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Using LinkedIn To Enhance Employability Prospects For

Computing Students

Thomas Lancaster

Birmingham City University

Introduction to the LinkedIn Social Network

Practical Activity Using LinkedIn

Discussion – Integrating LinkedIn Into Teaching

Workshop Overview

Introduction To LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Largest Professional Social Network

Over 120 million members

Provides opportunities for professionals to

Network with existing and new contacts

Establish a professional presence

Receive recommendations

Look for employment possibilities

Provides a professional mechanism for staff and students to stay in contact

LinkedIn

Profile page

Introduction

Resume/CV

Photos

Portfolio

LinkedIn For General Users

LinkedIn Profile

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/thomaslancaster

Maintain a professional network of acquaintances

Other students

Lecturers

Professional contacts

Find placement and employment opportunities

Look for existing jobs

Send speculative requests through contacts

Seek out freelancing work (good for their CV)

Maintain a professional presence

Shows what they do beyond their course

Vital for employability

Use Of LinkedIn By Students

A Professional Profile Is Essential

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9162356/Facebook-passwords-fair-game-in-job-interviews.html

Many employers in the technical fields will filter students informally by searching for them online

Find embarrassing Facebook photos

Find their bebo account from when they were younger

LinkedIn allows some control over what information is available through an Internet search

Ranks very high in Internet searches

Professional by default

Provides an online CV

Can be included in job applications

Students in technical fields are expected to be online

Search Engine Control

Maintain a professional network

Other staff from their institution

Industrial and professional contacts

Former students

Provides a professional focus for their course

Encourages students to apply

Allows dissemination of professional activities

Use Of LinkedIn By Staff

Add people who you know

Suggest letting students approach you, rather than the other way around

Use the “Add Connections” feature

“People Who You May Know” is very powerful

Network outside your immediate Connections

Use “Get Introduced”

Generate speakers and work experience opportunities for students

LinkedIn Networking For Teaching

Practical Activity Using LinkedIn

Create a LinkedIn profile

Include a professional photo

Include interesting text

Add professional connections

People you work with

People who you know from Higher Education Academy contacts

Improve The Profile

Add links to your other web sites

Customise your url

Advanced Activity

Join LinkedIn groups and use these for networking purposes

Ask for a Recommendation

Activity

Further Use Of LinkedIn

Pushing your personal brand through a professional channel

Headline needs to be attractive

Use keywords (both as keywords and within the text) to reflect your aims for being on LinkedIn

Ensure that the profile is public

Make sure that the information is detailed (write it as an advert)

Post to the profile regularly (and monitor what is posted)

LinkedIn Is For Marketing

Advanced Technique

Link your social media sites together

Provides great visibility across a professional presence and on LinkedIn

Twitter Linking

Showcases Twitter link on LinkedIn profile

Can automatically show all Tweets on LinkedIn

Can automatically syndicate LinkedIn content to Twitter

Social Media Syndication

Using LinkedIn Within Teaching

Make sure that students understand the need for a LinkedIn profile

To represent themselves professionally online

To build up lifelong professional connections

Lead through staff

Ensure that staff are represented on LinkedIn (even if the information is brief)

Builds up the university brand (and their personal brand)

Motivation

Students are used to social networking

But training can still be beneficial

Students benefit from training on branding and marketing

Integrate teaching within appropriate modules

Professional Practice

Personal Development Planning

Training

Professional Presence Assignment

Students required to represent themselves professionally online

Produce material for a CV

Can include elements of PDP

Assessment Idea

Mahara

LinkedIn

Web Site

http://emmettcooper.co.uk/

Web Site

http://www.cvickers.co.uk/

Building up a whole online presence across social media is important

Controlled Facebook

Google+

Twitter

LinkedIn

YouTube

Web Site

etc

LinkedIn Is The Start

Discussion: LinkedIn Teaching

Enhancing The Employability Of Computing Students Through An Online Professional Presence

Friday 8 June 2012

Birmingham City University

Millennium Point, Birmingham

Free Of Charge (Limited Places)

Contact: thomas.lancaster@bcu.ac.uk

http://www.bcu.ac.uk/tee/ctn-hea-employability-workshop

Upcoming Workshop

Any Questions?

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