Real Talk: How to find the LinkedIn sweet spot?
I’m a high school student in my final year, currently building my exposure to finance — particularly IB, PE, and related areas. I’ve done a bit already: connected with a few professionals, had some coffee chats, and dived deep into advanced modeling and valuation. I genuinely believe I have the ambition and skill to contribute early on.
That said, I’m a bit stuck on how to present myself on LinkedIn.
I see some early talents go all in with “Aspiring Investment Banker | 17 y/o grinding Excel 24/7 | Future Rainmaker” energy — while others keep it super clean and barely write anything. I’ve heard mixed opinions from the few people I’ve asked: some say they avoid those “aspiring” headlines completely, others say they want to see that kind of high energy and ambition from day one.
I’d love to get a few small internships early on, but I don’t want to hurt my chances just because of how I’m presenting myself.
A few things I’m wondering:– Should I even have an About section? If yes, what actually makes one good?– What’s the play with the headline — only past experience, or can future intent work too?– Do professionals prefer simple, clean profiles, or more detailed ones?– And does skipping features like the skills section or About actually hurt visibility or opportunity?
Would love to hear from professionals, students a bit ahead of me, or anyone who’s figured out how to stay authentic without underselling themselves.
Any advice is genuinely appreciated — comments or DMs welcome!
I promise you no one of importance cares what your LinkedIn looks like.
I use LinkedIn more to check if the new person joining is hot than I do to assess candidates.
Keep humble, don't be cringe, stick to facts. Frame your actions looking at upside/downside.
Can confirm LinkedIn is most useful for seeing whether someone hot is interviewing or coming on board
First of all I hope your spelling is better on LinkedIn since you misspelled sweet.
You’re 17/18 so bankers don’t expect anything from u if they were to speak with you.
As a rule of thumb - keep everything you write/present error free and concise.
Deep thoughtful advice thank you intern
😔😔😔fake it until I make it
Try working on your spelling first. Don’t try running if you can’t even crawl.
Those people with hardo linkedins are the biggest losers imaginable. If you want to present yourself well, the best thing you can do is have a nice professional photo taken and use it as your profile pic on LinkedIn and your email
"dived deep into advanced modeling and valuation"
yeah sure thing buddy.
The whole post is AI lmao
It is good to never brag, the people you are trying to impress above you will never be impressed and many more people at or below you (in terms of experience and seniority) will be jealous and may resent you. All those early LinkedIn announcements are is bragging
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