LinkedIn Premium tips for graduates begin with three things: optimising your profile, turning on Open Profile, and using your 5 monthly InMail credits on the right people. Complete LinkedIn Learning courses that add certificates to your page, use applicant insights before every application, and check who viewed your profile each week to follow up with warm leads.
LinkedIn Premium gives graduates direct access to recruiters, visibility into who is viewing their profile, salary data, and free certifications that appear immediately on their LinkedIn page.
You just activated two months of LinkedIn Premium for free. However, most graduates waste this by doing nothing more than checking who viewed their profile and feeling good about the gold badge on their name.
At VAA Global, we have helped over 1,400 graduates launch remote careers. The graduates who land roles fastest are the ones who treat LinkedIn as an active tool, not a passive CV upload. This guide shows you exactly how to apply LinkedIn Premium tips for graduates during your free trial so you walk away with real results.
What Is LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium is a paid subscription that gives you access to InMail credits, full profile viewer data, LinkedIn Learning courses, applicant insights, salary ranges, and Open Profile. As a student or recent graduate, you can get a free 2-month trial, giving you all these tools at no cost during one of the most important periods of your career.
What Does LinkedIn Premium Career Give You?
Before jumping into strategy, here is what you are actually working with:
- 5 InMail credits per month: message people you are not connected to
- Full "Who Viewed Your Profile" list: everyone who visited in the last 90 days
- LinkedIn Learning: unlimited access to thousands of courses with visible certificates
- Applicant Insights: see how you compare to other job applicants
- Open Profile: let anyone message you for free, even without a connection
- Salary Insights: see pay ranges for roles before you walk into negotiations
- AI writing tools: help crafting InMails and profile copy
Now here is how to use all of this before your trial ends.
Week 1: Is Your Profile Ready Before You Start Outreach?
None of the LinkedIn Premium tips for graduates in this guide will work if your profile pushes people away the moment they land on it. Therefore, spend the first week getting these right before doing anything else.
Profile Photo
Clean headshot, well lit, face filling at least 60% of the frame. This is not Instagram.
Headline
Do not write "Recent Graduate" or "Seeking Opportunities." Write what you do and for whom. For example: "Virtual Assistant | Helping Busy Professionals Reclaim Their Time | Remote-Ready" or "Data Analyst | Excel, SQL & Power BI | Entry Level."
About Section
First person, under 300 words. Start with what you do, why it matters, and end with a clear call to action. What should someone do after reading it?
Featured Section
Upload a portfolio project, certificate, or short intro video. Recruiters spend an average of 7 seconds on a profile before deciding to keep reading. Make those 7 seconds count.
Open Profile
Go to Premium settings and switch this on immediately. Anyone, including recruiters who are not connected with you, can then message you for free. Not turning this on is one of the most common mistakes Premium users make.
Not sure what career direction to optimise your profile for? Use our free Career Compass tool to identify the remote career path that matches your strengths.
Week 2: How Should You Use InMail as a Graduate?
You have 5 InMail credits per month. That sounds limiting, but it is more than enough when used with precision.
Who to message:
- Hiring managers at companies you have applied to. Not just the recruiter, but the person who would actually be your manager
- Alumni from your school or programme now working in your target field
- Professionals whose career path looks like the one you want
What to write: A generic "I am a recent graduate looking for opportunities" message will be ignored. Additionally, sending the same template to ten people gets you nowhere. Instead, follow this three-step formula:
- One specific observation about their work, company, or a post they shared
- One sentence about yourself that connects to what you noticed
- One small, easy ask: a 15-minute call, career advice, or feedback on your portfolio
Here is a working example:
"Hi [Name], I read your recent post on managing remote teams across time zones. Your point on async communication really stuck with me because I am actively building that skill right now. I am a fresh graduate transitioning into remote VA work and I would love to hear one thing you wish you had known earlier. Happy to keep it to 15 minutes whenever works for you."
That message gets responses. A generic one does not. According to LinkedIn's own data, personalised InMails get significantly higher response rates than templated ones.
Week 3: Who Is Looking at Your Profile?
Check the full viewer list every week. When a recruiter, hiring manager, or relevant professional shows up, that is a warm lead. They already came to you. As a result, following up is far easier than cold outreach.
Send a connection request with a personal note: "Hi [Name], I noticed you visited my profile recently. I would love to connect and learn more about what your team works on."
If their company is somewhere you want to work, research them first, then send a more detailed InMail. A targeted message always outperforms a generic one.
Week 4: Which LinkedIn Learning Courses Are Worth Completing?
LinkedIn Learning certificates appear directly on your profile as soon as you finish a course. Recruiters can see them. In addition, completing courses during your Premium trial is not just learning. It is visible proof of initiative.
Courses worth prioritising for remote work:
- Excel Essential Training
- Learning SQL Programming
- Introduction to Data Analysis
- Virtual Assistant Foundations
- Digital Marketing Foundations
- Project Management Foundations
- Customer Service Foundations
Each takes 2 to 6 hours and shows up immediately. Complete three to four during your trial and your profile shifts from "recent graduate with limited experience" to "recent graduate actively building skills."
The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report identifies digital literacy, data skills, and communication as the top in-demand competencies employers are prioritising through 2030. LinkedIn Learning covers all three.
For a structured path to remote work, browse our programmes at VAA Global. Each one maps directly to skills employers are hiring for right now.
How to Use Applicant Insights and Salary Data
When you apply for a job on LinkedIn, Premium shows how you compare to other applicants: their skills, experience level, and education. Use this information backwards. Before you apply, check what the competition has. If there is a gap you can close quickly, close it first. Therefore, you walk in better prepared than most.
Before any interview, also check Salary Insights for that role. Know the market range. Walk into every negotiation prepared, not guessing.
Before Your Trial Ends: Lock In These Wins
As you approach the end of your two months, make sure you have done the following:
- Downloaded all LinkedIn Learning certificates
- Connected with at least 20 relevant professionals
- Sent at least 8 to 10 targeted InMails
- Updated your headline, About, and Featured section completely
- Followed 10 to 15 companies in your target industry
- Turned on Open Profile so people can still reach you after Premium ends
Everything you build during the trial stays after Premium expires. The connections, certificates, and optimisations all remain. However, the window to build them quickly closes when the trial ends, so act now.
LinkedIn Premium Visibility Is Only Half the Work
Premium gives you visibility. However, visibility only converts to opportunities if you have a skill someone wants to pay for.
If you are a fresh graduate looking to break into remote work, the fastest path is building a specific, in-demand skill and then putting it in front of the right people using the LinkedIn Premium tips for graduates in this post. That is exactly what we do at VAA Global.
Our programmes cover Virtual Assistance, Medical VA, Data Analysis, Digital Marketing, Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, and more. We train you, certify you with an SDC Canada-endorsed certificate, and connect you directly to remote employers through VAA Global Talent, our dedicated placement platform.
Over 405 of our graduates have been placed in remote roles. Many of them used LinkedIn, with exactly the strategies in this post, to land those opportunities. See their stories here.
Give your LinkedIn Premium something serious to promote.
Apply now at VAA Global and start building the skill your profile will be proud to show.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LinkedIn Premium free for graduates? Yes. LinkedIn offers 2 months of LinkedIn Premium free to eligible students and recent graduates. Activate it by verifying your student or graduate status in your LinkedIn account settings.
What is the best way to use LinkedIn Premium as a fresh graduate? Start by fully optimising your profile: headline, About section, Featured section, and photo. Turn on Open Profile so recruiters can message you for free. Use InMail credits on targeted hiring managers, and complete LinkedIn Learning courses that add certificates to your profile immediately.
How many InMail credits do I get with LinkedIn Premium Career? LinkedIn Premium Career gives you 5 InMail credits per month. Use them on hiring managers and alumni in your target field, not generic recruiters, for the best response rates.
Does LinkedIn Learning actually help you get a job? Yes, especially when you have limited work experience. Certificates appear on your profile immediately after completion and are visible to recruiters. They signal initiative and current skills.
What should I do before my LinkedIn Premium trial expires? Connect with at least 20 relevant professionals, send 8 to 10 targeted InMails, complete and save LinkedIn Learning certificates, fully optimise your profile, and follow companies you want to work for. Everything built during the trial stays after it ends.
Can I get a remote job using LinkedIn alone? LinkedIn is one of the strongest tools for remote job search, especially if your profile is optimised and you are networking actively. Many VAA Global graduates have used LinkedIn to connect with international employers and land roles paying in dollars and pounds without leaving Nigeria.
VAA Global is a Lagos-based remote skills academy with 1,400+ graduates, 405+ placed in remote roles, and SDC Canada-endorsed certification across 30+ programmes. We train for outcomes, not just certificates.
