Networking with LinkedIn

Janet P. Cunningham
www.linkedin.com/in/janetpcunningham
janet.cunningham@gmail.com
Twitter: Cunningham_JP

 75 % of recruiters are required by their
companies to do online research of
candidates. 70 % of recruiters in the
United States report that they have
rejected candidates because of
information online.
Social Media History Becomes A New Job Hurdle
New York Times, Business Day Technology
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/technology/social-media-
history-becomes-a-new-job-hurdle.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

Really? Check these websites:
 www.spokeo.com
 www.peekyou.com
 www.whitepages.com
 www.zabasearch.com
 www.123people.com
 www.lookupemailaddresses.com

Business oriented social networking site
 >120 million accounts
 Growth: 2 per second
 Market Yourself
 Job Seekers, Employers, Recruiters
 FREE … (biggest investment is your time)
 Sign up: www.linkedin.com

LinkedIn makes your network “Visible”

Build a network of direct connections
(1st degree)
Get access to your connections’ connections
(2nd degree & 3rd degree)

Who do you want to connect with?
 Professional Colleagues: above, beside, below
 Former Coworkers
 Classmates/Alumni/Professors
 Friends/Family/Neighbors
 Community/Civic/Church

Multiple email addresses?
Be sure they are all listed

Turn off when you are making lots of changes to
your profile to keep from “spamming your
connections” repeatedly

When you choose “anonymous” you lose the ability to
see who has viewed your profile

Status Update Ideas:
(from Paul Hattimer’s Blog)
Networking Events Attended
Classes/Seminars Completed
Volunteer/Community Work
Alumni Activities/Events
Links to Articles of Interest

Link to Twitter

Who’s Viewed
Your Profile?
Click on hyperlink
to find out

Filter the Updates on you Home Page:
• Go to Settings
• Click on Account to edit this section
• Customize the Updates you see
• Window with update types will open
• Choose what you want to see

LinkedIn’s Definition of 100%:
Name and Position 25%
Picture 5%
Summary 5%
Specialties 5%
Education 15%
Past Job 1 15%
Past Job 2 15%
Recommendation 1 5%
Recommendation 2 5%
Recommendation 3 5%

“40 times more likely to be found in a
search with 100% completed profile”
(according to LinkedIn)

Put Industry Keywords
in Searchable Areas
Where to find Keywords:
Profiles of others in your
industry
Job descriptions – use word
cloud tool: www.wordle.net

Why do this?
It shows you are a “Pro”
on LinkedIn

Name
 Common name? add middle initial
 Last name field – 44 characters - add credentials
(last name, credential, degree, etc.)
Headline – 120 characters
 Personal Branding Statement
 First impression - at the very top of your Profile
 Shows in “mini profile” search results
 Put job you want in Headline
 Use Industry Keywords/Terms that recruiters use

Headline default is “Current Title at Current Employer”
Change this to a compelling statement that describes you!

Your picture appears in several places on LinkedIn:
Profile
Status Updates
Search Results
Group messages

Photo should be:
 Current
 Professional attire
 No company logos
 No extras in photo
40% more clicks on profiles with photos
(according to LinkedIn)

Summary: Tell your story - Professional “Elevator Pitch”
 2-3 paragraphs: conversational, 1st person
 Your background
 How you help others
 How you got where you are
 What companies helped you get there
 Keywords, Your preferred location

Put your contact Info in Summary
if you want to be contacted easily during job search

Specialties:
 Industry keywords or phrases read by search engines and people
 Alphabetize – separate with commas or make bulleted list

Education – must put something in for 100%
 List all schools and degrees received
 Business, Technical or Professional training
 Scholarships, organizations, awards, activities
 Anything special about school or program

Past Positions – need at least 2 for 100%
 Job Title, Company, Action & Results
 Short description of company
 Summarize your role & accomplishments
 What you learned there – how this position prepared
you for your current path

Interests:
 Personal & Professional interests

Groups & Associations:
 Industry, Professional & Social organizations
 Include full spelling and abbreviations
 This is a text field, not LinkedIn Groups

These are searchable areas – use your keywords!
Words or phrases separated by commas create hyperlinks
Click on hyperlink to find others who share your interests

“Add Sections” is found
immediately under your
Profile Box when using
the Edit Profile mode

Check the “More” tab
for other
applications/sections
to add to your profile

 Need 3 to get to 100%
 Must come from your 1st degree connections
 Send request from inside LinkedIn
 Your request will be sent via email
 Be specific with request, give ideas and
keywords (write recommendation yourself)

Recommendation doubles value of keywords
in that area of experience

More Contacts = Better Search Results
 Customize invite: remind people who you
are, where you met them and why you want to
connect
 Say “thank you” when they accept
 LinkedIn will suggest “People You May Know” from
connections
 Be careful with automatic email invites
When someone sends you an invitation…
reply back - look at their profile and find something
to comment on

Bubble = Discussion
Suitcase = Job Posting

 Join up to 50 groups
 Industry, Professional, Alumni
 Message or send invitations to anyone in your groups
 Show activity/expertise by participating in discussions –
write a post or comment on one
 Control email settings/notifications/frequency of LinkedIn
Group emails (click on Group: More tab)

Join large groups to expand your network – the more people you are
connected to…the higher you will rank in LinkedIn search results

Use Advanced Search to narrow by
location, industry and experience level

Don’t accept
invitations
from your
email – sign in
to LinkedIn

Don’t Delete
Unanswered
Invitations

Go to Original
Invitation &
Click on Blue
Hyperlink

Resend or
Withdraw
Invitations
from this
screen

 Follow target companies, get notification
of new hires, monitor discussions/posts
 Review profiles of hiring managers before
interviews
 Over 2 million company pages

Use Search Box “People”
Type in Company name
to find those in your network
who work there

SlideShare: use this app to search PowerPoint
presentations for topics of interest

 Spell Check not active in all areas of LinkedIn

 Make sure Profile lines up with resume – but don’t
copy resume

 Keep your Profile updated:
 You will come up more often in searches
 Helps you keep track of your accomplishments
 Allows your bosses/coworkers to be aware of your
accomplishments
 Profile changes go out to all contacts

Click on
Help Center
from the bottom left
corner of any page

 Be Aware of your Digital Footprint

 Know Your LinkedIn Settings

 Take Time to Complete Your Profile (100%)

 Optimize Your Profile by using KEYWORDS

 Customize Your Invitations

Thank you!

Janet P. Cunningham
janet.cunningham@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/janetpcunningham

Networking with LinkedIn

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