Personalize this deck by adding your LI profile photo and your name

2 new members per second. Students / recent Graduates is the fastest growing demographic on LinkedIn.

​

Social media in the language of fruit (used to be donuts – got healthy!). What would you say LinkedIn is, in fruit terms?

Some examples of LinkedIn in fruit terms – more than just a CV, or a list of sales contacts. And not just somewhere to go when you want a new jobs – we want LinkedIn to be relevant and useful for you on a daily basis.

Our value propositions for members – three ways that LinkedIn helps its members

An ideal starting point for connecting with your professional world is building a great profile on LinkedIn

​

First impressions used to be at interview – now they happen online. Have you checked your Digital Footprint? Who has Googled themselves recently? What did you find?

Definitely recommend doing that – make sure you don’t have anything damaging, from photos to blogs. Social media is strongly optimised on search, so usually LinkedIn profiles come top when you search on a name. Then Twitter and Facebook.

The Wrong Photo!! This is how you want to be seen in a work / professional world. No alcohol, pets, cut-off party photos or wedding shots, no cartoons or holiday snaps. But you can still be friendly and approachable.

Select a photo that represents how you want to be seen at work. Missing a photo – consciously or subconsciously you get missed – people focus on the photos, not the silhouettes. We are social. You don’t have to enlist the help of a professional photographer. Think about matching the dress code of the profession you are looking to get into (e.g. City career = suit ; Web Dev = casual).

Be alone in the shot and you can even take a photo with the help of a friend.

Your headline is important as (with your name and photo) it comes up in search results, in groups, and is basically the first thing people see.

The headline is a great way to show your value and passion in one quick line. Let the reader (recruiter?) know what you are all about right away.

Inspire them to read more.

Build your own SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) – more and more employers and recruiters use Search Engines and LinkedIn’s own Recruiter tool to find (“source”) the most relevant people.

This is based on searching on certain “key words”. Everyone should think hard about what their top 4 or 5 words are. Do a search on LinkedIn – even if you get 1m results, see who comes top or on the first page of the results, check out their profile as they are doing something well. LinkedIn will show you how they have used keywords, and you can borrow their techniques.

Adding a summary of 40 words or more makes your profile more likely to turn up in a future employer’s search. Your Elevator Pitch.

A good tip is to ensure your summary includes keywords featured in desirable job descriptions for your field. Describe your experience and tell the world why you work in your chosen career. Avoid buzzwords (examples: strategic, team player, creative) and focus on your career accomplishments.

OK so you’ve been found, and you’ve got the right person to look at your profile…… Now you need to be impressive, with strong relevant content in the key sections of your profile.

It’s essential to list all past experience. Your profile is 12 times more likely to be viewed if you have more than one position listed. So even if it was a small low-paid temporary job, include it and add a couple of bullets about what you did / delivered / were responsible for, and who you worked with.

Always include your University information, so that you are connected to the university on LinkedIn and can use the information as well as receive university communications.

Bring your profile to life (beyond just a text document online) with rich media – you can attach images and videos, links to news stories and innovative presentations to your experience section.

Maybe an overview of some research or your dissertation. A project you worked on. If you add a PDF or PPT, then make the front cover eye-catching – it will appear on your profile and makes YOU stand out from other profiles. These things can also go a long way to showing your Enthusiasm for the subject / career – that’s what Employers are really looking for.

Adding volunteering experience can be really valuable.

Almost half of all hiring managers say they view volunteer experience as equivalent to formal work experience. And it helps as more companies look for Cultural Fit and how people’s values match their own.

Add Skills – These act as “Super Powered Keywords”. The optimal number is unique to each person. Include a mix of high level and niche skills and be specific.

Get Endorsements – whilst no-one will be hired on the back of these, they (a) help you come higher in search results (b) they demonstrate your collaboration and teamwork / networking

There are lots of sections you can complete – the more the better. It’s not all about work experience. Include your Languages, University teams or organisations, projects and certifications.

Even your Interests can be useful – people make deeper connections with those people they see with shared interests. “Hey, he does Karate!”

You can create your profile in another language from the View Profile page. While you can't change the language of your primary profile, you can create as many secondary language profiles as there are languages available.

To create your profile in another language:

Click Profile at the top of your homepage.

Click the Down arrow next to the View Profile As button and select Create profile in another language.

Choose a language from the dropdown list and update your first name and last name if they're different in the new profile's language.

Translate your existing Professional Headline.

Translations aren't done for you. You'll need to add or translate your own personal content byediting your secondary language profile.

Click Create Profile to go to the Edit Profile page of your new language profile.

Click into any fields you'd like to edit.

Click Save and continue editing other sections.

To delete a secondary language profile:

Move your cursor over Profile at the top of your homepage and select Edit Profile. Secondary languages will appear beneath your primary profile language, in the top right of your profile page.

Click the 'X' next to the language in which you want to delete your profile. This will delete your profile in that secondary language.

Notes:

Viewers will see your profile in the language that matches the one they're using the site in. If they're using the site in a language that you haven't created a secondary profile for, they'll see your profile in the language of your primary profile.

It's not possible to make a secondary profile your primary profile.

The "Additional Info" section will be the same across all of your profiles. It can't be different for each language profile.

You control your Privacy and Settings. Whether you are new to LinkedIn or have been using it for a while, we recommend taking 5 minutes to review your settings and make sure you are happy with them. Roll the mouse over your photo in the top right. And then select “Privacy & Settings”. You may need to enter your password. Within this page you will see 3 sections: Account, Privacy, and Communications.

An ideal starting point for connecting with your professional world is building a great profile on LinkedIn

​

People control resources, information, jobs – so if you are looking for these things, you are really looking for the right person…

You know more people than you think – from friends, to people on your course, to people you have worked with – even people on teams or bands or groups.

The more people you connect with, the bigger your Extended Network. If you know 50 people, and they know 50, and then they know 50 – well, that’s thousands of people already.

And the interesting opportunities come from unknown sources – if someone knows you well, they will tell you straight away. But what about someone you don’t know sharing a job or working at the company you like – and then a mutual friend sharing that post / information – suddenly it’s there in your newsfeed!

Do not limit your connectivity because the person does not seem relevant today. You never know where people will end up, or who they might know.

Someone on your course could end up at the company you want to work at in 2 years time – they could help you with some insights, or event a referral!

Or the friend of your Mum, who just happens to know someone who works there. So be Open to new connections. That doesn’t mean connect to anyone and everyone.

But Connections are not endorsements.

“Netiquette” is about approaching the right people in the right way. Probably not the CEO (unless you have an “in”). And if you are getting in touch with someone for the first time (alumni, recruiter) with good reason, then make sure you do it in the right way. It is all about giving yourself the Best Chance Of Success. Engaging in the right way to elicit the desired response.

If you are connecting to someone you know well, then fine, no need to write a personal message. But if it is someone you do not know that well, then the personal message is CRITICAL.

Do not leave the default “I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.” Go to the person’s profile (good to read up) and then select “Connect” (other places can automatically send with the default message, so do it this way if important). Then you get the dialogue box to include your context and message – WHY are you getting in touch?

You can personalise the invitation message on Mobile too – it’s just a bit hidden…

Your “professional brand” is not just your profile – people might only look at that once. It’s actually more influenced by how you act, how you engage, what you share. Are you a valuable connection?

Be active. When you Like/Comment/Share – that engages your network. Share useful content that helps people, and shows you know your stuff, that you are on the ball, passion for your subject. People can look at your updates. And even more powerful – write a blog post about your area of interest. Great way to enhance you “brand” and impress a recruiter / hiring manager.

There are many ways for your to share what you know on LinkedIn, and to also learn from others who are sharing their expertise. We are going to dive deeper into 3 of these.

There are over 400m people on LinkedIn and many went to university – and many to your own university. You can check out what people from your course did with their careers…

Anyone who adds your University to their profile – studying now or in the past – will be automatically Following the university (so receive any updates into newsfeed) – but also be included in the alumni data set – let’s take a closer look…

So this is LIVE real-time data based on all the LinkedIn members who have studied at this university. You do not need any special access to explore this data – anyone on LinkedIn can look at any university. Here we can see XXXX number of alumni – where they live now, where they currently work, what sector/industry they work in. We can search using the magnifying icon. Let’s click to the right for more fields…

We can explore What they studied (the course), Skills (*bit generic when everyone included), how we’re connected. We can use Date filters – either an Attended range, or a specific Graduation year. And if not enough, we can search this whole alumni community by keyword.

So let’s say you are studying History – when I select it the data automatically zooms into that filter, showing me just the data for XXX people who studied that subject. See how the Skills are now aligned. Let’s click back to see where all the History grads work…

Here we can see where the History grads are working now – quite a range. Worth noting that they listed by volume, so big employers naturally come at the top. You can search in this list using the magnifying glass.

You can use any combination of filters to explore different career options / alternatives. It could be specific location, or employers, or skills.

And then scroll down below the data, you find the actual alumni themselves. You get a preview of their profiles, including Education and Experience history. You might want to get in touch for some advice based on their experience. Make sure you profile is properly complete, and send them a personalised invitation.

Sometimes, if people are outside of your network, they will be just listed as “LinkedIn Member”, and you won’t be able to see their details. So continue to grow your network, join the Alumni Group, and your reach will grow. Or ask your friendly Careers Adviser to help!

Look for groups relating to your industry, function, and career interest –– then join a few to stay up to date on trending topics and news. Build a solid professional reputation by sharing your ideas and commenting on others’ posts and providing advice where appropriate.

Checking out Companies can help in several ways.

Especially think about the PEOPLE who work there – you can see the list and filter by keyword or job title. So look at people in jobs you aspire to be in yourself – what are they doing? What skills have they got? Do they talk positively about their jobs and where they work? And even on the most basic level – do they look friendly? Could you work with these people?

​

Or if you are heading for an interview for example, see if you can check out the person interviewing you – good to know about them, good to see their photo so you can recognise them. And maybe something that can help with the new relationship – e.g. they do Yoga!!

​

You can search for jobs on the LinkedIn App – search on the company, Follow them to stay updated, see Careers information, see jobs…

You can search for jobs – here’s an example of some IBM jobs – let’s take a look at this graduate programme opportunity for 2016…

You can search for jobs – here’s an example of some IBM jobs – here the search is for IBM, London, Entry Level (filter you can use on left hand nav). Let’s take a look at this graduate programme opportunity for 2017… Not only do you get the actual job information, but you can see information about who works there, or who is in your network (maybe a 2^nd degree connection), plus other jobs / employers you might not have considered through “People also viewed” and “Similar Jobs” – for example this ThoughtWorks opportunity which you might not have found directly…

Look for groups relating to your industry, function, and career interest –– then join a few to stay up to date on trending topics and news. Build a solid professional reputation by sharing your ideas and commenting on others’ posts and providing advice where appropriate.

Searching for relevant Groups – e.g. Accountancy – look for “very active” groups.

When you look at a Group LinkedIn also recommends others in similar area.

You can join up to 50 Groups – being in many helps your networking. Also, Employers using the LinkedIn Recruiter platform, can search in relevant Groups – so can help you be FOUND.

Choose 2 or 3 to be active in.

And there are also University Groups – seek to join your own University / School Students and Alumni Group. Real benefit to be networking with your own alumni (as we saw earlier).

So wrapping up – the Top 5 things…..