When it comes to building your professional presence online, LinkedIn is usually the first platform that comes to mind, but don’t overlook OpenLab! Together, these two tools can work hand-in-hand to help you showcase your work, connect with others, and take your goals further.

Here’s how to make the most of both:

Use LinkedIn to Network, Use OpenLab to Show the Work

LinkedIn is great for making connections, listing accomplishments, and signaling your career goals. But it doesn’t give you much space to really show what you’ve done. That’s where OpenLab comes in.

  • Use your OpenLab portfolio site to go deeper: post projects, reflections, and examples of your work
  • Then add the link to your OpenLab site on your LinkedIn profile in your bio, your featured section, or under a project
  • If you’re applying for jobs or internships, this gives recruiters more than just bullet points it gives them real evidence of your skills

Tell a More Complete Story

On OpenLab, you can:

  • Reflect on how you built a project
  • Share learning experiences
  • Talk about challenges you overcame

These kinds of details help future collaborators or employers understand how you think, not just what you’ve done. It’s a great way to add personality to the professional version of you that lives on LinkedIn.

Keep Both Updated

Even a quick blog post update on OpenLab can go a long way. If you start using both platforms regularly even in small ways you’ll build a digital presence that feels both professional and human.

Want help getting started with your portfolio site on OpenLab? Email us at openlab@sps.cuny.edu.

Photo Credit: “apollorecord” by Laurinko Sattumaa via Flickr under the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.