LinkedIn Academy
October 2019
Noeleen Hammond-Jones and Helen BuzduganCareers Service
What we will cover in the
LinkedIn Academy
Part 1: Creating a professional LI profile
• How to create your profile, step by step
• Customising your ‘career interests’
Part 2: Using LinkedIn to research careers and find jobs
• LinkedIn etiquette (quick intro)
• Alumni search
• Other searches on LinkedIn
• Using groups
• Job search
Part 3: ‘Free play’ on LinkedIn
We will be available to answer individual
questions about LinkedIn and give feedback on
your profile.
The LinkedIn Academy
workbook
• Your step-by-step guide to all the key
aspects of LinkedIn
• Key workshop tasks and extension
tasks…
www.network.manchester.ac.uk
Part 1: Creating a professional
LinkedIn profile
Your CV
• Static document
• 2 pages max (or even 1)
• No photo (in UK)
• Text only document
• Various CVs targeting
different jobs and sectors
• A CV targets a specific
recruiter for a specific role
Dynamic document
No limit on length*
Photo important
PPT, docs, photos, PDFs, links
Only one profile (can’t transfer
connections between two accounts)
Can be targeted by recruiters
AND used to connect with
alumni / professionals for
‘insider info’, opportunities etc
LinkedIn Profileversus
LinkedIn is your calling card
14 x more likely to get a response when you have a photo
Anatomy of a
LinkedIn Profile
Task 1: Switch off sharing
profile edits
Using the Settings & Privacy menu, click on
‘Privacy’, and make sure that ‘Sharing profile
edits’ is set to ‘No’.
Task 1a: Visibility
Again using the Settings & Privacy menu, click on
‘Privacy’, and ‘Profile viewing options,’ to choose
how you want to be seen when you view
someone’s profile.
Task 2: Add an appropriate photo
• Head should fill ~60%
of the frame
• Professional attire for
your target sector
• Good lighting
• No “props”
• Clear, tidy background
• Should look like you!
Tasks 3 & 4: Profile headline and URL
Task 3: Update your profile ‘headline’ so it
reflects your experience
Task 4: Edit your profile URL to remove the
extraneous characters
NB: Don’t forget to check your contact
information is appropriate!
Task 5: Create a powerful
summaryIdeas for your summary:
• Give an idea of what you are about professionally
• Talk about what you’ve just done, what you’re doing now and what you hope/plan to do next
• Highlight the best bits of your profile, that may be less visible
• Read other people’s summaries (graduate from your course/professionals in your chosen sector) to get ideas for the content/style/structure, but don’t plagiarise!
• NB: Only the top 3 lines of the summary show initially, so make sure the key points come first
Task 6: Education/work experience
• Update your Education or Work Experience
section with some information
• Add some bullet points to the “description”
fields
Tasks 7 & 8: Skills and
accomplishments
Task 7: Add in some skills to your profile
– Be specific!
Task 8: Explore the Accomplishments
section, and perhaps add a Project
Other sub-sections under ‘Accomplishments’
include:
– ‘Languages’, ‘Honors & Awards’ and ‘Courses’
Task 9: Career interests
• Let recruiters know you are ‘open to job
opportunities’
• Customise your career interests, by
specifying preferred job titles, location,
start date and whether you are looking for
temporary/permanent jobs etc
• BUT don’t rely on LinkedIn to give you
exact job matches
Part 2: Using LinkedIn to
research careers and find jobs
Where are you in terms of
thinking about your career?
Go to www.menti.com and type in
code: 539396
Questions that LinkedIn
can help with…
• I need some inspiration! Where do graduates from
my course really work and what do they do?
• I want to work in […insert dream role…]
What sort of jobs are there? What experience and
qualifications would be useful?
• I want to get some work experience in [...place...]
What companies could I target?
• I want to study […course…] – where could it lead?
Who you know
…Alumni search
What do University of
Manchester graduates
do?
Use the Alumni search tool to explore...
• What grads from your course went on to do
• Try filtering by location, company and what they studied
• Select a profile or two to look at…– What was their career path?
– What work experience did they do?
– Have they obtained any further qualifications?
– How have they laid out their profile - any ideas for your own profile?
Task 1: Alumni search
Connect with
etiquette
Recruiters want you to connect
with them
Connect with etiquette
Always hit Connect from their profile page, to make sure you can add a note to your connection request
Connect with etiquette
• Ensure your profile looks professional and completed
– Good photo, strong headline
• Visit their profile first (leave your “calling card”)
• Personalise your message to establish any connection
– ALWAYS connect from within the person’s profile page
– ALWAYS, when using the mobile LinkedIn app, select
“Personalise…” from the menu; don’t just click Connect
• Give them a reason to link with you
• Don’t ask for a face-to-face meeting before they have
connected with you (unless you already know them)
Other searches on
LinkedIn… people,
companies, groups,
posts etc
Use the main ‘Search’ box to explore a particular career area:
• People (who holds a particular job title and what was their career path to get there?)
• What are the job titles matching your keywords?
• Posts relating to your area of interest
• Companies (who recruits people in these roles -who could you target?)
• Groups (useful groups to join – we will look at this further shortly)
Task 2: Other searches on LinkedIn
…Groups
How can I connect with
people who share my
interests?
Use group search to find...
• Groups in your career area of interest
• Groups based on extracurricular interests
• Groups based in specific regions
Request to join, after reading the ‘About this group’ section and ensuring it’s relevant and open to you.
Task 3: Groups
…Job search!
How can I find a job?
Use the Job search tool to explore...
• The jobs available in your area of interest for example “marketing assistant” or “software engineer”
• Filter roles by location, date posted, industry and experience level
• When you have your search results, you can create an alert to notify you when new jobs come up that match your criteria
• Once you have chosen a job to explore further, take note of other opportunities people have viewed on the right side of your screen
• If you know which companies you want to work for, explore their pages for jobs available
• NB: This is just one job search tool. If you are looking for jobs, use CareersLink (www.manchester.ac.uk/careerslink) and other resources too
Task 4: Job search
Being active in the
LinkedIn community
Task 5: Being active in the
LinkedIn community
Try one of the following:
• Post an update
• Share an article
• Follow a few companies
• Tailor your news feed (click on the … in the top right-hand corner of any post)
• When you feel confident, you can even post your own article
“Homework” suggestions…
• Continue to update your LinkedIn profile– Develop the summary section of your profile
– Add a suitable photograph
– Add more projects, multimedia etc
• Observe how people interact with LinkedIn– Check out profiles of other students and grads
– Join some groups and watch what goes on, e.g.Uni of Manchester Alumni Association group
• Start to connect with people you know – friends, family, tutors, employers, contacts through hobbies etc.
• Use the alumni search for career inspiration
• Connect with us and keep in touch!
Your LinkedIn toolkit
• LinkedIn workbook from today
• Check out our website and download our ‘CV and LinkedIn Guide’ for further tips: www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/findjobs/networking/linkedin (hard copies available in Careers Service, Atrium, 1st Floor, University Place)
• Official LinkedIn resources for studentshttps://students.linkedin.com/uk
• ‘Learning LinkedIn for students’ coursewww.linkedin.com/learning/learning-linkedin-for-students
Part 3: “Free play” on LinkedIn
– we are here to help with any
questions and give feedback
on your LinkedIn profile
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