Blog > Qualification

A beginner’s guide to using LinkedIn to boost your legal career

A beginner’s guide to using LinkedIn to boost your legal career

Are you wondering "why should I use LinkedIn?"

Well, LinkedIn is a great platform for building professional relationships for legal sector professionals or students. Whether it's a new colleague, a fellow student, a connection from a vacation scheme or training contract, to a professional you admire, or maybe it's finding new opportunities that align with your values, LinkedIn can help.

Whether you are a law student or experienced in your legal career, there are some top tips you can follow to make the most out of your profile.

As a law student

As a law student, LinkedIn is a great platform to get your name out there and make useful connections.

Top tips include:

  • Update your profile and keep it updated with relevant experience, academic achievements, and articles that you find interesting and are related to the legal sector.
  • Follow firms and companies that you are interested in so you can stay up to date with their channels. This might come in handy when applying for vacation schemes and training contracts.
  • Make useful connections from firms you are interested in and engage with them to get your name out there.
  • Join relevant and interesting groups to help you stay up to date with the industry.
  • Make sure you have a professional picture on your profile that is recent.

As a legal sector newbie

After starting your new role at your chosen law firm, there are a few steps you can take to ensure you are making the most out of your profile.

Top tips include:

  • Align your profile with your firm’s brand so when someone looks at your profile, they can see where you work and what you specialise in. You can do this by ensuring your profile picture matches what is on the company website, using company branding or style in your cover photo as well as keeping your messaging consistent with the brand in your bio and posts.
  • Put more than just your job title in your headline. People landing on your profile will be able to see your job title further down your profile, your headline is better used by writing a short sentence about what you specialise in within your law firm, where you are based and how you can benefit clients. You’ve only got 120 words, so short and sweet is key here! This will help to make the most impact.
  • Add a custom LinkedIn profile URL. This is simple to do and will boost your credibility.
  • Connect with the right audience. Don’t just accept every request. When sending connection requests make sure to write a personalised message so they remember who you are. For example, “It was great to hear you speak at [event], I’d love to connect to stay up to date with what you are up to.” Or “I enjoyed chatting to you at [networking event], I’d like to stay in contact.” You are more likely to build the right kind of connections this way.
  • Start sharing legal updates. Sharing is the best way to keep your profile up to date and interesting! As well as sharing, make sure you are commenting on colleagues and other people in the industry’s posts too. 

These steps will help you to stay aligned with your law firm and attract the attention you want.

As an experienced legal professional

As an experienced legal professional, there are still many great ways to boost your career on LinkedIn and optimise the platform.

Top tips include:

  • Creating your own personal brand by showing your personality through your posts. This is a great way to stand out from the crowd.
  • Don’t forget to keep your experience and job title up to date.
  • Ask questions and increase your influence. Asking questions and starting polls is a great way to further your reach on LinkedIn.

Looking for a FREE webinar on Building Relationships in the Digital World? 

If you work for one of our sister company Conscious Solutions’ clients, you can access their training webinar ‘Building Relationships in a Digital World’ for free.