Yes! If maintaining two separate profiles sounds daunting, you can absolutely copy/paste the same information between them. Handshake and LinkedIn profiles serve very similar purposes; they expand on the experiences in your resume, giving more information as well as any relevant links to websites, pictures, and more. The main difference is that Handshake is a private platform while your LinkedIn profile is (usually) open to the world. This means that you will not be able to share a public link to your Handshake profile; as such, it's often a good idea to maintain a public LinkedIn profile.
Your profile picture should be recent (make sure it looks like you!) and semi-professional. Try to have your face take up around 60% of the frame and make sure that any visible clothing is similar to what you might wear to work.
You should use whichever name you would use on a resume, professional email, or at a career fair in your Handshake profile. This does not have to be your legal name; it's better to use the name an employer will recognize from previous or in future communication.
'My Journey' is your about section. Use this to tell a short story about yourself! In particular, this is a great place to include additional details about your major or career interests. For example, if you are pursuing an E:Design major you could use this space to explain your concentration title.
The education section is where you can showcase your education at Olin and other institutions. By default, Olin accounts have your 'primary education' set to Olin College of Engineering. Make sure to add details including your graduation date and major! You do not need to include your GPA in your profile if you don't want to, but you can. If you are undeclared, you can leave the major field blank or pick a temporary major that is closest to what you are likely to declare. The major you choose isn't permanent; you can always change it later if your academic journey shifts!
If you want to showcase your high school or another education experience, use the 'add school' button to display it here.
This is the space to add part-time jobs, internships, research positions, volunteer experiences, and more! If you don't have any experiences yet, click on the Add Work Experience button, located on the left side of the page, below your profile completion bar. If you already have the 'Work and Volunteer Experience' section visible, click Add Work Experience at the bottom of the section.
This is a descriptive title for your job. If you had an official work title you should use that, but some on-campus jobs or research positions won't give you a particular title or have a more internal (i.e. difficult to understand outside of Olin culture) title. If that is the case, you may want to come up with your own descriptive title for the position.
Enter the relevant employer. While the dropdown menu will try to suggest options based on what you type in, you don't have to choose from the suggested options.
Enter the approximate start date of your position. Handshake only requires the month and year, so you don't need to remember the exact date. If you are still working in this position select "Current Position", or else enter the end date of the position.
Location is an optional field. You may choose to enter the approximate location of your position, e.g. Needham, MA, but it is not required.
While description is also an optional field, we highly recommend that you fill in some information. The description field is the place for you to really explain what the position was about and what you learned. Unlike LinkedIn, Handshake does not have the option to add media to an experience, but if you have a website showcasing your work you may choose to include a link in the description.
Click the green button Save to add the information to your profile, or the gray button Cancel to cancel! To add more experiences, click Add Work Experience at the bottom of the section.
The skills section is located on the lower left corner of your profile. This section is for adding technical skills (e.g. Python) along with soft skills (e.g. Written Communication), but we recommend focusing mainly on the former.
The documents section is also located on the lower left corner, underneath your skills section. You can upload a variety of extra documents to your handshake profile. The most common document students add is a resume. To upload a new document go to documents and select 'Add New Document'. The first few times you submit a resume, PGP will need to approve it before you can put it on your profile. This usually takes 2-3 days. Once a document is approved, make sure to set it to visible so that it will be shown on your profile and visible to employers. If you are struggling with document uploads, check out this Handshake Article on 'How to Upload a New Document': https://support.joinhandshake.com/hc/en-us/articles/218692648-How-to-Upload-a-New-Document
Below are a few other sections that you might choose to use if you want to add even more detail to your profile.
This is a place to showcase your projects! While you can include larger projects in your Experience section, you may also choose to make use of the projects section. Like experiences, it is highly recommended that you include a description of the project. Additionally, for projects there is a dedicated field to include a URL to a project website. If you/your team created a website as part of your deliverable, or if have a page about that project on your portfolio, it's a great idea to link to it here.
This is a great place to list a few relevant courses. You can include a course code if you want, but it's often not necessary.
Like projects, this section has a lot of cross-over with the experiences section. This is a place to signal specific interests, affinity groups, and participation in groups on campus. In particular, if you are involved in any group but it may not be relevant enough for an experience, you may choose to list it in this section.
The LinkedIn profile page is the foundation for your personal branding, and can be a big part of your internship or job search. Here are tips that will help to give you the LinkedIn profile and personal brand that you deserve.
Make your headline more than just a job title
Use the headline field to say a bit more about yourself, why you do what you do, and what makes you tick.
Each summer you do an internship, each semester you complete a really cool project or learn a new skill, add it to your LinkedIn! Keep your profile up to date - it will generate interest and build your network.