find the words employers use in real adverts and place them naturally, without stuffing
• Protect your privacy and personal data, spot job scams and know the official routes for reporting fraud
• Connect, message and hold informational chats in a natural way, and ask for recommendations
• Search and apply for jobs with alerts, quick apply and employer websites, and keep a job search log
• Adapt your profile as a graduate, career changer, returner or job seeker over 50, and link it to your CV and interviews
• Rewrite a weak profile, plan a 30-day job search and keep a weekly routine you can manage

Frequently asked questions