Using LinkedIn to Build Your Online Resume, Reputation & Connections

Using LinkedIn to Build Your Online Resume, Reputation &

Connections

Rick Galanwww.linkedin.com/in/rickgalan

twitter: @RickGalan

What is LinkedIn ?

LinkedIn doesn’t give a good answer:

What is LinkedIn ?

My Answer:– Social Media Platform– Online Resume– Referral Generator– Contact Manager– Business Development tool– Company Information Directory– Event Manager– Group/Club Organizational Tool– Industry Q&A Platform– Job Hunting Site/Recruiting tool– Much more!

What is LinkedIn ?

It’s big.As of August 2010, there are over 75 Million users

worldwide, about half of which are in the US.

But not that big.has over 500 Million users. !

But it is focused on business & careers

Why use ?

Unemployment is high. Networking is key.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Why use ?

Estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics say that over half of all jobs are found through networking. Up to

80% of executive level jobs are never even posted.

Effective networking requires preparation. The best time to prepare is while you are still employed.

Why use LinkedIn ?

Online Reputation Management (ORM)

Source: Online Reputation Research Study commissioned by Microsoft in Dec. 09 (http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/dpd/research.aspx)

“Of the U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 75% report that theircompanies have formal policies in place that require hiring personnel toresearch applicants online.”

79% actually do it.

“Of U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 70% say they have rejectedcandidates based on information they found online.”

“85% say that positive online reputation influences their hiring decisions atleast to some extent. Nearly half say that a strong online reputationinfluences their decisions to a great extent.”

Bingo.

The LinkedIn Tour

Without logging in, there is not much to do

You can search.. but the results are hidden behind the login

Other tools are hidden in the footer of the page… but are much more useful after logging in

Linkedin.com Homepage

Creating a LinkedIn Profile

Step 1: Name & Email

Tip!Use a non-work email address.

This will ensure that the primary email on the account

is always yours. You can & should add your work email

later.


Step 2: Basic Professional Profile

Options change depending onemployment

Employed

A business owner

Looking for work

Working independently

A student


Steps 3-6: Find Initial Connections

Tip!Skip it. Why connect

before you have set up your profile?


That’s it! You are on LinkedIn.

The basic profile is really sparse – Before doing

any connecting, fill it out as much as you can!

Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn helps you fill your profile out by giving you tips & the option to upload your resume.

Start by editing the “basic profile” section


Keep your Display Name your full name – you WANT people to find you.

By default your headline is your job title – expand it into something more descriptive of what you are. You have 120 Characters!

Your Zip Code determines what “area” your profile says you are from – choose one that makes sense.

Tip! Avoid titles like “guru” or “expert” – especially

if you are looking for work.


Now it’s time to add a photo!• You will be easier to connect to

• Your connections will see your face in their stream – you will be more memorable

Choose a photo that best represents you professionally.. This is not Facebook.. and really not MySpace

• No pictures of you as a baby, no self-shots in the mirror, etc

• A headshot is best – LinkedIn has a tool that lets you crop an image easily

• Light background is preferred

You can choose who gets to see your photo

• My Connections – people who are directly connected to you

• My Network – people who are connected to those connected to you

• Everyone – everyone! (Best option if you want to be found)

Optimizing your LinkedIn ProfileFill out your current & past positions

• You can have more than one current position

• Start with the current position you already entered

Note – you can import your resume and have this filled out, but I prefer the manual approach

This is just like filling out a resume – your title is not enough. Fill out the description with real tangible information on what you do / have done.

• Helps your network understand your role

• Shows recruiters & HR managers more detail on your background

• Makes you more visible in the search results

Fill this out for all past positions that are relevant to your goals

• Again, just like a resume, you wouldn’t necessarily include everything

• Fill out as much detail as you can initially – but you can always come back & edit/add more.

Optimizing your LinkedIn ProfileAdd your Education History

• You can add multiple schools/degrees

• “Degree” & “Field of Study” are flexible –make sure you take advantage of that

• Fill out the activities & notes to highlight accomplishments and associations

Optimizing your LinkedIn ProfileClicking “Add Websites” Brings up the Additional Information form – fill it all out if you can!

You have 3 websites you can add. Take advantage of as many as makes sense - at the very least your company’s site.

Fill out your interests as it relates to your career. Use as descriptive terminology as you can.

Fill out the Groups and Associations section & Honors and Awards if you possibly can.

Tip! Choosing “Other” from the dropdown

list will let you customize the text in the link (sadly no SEO benefit)


You can add a link to your Twitter account if you would like – as long as you don’t mind it being associated with you professionally.

You should absolutely customize your profile URL

• You can include the link in your email signature, on your website, blog or Facebook.

• Improves your ability to be found on Google

• Claim it before someone else does!

Clicking the “Customize your URL” link brings up the Public Profile privacy settings

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/art-vandelay/24/ab/268

-->http://www.linkedin.com/in/ArtVandelay





http://www.linkedin.com/in/ArtVandelay


Set your Public Profile URL

• LinkedIn will let you know if the address you choose is already taken

• You can only use letters or numbers

• Some people use descriptive terms like “LatexVandelay”

The Public Profile Settings control how much of your profile people see.

This only applies to people with whom you are not connected – your connections can see everything.

The Full View option is recommended –the point of having a profile is to be able to be found.


The Summary Section = extremely important, especially if you run your own company• Basically a cover letter for your profile

• Take some time to fill out these sections

• Make sure that it is current with your Goals now. Things change, make sure that this changes with them.

For Specialties, use terms that you would like to be found by• Include the acronyms where applicable

• List as many as you can – make sure to refresh this list often as well

Be factual and direct about yourself, but not overly pompous.

Both of these sections are key in being found via search.


Personal Information• Totally up to you

• Contact info is available to your Connections – other stuff you can choose who sees it

Contact Settings• You can choose to display if you are

interested in the items on the left

• Default is all of them

• You can decide if you would like “Introductions” & “InMail” (LinkedIn email)

• You can also give people advice on how to contact you

• To add an email account, you have to go to “Settings” in the top right of the page. It’s not in the profile.

Adding LinkedIn Connections

• Connections are the real power of LinkedIn

• Based on the “6 degrees of separation” concept - but limited to just 3

• People you connect directly to are your Connections (“friends”)

• People 2-3 degrees away are your “Network”


1st Degree Connections• Will be able to view your entire profile, and you will be able to

view theirs• You can send them InMails directly & without limit• You will be able to see each other’s connections (unless

hidden)• Their profile updates will show up in your stream• They can introduce you to others, and others to you• You can give each other recommendations• LinkedIn recommends: “someone you have worked

with, collaborated on projects with or maybe attended school with”

• Some people will connect to anyone (LIONs) – not usually a great idea. It dilutes the quality of your network.

• My method: People that I’ve met, communicated heavily with or worked with that I would like to follow or work with more


2nd & 3rd Degree Connections• They are “friends of your friends” & “friends of the friends of

your friends”

• You cannot send them direct InMails (unless you pay for the upgraded account)

• They can view your whole profile, assuming you have set each section to be available to your Network

• You can request an introduction to them through your connections– In the case of 3rd degree connections, it requires 2 people to pass

along the introduction request

– Great for hiring, business development, finding clients, etc.

– If you do receive an introduction request, your relationships are now on the line. Decide quickly and well how to proceed.


Everyone else is “Out of Network” (almost)

• They have only a limited view of your profile – can be missing a lot of detail depending on how you set your profile to display

• You can add them to your Connections, but in some cases LinkedIn will require you to supply an email address

• LinkedIn has a tool to help you find a connection to them –but that’s only available to a paid account


Adding Connections

• You can add connections automatically from your web-based email, or from your Outlook or Apple Mail applications.

You will have the chance to add each connection – importing

from your email just gives you the option.

LinkedIn will also tell you which of your contacts already have a

LinkedIn account.


Adding Connections

• A better way is to use your profile information to add connections..

LinkedIn uses your Positions and Education to find other LinkedIn users that worked at the same place at the same time.

A great place to start – but don’t forget to add people that didn’t work at the same company!


Adding Connections

• When you add a connection, they will get an email and a LinkedIn InMail like this:

• You can indicate that you don’t know a user, report them as spam, or reply to the email.

• When I get an invitation from someone I don’t know, I usually reply and ask for the reason for the connection.

Tip! You can customize the message in the email – which you should

always do. It’s a much more personal connection, and a lot

more likely to be accepted.


Adding Connections

• Once they have accepted, you will be able to see their connections – which is a great way to add people you know.

LinkedIn Connections

Your connections will show up on your homepage, giving you the chance to keep up on their careers.

• Status updates

• Profile updates

• Recommendations

• Connections

• Events

• Groups

• Q&A

• Applications

LinkedIn Connections

Connections Tips:• After you meet someone you can reinforce the relationship by

sending a connection request with a personal note.

• Maintain your relationships. Watch your network’s activity, and communicate with them regularly based on updates.

• Use the “My Connections” interface to tag contacts and manage contact info– It’s limited. Doesn’t sync

well with anything but Outlook.

– Because of it’s limits, I onlyuse it to look people up

LinkedIn Status Updates

• Status updates are 140 character messages that appear on your profile page & in your connections’ stream.

• The update is semi-permanent – it will stay on your profile until replaced or cleared

• Ideally it is kept to business-related updates, although those lines are blurring– LinkedIn has partnered with Twitter to connect the two services – the

result is a lot of noise from Twitter.

• You can adjust visibility settings on who can see your updates, but remember that it is a reflection on you professionally – and stays there until you overwrite it

• Your connections’ updates will appear in your stream – you can reply privately to them as well as comment publicly

LinkedIn Recommendations

One of the most useful features of LinkedIn – Yet often neglected.• Instant reference for anyone

searching for you.

• Your public profile displays the number of recommendations you have received.

• Full recommendations only appear to those within your Network – if you choose.

• Recommendations you have written will appear on your public profile, as well as the private profile of the recipient.

• You can even write recommendations for Service Providers – that appear on the company profile.

LinkedIn Recommendations• You can control how visible every

recommendation you receive are on your profile

– If you don’t like what it says about you, request a new one or just don’t show it.

• You can also control how visible the ones you send are on your profile.

– You can edit them after they are sent to update them or correct errors.

– Any time you edit them, an email will be sent

Tip! If you don’t want to tip people off that

you are asking to be recommended, keep it hidden until

you are ready!

LinkedIn Recommendations

Guidelines• Giving

– Be generous with the recommendations that you give, but always be honest.• People really use these to choose employees/partners/service providers. Your

phony recommendation could cost someone money.

– When someone asks, be prompt in responding. Often they are asking because of a recent or pending career change.

– If you can’t give your recommendation, don’t.

• Getting– Ask! It’s very unlikely that you are going to get a recommendation from

someone without asking for it.– When you ask, be specific. Ask for a recommendation for a specific

project or role that you worked together on.– Ask someone you know can and is willing to give you a good one.– Make sure you write a personal note with the request, and always offer

to reciprocate.– Remember that a good, thoughtful recommendation takes real time –

be patient, thank them when they are done, and reciprocate if you can.

LinkedIn Groups

Groups are like Clubs within LinkedIn• There are a few standard group types:

– Alumni: former members of schools, universities, fraternities or sororities.

– Corporate: membership often composed of current or past employees from the same company.

– Conference: membership often composed of people attending similar or the same trade show or conference.

– Networking: membership often composed of people with networking as one of its primary goals.

– Non-Profit: membership often composed of people in support of a similar cause or value.

– Professional: membership often composed of people with similar industry interests.

– Other: ?

LinkedIn Groups

Why join Groups?• They show up in your

profile - can give viewers an glimpse into what you are all about

• You can control each Group’s visibility

• Members of the same group are considered your Network – have access like 2nd & 3rd

degree connections• Members can reach out to

you directly with inquiries & opportunities

LinkedIn Groups

Why join Groups?• Find people with similar

careers, businesses or interests• Members are ordered by

relationship to you• This can and often does lead to

business referrals

• Keep up on news related to that specific group’s focus

• Engage in discussions specific to that group – gain insight & credibility

• You can use them to connect with local & regional groups for networking & job finding

• Most groups have a “Jobs” section where relevant jobs are posted

LinkedIn Groups

Finding Groups to Join

• The official group of your current or past companies.

• Your connections’ groups.

• Groups of people/companies that you aren’t connected to, but would like to be.

• The Groups directory– Search for topics that

interest you or locations

• Can’t find a group that fits?Create one!– A great way to almost

instantly become crediblein your field

LinkedIn Groups

Groups Tips:

• Don’t spam the group! Discussions should be relevant, and add value to the group’s overall purpose. No dumping links!

• If you find you get too many email notifications from a group, change the settings so you just get them weekly, or not at all.

• Know which groups to be active in. Some groups only exist to connect people to each other (conference groups, for example). Don’t waste your time where there is no community.

• For your core groups, be an active participant. Add consistent, real value.

LinkedIn Company Profiles

• You can see detailed information about a company, partially written by a representative of the company, and partially built using demographic & profile data– Company overview (original

source is Capital IQ, but can be overwritten by employee)

– Previous employers

– Demographic & educational data

– List of all employees in your network

– Changes in employee profiles (promotions, hires, departures, etc.)

– Job postings

LinkedIn Company Profiles

Tips!

• You can follow companies.. Which means changes to their Company Profile will show up in your stream on your homepage

– Add the companies you know well, and where your connections work

– Add companies you are interested in – Job openings are posted!

– Competitors – watch to see what talent they are gaining & losing

• Use the Company Search to find companies by location & industry

– You can see connections and job postings right from the search results

LinkedIn Answers

Q&A platform organized by industry• Anyone can ask or answer questions in

any category• Your activity is broadcasted to your

network

A great way to find answers to business questions• Use the search to find answered

questions in your industry• If you can’t find an existing answer, ask

the question yourself – there is a lot of activity on the platform

Establish yourself as an authority• Gain visibility on your profile - frequent

Q&A means frequent placement on your network’s stream

• Show your knowledge to your network and be seen as a credible authority

LinkedIn Answers

Tips• Use the Q&A to find out more information about vendors &

services – help you choose the right partners & find out the pros & cons

• A great forum to build ideas for content creation – get through the writer’s block

• You can choose to only have your questions emailed privately to connections you choose, otherwise they appear:– Listed under the Answers tab– On your profile– On the LinkedIn homepage of your connections

• Like any public forum, listen before you start speaking. Read through some previous questions, maybe try to answer a few before you start asking.

LinkedIn Applications

LinkedIn has a number of additional applications you can add to your profile (these are a few)… Use as many as make sense for you.

LinkedIn Events

• LinkedIn Events allows you to see what events your network is attending and allows you to find events recommended to you based on your industry and job function– Search for conferences / trade shows / meet-ups– Post events to your profile to broadcast & gain interest– Promote an event of your own– See who will be attending a conference– Show when you are presenting or an exhibitor– Invite other contacts to attend

• Not all the events are big conferences – a lot of local, free events are listed as well– You can search based on location as well as topic/industry

LinkedIn Events

• Your Network can see what events you are attending on your profile

• Other people attending can see that you are interested, attending or presenting

• This can lead to connectionsand opportunities that would otherwise missed

Finding Work Using LinkedIn

Based on what we’ve covered, there are a number of ways LinkedIn can be a great tool in finding work. Here are some tips…• First and foremost, build out your profile & connections

before you need them to find a job… hit the ground running! The following should already be done before you start looking…– Fill out all applicable positions like you would a resume– Get recommendations for as many positions as you can– Fill out the summary & interests to reflect your job search and

career goals– Connect to anyone you worked with in the past– Join any groups that align with your industry and goals –

participate on those groups too!


• Use the your Status Updates to let your network (and anyone else viewing your profile) know that you are on the market– Update this status often, even if it is with the same update, so

you will appear in your Connections’ streams frequently. That way you have a better chance of being noticed!

• Ask for recommendations – don’t be shy– Make sure to ask people you know you will give you a

recommendation– Let them know you are actively looking so they know the

urgency– When you ask for a recommendation, ask them to keep an eye

out for you– Offer to reciprocate, and then do it immediately. It’s not like you

have a job taking up all your time. Better yet, offer a recommendation before you ask for one


• Use the Companies page to find companies located nearby where you have connections– Do a search based on zip codes, without any keywords to find all companies

– The results will show local companies, whether you have a direct connection, and if the company has any jobs posted

– Reach out to your connections to enquire about the job – if you can, get them to take in your resume


• Visit the Company Profile page on LinkedIn to get more information on..– What current and former employees are in your

network – you can leverage these people!– Popular LinkedIn user profiles (aka high-profile

employees)– Recent promotions & changes – could indicate an

opening that is not yet listed. Reach out to your connections!

– Where the company hires from and where employees go next

– Common job titles and educational backgrounds– The average age & gender statistics of employees


• Use LinkedIn’s own Job board – many jobs are only listed on LinkedIn– There are lots of tools to

refine by location, company, job function, experience level, etc.

– The results will let you see who you know that works there, or who is in your network that you connect to via an introduction

• Don’t forget to check the jobs posted within the group pages as well!

The End! Questions?

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickgalan

Contact me:

Rick Galan

[email protected]

twitter: @RickGalan

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickgalan

mailto:[email protected]

Career

Using LinkedIn to Build Your Online Resume, Reputation & Connections