Linking Acadia: Alumni, Faculty & Students

Martin Suter, BBA (1988)martin.suter@iplicensing.net

METCALFE’S LAW

The "value" or "power" of a network increases in proportion to the square of the number of nodes on the network.

Linkages

Acadia School of Business: LinkedIn

Objective• To facilitate network

linkages across Acadia constituencies– Alumni, Faculty, Students– Corporate Canada

Benefits• Student recruitment &

enrolment• Faculty recruitment• Program development &

enrichment• Student placement• Fundraising

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is to professional networking as Facebook is to social networking

Why LinkedIn?

It is important to create a professional persona on-line and to

build a network with shared interests

LinkedIn To-Do’s

1. Sign up and create a LinkedIn Profile– www.linkedin.com

2. Join Groups of Interest– Acadia School of Business, Acadia Alumni

Network, Professional Associations, etc.3. Begin to build your network4. Ask questions, answer questions5. Network, network, network!

Step 1: Create a Profile

www.linkedin.com• This is your professional

persona• Invest the time• Use key words (think

Google!)• Ask for Recommendations,

reciprocate when asked!

Step 2: Join Groups of Interest

http://www.linkedin.com/groupsDirectory

• This is your network of like-minded people

• Join Acadia groups– Acadia School of Business,

Acadia Alumni

• Join professional interest groups

Step 3: Build your network

http://www.linkedin.com/search

• Identify potential “Connections” - DO NOT SHOTGUN IT!

• Manage your “Connections” judiciously

• Connecting to someone is a privilege not a right

• You can “network” with non-Connections

Step 4: Ask & Answer Questions

http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn

• “Questions” are sent to your groups

• Ask intelligent questions– NOT the place to ask for a

job!!

• Build credibility by answering questions… research if you have to!– Impress them!

Linking Acadia Alumni, Students & Faculty

Alumni Students

• Market research projects

• Co-op students• Recruiting• Giving back by

making it real!

Students Alumni• Mentors• Career advice• Job shadowing• Co-op placements• Internships• Job leads

Faculty Alumni• Guest speakers

for classroom• Real-world

business challenges

• Role models• Keep current