LinkedIn – Guide to getting started

“Ready, fire, aim!”THIS EVENING’s OBJECTIVES

• Present a brief overview of LinkedIn

• To get you started

• Building on the basics

• Suggest one or two obvious pitfalls

• Where to go from here

OVERVIEW

• LinkedIn has 135,000,000 users – one new member every 7 seconds!

•Over 8 million members in UK

•Its primary audiences are businesses and management professionals – You & US

•This and Twitter are seen as the two greatest on-line business tools

• LinkedIn is FREE to join BUT You will probably need to upgrade

• LinkedIn collects data from you so it’s important to be aware of their Privacy Policy

Getting you started

www.linkedin.com

Will take you to…..

Here Login Details

New Joiners

Source of information

“You complete me… (Jerry Maguire)”

To be 100 % you need:• A photo (not obligatory but well worth it!) and

include your full name• A professional headline – max 120 characters• Current Position – Explain your current role –

Name companies to enable effective searches• Past Positions – You can upload your CV• Education – Include University & Schools

• RECOMMENDATIONS - 3 at least

A LinkedIn Profile

Professional Headline

Current Role – associations and companies

Education – people do search by schools

Vital to build a Credible impression

A Great photo – what does it say about you?Keep it professional and approachable

Clicking here takes you to…

“One Degree of Separation”

Personal Website

Building The Brand

Now you have some basics in place, we can build out the brand.

• Additional Information – Make this a bit more about you - likes & dislikes

• Skills – You can add up to 50 skills• Summary – This is the gloss

The Summary

• Focus on what is relevant NOT what is just the most recent

• Accentuate your skills with real experiences• Try to build it as a story and make it

something people want to read• Not everyone does a “Summary” – I don’t

know why?

Further Optimisation•Check your entries for key words•Add contact details • Customise your Public URL

Start Connecting

• Be bold but selective• Grow your connections organically• Use as a follow-up to face to face• Import your email accounts• Personalise your invites – make them polite

Some Networking Ideas

• Join groups – Use “Groups You May Like”

Some Networking Ideas

• Review the connections and groups of people in your network.

• Do people searches• Groups are as more luck than judgement• Connect to The Colchester Executive Job Club• Establish your own group (advanced)

Group management

Set this to weekly

Go Into Groups / Settings

Some Minor Pitfalls

• Be polite & customise all your initial contacts• Always start with a brief introduction to any

connection request• Never feel you have to accept every request

from others – be selective• Be prepared to help others and find ways of

contributing• “If you wouldn’t do it in person don’t do it on

LinkedIn!” (Lindsey Pollak)

Where to go from here?

• Explore and have fun• LinkedIn is a tool – treat it as such – press

buttons and see what happens• Reading – Plenty of Online research• Resources: www.auxinconsulting.co.uk• http://www.zerogmedia.co.uk/finding-jobs-

using-linkedin/

Another Profile

Job seekers badge

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