Summary: Introduction to LinkedIn

 is the largest professional network in the world and is a key networking and research tool for job search. 

Use it to:  

• Build your personal brand – a strong and searchable profile of your skills and talents  
• Grow your network with people you know – you’ll be able to access their connections  
• Search for people and jobs, follow companies so you will know when they are recruiting  

It is important to make sure that you check your settings, accessed by clicking on Me from the top bar and select Settings & Privacy from the drop-down menu.   

Your URL:   Access via Privacy settings or on the Edit Profile page.   This is your LinkedIn address that you will use for your CV, application letters, business cards, email signature etc.  If you have numbers after your name, delete these and save.  You might need to add a middle initial or underscore if you name is already taken.  

Building a strong profile :   To build your personal brand, you need:  

• Photo (head and shoulders, professional looking)  
• Headline  
• Industry and location (where you want to work, not where you live) 
• Summary (‘About’)  
• Current position (with a description)  
• Two past positions (if you can) 
• Skills (minimum of five although you can have up to 50)  
• Education  
• At least 50 1st degree connections  

Headline:  This is the first thing a prospective employer sees when they search so make it strong and engaging.   Use it to highlight your job title and what you have to offer, your skills, expertise and credibility.    

 ‘About’ :  The reader will see only the first three lines of this section, they have to click ‘See more’ to view the rest, so make those lines count.    This summary is like your elevator pitch – what is special about you, your USP.   You have 2000 characters, written in the first person, more informal than CV language.   Make sure you include as many keywords as you can – look at other profiles, job descriptions.   Attach material that showcases you – photos, videos, publications – as well as a link to your website if you have one.  

Experience:  This is your opportunity to tell a story about your achievements at each job, not a job description, and use keywords to describe your accomplishments.  Don’t just cut and paste from your CV.   Current position – if you are in transition, you can highlight the role you’re targeting, or if you currently have a volunteer role that supports what you looking for, highlight this work.   Another alternative is to position yourself as a Consultant.  

Skills:  Make sure that the skills you list reflect the keywords you have used in your profile.   Concentrate on the top 10 to 15 and you can reorder them to make sure that your most important skills are displayed first because only the top three skills are visible at first reading – the reader has to click ‘View More’ to see others.  

Other Profile Sections:  You can add other sections to your Profile to enhance your brand – Volunteer Experience, Accomplishments, Languages   

Background image:  You can change the background image to your profile – upload a photo that supports your brand. Free images can be downloaded from websites such as www.unsplash.com and https://linkedinbackground.com. 

Recommendations: You can send out requests for recommendations to your first degree connections (from the drop down menu under ‘Add Profile Section’).  LinkedIn recommends two per job – so make specific requests about what you would like your contact to say about you – your work, results, achievements.  

Building your network:   Linkedin will suggest connections for you and you can send personal invitations to other LinkedIn users that you know and would like to connect with.    Add a note explaining why you want to connect, how you can help each other. 

‘Open to’:   On the Edit Profile page, you can specify job titles (up to five) as well as other parameters for your job search.   There is an option to ‘Let recruiters know you’re open’ or ‘All Linkedin members’, the latter will generate an ‘Open to Work’ frame around your photo.   Under ‘Jobs’ on the top bar, Linkedin will suggest jobs for you. 

Activity:  On your home page, you can write an article or Like, Comment or Share content – this will be displayed in the Activity section of your Profile so make sure that your activity supports your brand  

Good luck – your Advisor will be happy to look at your LinkedIn Profile and be sure to book on Resource’s Advanced LinkedIn workshop to make sure that you are using LinkedIn to its full capacity.