By Charlotte Chenfir, Old Caxtonian from the 24th graduating cohort of Caxton College in Valencia

I had the pleasure of returning to Caxton College for the second consecutive year to speak to Year 12 and Year 13 students about something I genuinely wish I had understood earlier: the importance of LinkedIn.

When we think about LinkedIn, many of us immediately associate it with people who already have jobs, professionals looking for their next opportunity, or companies recruiting. But I believe this is one of the biggest misconceptions about the platform. You do not need to be a professional to start building your professional presence. In fact, I started using LinkedIn while I was still at Caxton in year 12 to be exact and looking back, I can see how much it has contributed to my personal and professional growth, and I would want for you, your family and friends to do the same.

So, what is LinkedIn actually for?

At its core, LinkedIn is a professional social network. But for students, it can be much more than that. I see it as a combination of a digital CV, a networking platform, a career research tool and a way to build your personal brand. It allows you to connect with people in fields that interest you, follow companies you admire, discover different career paths and stay informed about what is happening in industries you may want to work in one day. Most importantly, it can open doors to internships, jobs, events and infinite opportunities, sometimes opportunities you did not even know existed.

Building your personal brand starts earlier than you think

One of the main points I discussed with the students was personal branding. Whether we realise it or not, we are all building a personal brand. The question is whether we are doing it intentionally.

LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to showcase who you are beyond your grades. Your academic achievements, interests, extracurricular activities, projects, experiences and ambitions can all tell a story about the person you are becoming. I personally see my LinkedIn profile as a digital reference point, almost like a CV that grows with me. I have even used it as a reference throughout my own university journey and when applying for internships.

As a student, you may feel that you do not have enough experience to put on a LinkedIn profile. But that is precisely why starting early matters; you can build it as you grow. Since starting my account, I have developed my networking skills and connected with people I genuinely find inspiring, from CEOs and directors to European leaders and other young professionals. Those connections have led to conversations, invitations to conferences and events, and opportunities that I would probably never have discovered otherwise. Of course, LinkedIn does not magically create opportunities. You still need to be curious, proactive and willing to put yourself out there. But sometimes, the first step towards an opportunity is simply making yourself visible to it.

So, how do you start? My advice to students is simple. Start now and don't overthink it.

Build a profile that reflects who you are and where you are going. Add your academic experiences, extracurricular activities like forming part of the Robotics or newspaper club, volunteering within the community, achievements such as the IELTS certificate and LAMDA diploma and most importantly:

• Be authentic. Your profile should represent you
• Interact. Comment, share and repost content that genuinely interests you.
• Connect with people you aspire to learn from. Following someone whose career interests you can teach you a lot about the paths available to you.

These small actions can make a big difference over time. Perhaps the most important thing I wanted the students to take away from my talk is that you do not need to have your entire career figured out at 16, 17 or 18.

LinkedIn can actually help you explore. You can research universities, industries, companies and professions. You can see what people studied before entering a career you are interested in, discover roles you had never heard of, and learn from people like the Caxton Alumni network, who are already doing what you might want to do in the future. This is where the support available at Caxton can be incredibly valuable too. Careers guidance is not only about deciding what degree or career to choose. It is about giving students the tools and information to explore those possibilities with confidence. The same applies to the Old Caxtonian community. Following Old Caxtonians on LinkedIn can give current students a window into the many different paths that people from the Caxton community have taken. You never know whose career journey might inspire your own, or which connection might eventually lead to a conversation, piece of advice or opportunity.

Start building your future today

When I look back at my own experience, I realise that many of the opportunities I have had started with something very small: creating a profile, connecting with someone, sending a message, commenting on a post or simply being curious about someone else's career. Your opportunities are not necessarily limited by what you already know. Sometimes, they are limited by what you have not yet discovered. So, if you are a student reading this and you still don't have a LinkedIn profile, what are you waiting for?

Start building it. Start exploring. Start connecting. You don't need to know exactly where you are going yet. You just need to start opening the doors. As Warren Buffett famously said: “The best investment you can make is in yourself.” And there is no reason why that investment cannot start while you are still at school, while you are at Caxton College.