How to Create and Maintain an All-Star Presence on LinkedIn

Rebecca Vander Linde American University

Alumni Communications Coordinator vanderli@american.edu

@rfvanderlinde

So… You’re about to graduate…

Or you just did…

And now you have to create a profile on another social network?!

What is LinkedIn For, Anyway?

• Showcasing your talents and expertise

• Finding a job

• Professional networking

• History of all of your past professional contacts (these will come in handy)

But why?

Source: LinkHumans, http://linkhumans.com/blog/tips-linkedin-profile

People with a presence on LinkedIn are more likely to be contacted by recruiters, and hiring managers use an interviewee’s LinkedIn presence to evaluate them. So, your LinkedIn presence must be professional and impressive.

Where do I start?

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

Would you hire them?

There is nothing wrong with having these kinds of images online (as long as you exercise good judgment and strict privacy settings), but they do not belong on your LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn Photo Ground Rules • Presentation matters Just like in a job interview, the way you present yourself

online impacts your job prospects

• Smile and look directly at the camera Appear friendly and approachable; remember, people are

looking at this to see if they want to work with you

• Dress nicely A suit isn’t required, but you should look like you belong in

a professional environment

• Use a quality photo Use a high-resolution image with plenty of light NO SELFIES!

• Use a plain or unobtrusive background • Subtle makeup

Now would you hire them?

Upload your photo, use the yellow square to crop if necessary, and make sure your picture will look good on all areas of LinkedIn.

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

Your headline appears next to your name everywhere on LinkedIn.

Professional Headline

• Your job title works, if you have a job in the industry you desire

• Consider using the headline as an opportunity to build your brand and professional identity Try to think of an eye-catching phrase

Be short but descriptive

• Are you looking for a job? Say so! Examples: Aspiring TV Reporter, Project Manager

Seeking New Opportunities, Accounting Major Looking For Entry-level Position

Summary

• Overview of your experience and abilities (tell a story) Who you are and what you do

The value you provide

Something personal

• Keep it short (1-4 sentences per paragraph) but use at least 40 words total

• Include keywords relevant to your career path This will move your profile to the top of search

results

Pro tip: Compile some job descriptions from the positions you are applying for, and put those into a tool like Wordle to create a word cloud. The largest words in the cloud are your keywords!

Avoid Buzzwords

Source: LinkedIn, http://blog.linkedin.com/2013/12/11/buzzwords-2013

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

• If you want to move to New York City, consider making New York your location, so you will appear in search results there.

• Choose the industry you want to work in and build around that.

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

Education Information • Make sure you connect to the correct school page

• Especially important for recent grads or students without an extensive professional history

• List classes you’ve taken that are relevant to your career

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

Experience Descriptions • What did/do you do? Be judicious with which positions you choose to list

Internship = job!

• What have you improved during your time there? Did you streamline the customer check-out process?

Redesign the company website? Reorganize a filing system? Brag!

Numbers should support your assertions, if possible

• Use a narrative style or bullet points, but most importantly: use your own words Don’t load it down with jargon and technical terms

• Links and documents to support your expertise

Experience

Were you promoted? That counts as a new job, especially for a resume that is low on experience.

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

Skills

Be selective when choosing which skills to list, and whose skills to endorse. The ones you choose will affect which skills LinkedIn prompts your connections to endorse.

Mad Skills

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

EXTRA CREDIT: Recommendations

Finding Connections

Connect to people…

…with whom you have have had one substantial conversation or at least five small conversations.

…you don’t know but who can help advance your career.

Finding Connections

• Classmates Make these connections now. Not only do they

enhance your LinkedIn profile, these are the people who will be changing the world in 10 years (or less)!

• Contacts Upload your email contacts list to find connections

• Alumni Check out the alumni search tool

• Advanced search

All-Star Profile Status

Photo

Professional headline and summary

Industry, zip code, location

Education

Job experience and descriptions

At least five skills

At least 50 connections

EXTRA CREDIT: Recommendations

Recommendations

• Illustrate achievements, reliability, and likeability

• Show you can work with others

• Who should recommend me?

Supervisor, coach, colleague, professor, advisor, partner on a class project, family you babysat for…

• Return the favor: Recommend others!

Extras • Be careful who you stalk LinkedIn shows you who viewed your profile (and

vice-versa) But don’t forget to watch who’s checking you out

• Join groups! Join Catholic University’s group, then look for

professional groups where you can make connections and learn

• Volunteerism counts Use the volunteerism section just like the jobs and

experience section; be descriptive If you’re low on professional experience, move a

volunteering experience up to your jobs category

Questions? Contact me!

Rebecca Vander Linde

vanderli@american.edu

@rfvanderlinde

linkedin.com/rfvanderlinde