What can students write about on LinkedIn?

I particularly like the very beginning of the year at the University of Auckland Career Development and Employability Services (CDES) . January is the time when many students book appointments to discuss the intentions they have set for their career development this year, get some help to understand themselves better, and explore the options that truly challenge and inspire them.

Since I returned to work in early January, I’ve seen a substantial number of students who made a decision to use LinkedIn more actively in 2024 and share some content, an intention that I wholeheartedly support.

The question that inevitably comes up in these career coaching sessions is “What do I write about?”

In one-on-one appointments, I usually conduct brainstorming sessions that help students generate the topics they are interested in, comfortable with, and would have something to say about.

But I realise that there are more students out there asking themselves the same question and struggling to find relevant topics for those LinkedIn posts they know they should be writing.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign (or a suitable topic!) to start writing, this is it! I provided a few ideas for each topic below as a starting point, but you can develop them further.

Beginning of semester

• What papers are you taking this semester? Which of them are you particularly excited about, and why?
• How did you select the papers for this semester? What are your criteria? Why?
• What are your intentions for this semester? (E.g. new study habits, finding a part-time job, being active in student clubs etc.)
• What skill(s) would you like to develop this semester? Why? How are you planning to go about it?
• What did you enjoy about the Orientation Week? Who did you meet? What was particularly interesting?
• Look back at your student journey to date. What would you like to do more of/less of/differently? Why?

End of semester

• What are you particularly proud of? Why?
• What have you learnt about yourself? How are you going to use these insights?
• What have you learnt about the subject matter? Why does this particular thing resonate with you?
• Which of your perceptions have been challenged through your studies? In what ways?
• Who would you like to thank? For what?
• Reflecting on your study habits, what worked well for you? What didn’t? What would you need to tweak next semester?
• What was surprising about the content/project/course - or yourself?

Course work

• What have you particularly enjoyed learning/reading about? Why? (Remember: one key point per post)
• What content/assignment challenged you? In what way(s), e.g. intellectually, emotionally, spiritually?
• What particularly interesting lecture or lecturer would you like other people to know about?
• How do you connect what you are learning at university with other areas of life?
• What parallels can you draw between what you are learning at university and wider social issues, films, music, fiction, photography etc.?
• What have you struggled with? How did you go about mastering this content/skill?
• What have you learnt from other students about their study habits and mindset?
• What questions remain unanswered? What new questions do you have after a particular paper?

Group work

• What specific project that you have been part of would you like other people to know about?
• What was your role in this project? What did you do well?
• What aspects of group work did you particularly enjoy? Why?
• What have you learnt about yourself/working with other people?
• In what way(s) has group work challenged you? How did you adapt your approach?
• What would you like to do differently in future group projects?
• What strengths did you notice in your group mates? (Don’t forget to tag them!)
• What do you see as your key area of growth in this project?

Student involvement/Volunteering

• What do you care about so much that you are willingly dedicating time to that cause? Why?
• What have you contributed to, e.g. causes, events? In what ways? What are you proud of?
• What obstacles did you overcome to make time and space in your life for volunteering? E.g. learning how to prioritise, organise your schedule etc.
• What interesting events have you recently attended? What did you learn there? Who did you meet?
• What prompted you to volunteer/get involved in a particular student club?
• What events are you currently working on? What is your contribution?

Miscellaneous

• What have you recently learnt about outside of university? How did that learning happen, i.e. intentional, accidental, hands-on etc.?
• What skills have you acquired from your part-time job? Why are they important?
• What workshops have you recently attended? (Hot tip: feel free to write about the University of Auckland Career Development and Employability Services (CDES) events and workshops)
• What was the most thought-provoking book you have ever read? Why?
• What’s your favourite podcast that you would like to share with others? Why?

These are just a few initial ideas - I am sure you will come up with many more. Please do share them with me!

What is one topic you would like to write about this week?

#careerdevelopment #employabilityskills #tertiarystudents #personalbrand #linkedin