Online Profile

Due: October 23 by 11:59 PM ET · 7.5% of course grade

1 Purpose

A professional online presence helps you connect with employers, research groups, alumni, and professional communities, and it is often the first thing someone looks at after meeting you at a career fair. You will create or meaningfully improve an online professional profile that represents your background, interests, and goals.

The primary focus of this assignment is LinkedIn. If you do not have a LinkedIn profile, create a complete one. If you already have one, revise and strengthen it. We discuss online presence in class on October 16.

TipEncouraged, but not required

You may also include links to other professional materials such as a personal website, GitHub profile, digital portfolio, or ORCID profile.

2 What to Submit

Submit a single PDF to Canvas that includes:

  1. A PDF copy of your LinkedIn profile, saved using LinkedIn’s Save to PDF feature.
  2. Optional URLs to a personal website, portfolio, GitHub, or similar materials. These are encouraged but are not worth extra points.

2.1 How to Save Your LinkedIn Profile as a PDF

  1. Log in to LinkedIn in a desktop web browser.
  2. Click the Me icon at the top of the LinkedIn homepage.
  3. Select View Profile.
  4. In the introduction section of your profile, click More or Resources.
  5. Select Save to PDF.

LinkedIn notes that this feature is available only for profiles set to English. If you cannot use it, contact the instructor for another way to document your profile.

LinkedIn Help: Save a profile as a PDF

3 Expectations

Your profile should present you clearly and professionally. As a first-year student, you are not expected to have a long work history. A strong profile will generally include:

  • A professional photo. Clear, smiling, and with an uncluttered background.
  • A headline that says who you are and what you are interested in, such as “Physics first-year at Georgia Tech interested in quantum materials,” rather than just “Student.”
  • A summary. A short paragraph is fine. You may draw on sections of your resume rather than writing a long bio.
  • Education listing Georgia Tech and your degree program.
  • Experience, projects, and activities. Jobs, volunteering, clubs, research, and projects you are proud of, including strong high school projects.
  • Skills you actually have, such as programming languages, lab techniques, or software.
  • A custom profile URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname) rather than the default string of numbers.

Avoid overused buzzwords like “motivated,” “driven,” and “problem solver.” Show those qualities through what you have done instead.

TipAlternatives to LinkedIn

If you do not wish to create or maintain a LinkedIn profile, you may instead submit the supplementary professional materials described above for credit.

4 Submission Checklist

  • My profile has a photo, headline, summary, education, experience, and skills.
  • I set a custom profile URL.
  • I have checked my profile for clarity, professionalism, spelling, and grammar.
  • I saved my LinkedIn profile as a PDF and uploaded it to Canvas.
  • I included any optional URLs I would like to share.

5 Helpful Resources