Welcome to the Professional Development presentation, “Using LinkedIn as a Graduate Student.” We hope to help you understand why using LinkedIn is a valuable tool, how to develop your profile and answer any questions you may have.

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LinkedIn is a social networking website for people in professional occupations. The network was founded in December 2002 and launched in early 2003. As of June 2013, LinkedIn reported more than 225 million users in more than 200 countries and territories. Known as the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn allows you to connect, find and be found and build your professional identity online while staying in touch with colleagues and classmates. Major advantages include the opportunity to discover professional opportunities, business deals and new ventures as well as getting the latest news, inspiration and insights for your unique career and goals. One question commonly asked relates to whether LinkedIn sells or outsources your information. Their privacy policy states the information on your profile can be viewed by others. But any non-public information, such as email addresses, are not provided to third parties without your consent. You can choose which parts of your profile are viewable through search engines as well. Unless you authorize LinkedIn to do so or publicly display private information, no one is able to contact you outside of the site. “Head hunters” or talent recruiters do often contact students as potential employees for companies but can only contact you through the LinkedIn messaging system.

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This slide contains information regarding the main reasons LinkedIn is utilized. Not only can you use the site to connect with peers and colleagues but also search for jobs in your area and nationwide. If you’re interested in working on an international scale, LinkedIn helps make this a possibility. You can also gain priceless information about companies you may be interested in working for, directly from their employees. Now that you have heard about some of the reasons for developing a LinkedIn profile as a grad student, we’ll provide you with some tips and ideas for getting started, beginning with your profile headline.

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Opening an account with LinkedIn requires only a few short steps. After visiting the website, you can sign up by entering your basic information. LinkedIn users can choose either a Basic (free) account or a Premium account. The basic plan is suitable for most grad students’ needs but if you are looking for more search results, a better way to save and organize profiles and see more information on who has been viewing your profile, you may consider a premium plan. Premium accounts are used by job seekers and general business users as well as recruiters and talent finders. The main differences between paid and free accounts are visibility and reach. With a free plan you are able to see full profiles of 2nd degree connections. With a premium account you are able to see full profiles without limits. First degree connections are people you have either received an invitation from or invited to connect with personally. Think of these people as those you know best or as “friends.” 2nd degree connections are connected to your 1st level connections but not to you and are considered “friends of your friends.” By connecting with these people they become your “mutual friends” and the connections continue down to the 3rd level. Premium accounts also allow you to utilize more introductions, message and InMail options, which will be discussed later. For the purposes of this presentation and when considering grad students, we will discuss how to use a basic or free account.

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When you begin your profile always remember to completely fill out all requested information. Treat your profile as you would a paper resume and always use proper capitalization, correct grammar and be honest and specific. One of the biggest advantages to LinkedIn is unlike a paper resume, there are no space limits. You can add much more information regarding recent and past jobs and education. Your headline is a short, memorable professional slogan anyone who views your profile will immediately see. This is automatically generated based on your current job but can be easily edited. For example, “Honors student seeking marketing position.” Check out the profiles of students and recent alumni you admire for ideas. Remember, never include email addresses or phone numbers in the headline. It violates LinkedIn’s user agreement and also is not safe.

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LinkedIn isn’t Facebook and requires a different type of photo as this profile will be viewed by professionals and those in your network. Upload a high-quality photo (your profile will be 7x more likely to be viewed) of you alone and professionally dressed. It’s perfectly acceptable to still be you-but a professional you. LinkedIn strongly advises no party shots, cartoon avatars, or puppy pics!

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Use the education section to include your past experiences with your undergrad degree and build on your graduate degree. As a grad student, you most likely have many accomplishments to display in this section. Consider your profile a professional advertisement to the world and develop it in a compelling and strategic way. What will individuals from your profession think about your profile? People who visit your profile are visiting you page because they already have an interest. Keep them on your page by showing your works, projects and make it easy for them to see why they should hire you, be admitted to a PhD program or whatever your future goals are.

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The Professional Summary of your profile is similar to the first opening paragraphs of a cover letter for a job. Remember to consider your goals and aspirations, mention your qualifications and also any relevant work or extracurriculars. It’s always a good idea to let your personality shine through while remembering to keep it within reason. Crafting your summary make take several revisions and you can always ask peers or faculty for advice or help proofreading.

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This slide displays a professional summary example. Someone reading this summary gets the idea of what this individual’s experiences are like and also what their interests are regarding their field. This person also mentions they have children, a great way to self disclose appropriately and within the boundaries of a professional relationship. Just like when crafting your resume, you can reference action words and descriptions from UNI’s Career Services site to make your description more dynamic and interesting.

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Also consider looking at individuals in your network and what skills and expertise they possess. Do you share the same qualities? Add them to attract recruiters! Look at the skills related professional possess that you may be able to gain. If you begin to notice other professionals often have a particular certification or experience at a conference or knowledge about a particular computer program, it is advantageous for you to consider how you might gain this skill also. As you begin adding your experiences and employment information, many large companies will already be included in the LinkedIn list. You can click the relevant companies you have worked for and be added to their Company Profile page, making it easy for co-workers to find you and also prospective employers to locate information about your past employers.

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LinkedIn also has a settings area where you are able to select your privacy settings. If you are looking for a job, it’s best to make your profile completely viewable and this helps when people search for you in search engines like Google. Select who can see your connections and it is preferable to allow them to be viewed by your other contacts. One good rule of thumb with particular connections: if in doubt about trusting them to view your connections list, then don’t connect with them. By engaging with relevant associations and groups, you will begin to get a better idea of the current state of your professional, what individuals are talking about and what trends are on the rise. You will be better informed and have current information to bring to the table as well when you do accept employment. Additionally, you will have the chance to pick up on the lingo. By updating your status, you are demonstrating a commitment to your studies and future. This shows you take the effort and time to read current news and articles and relate to your profession. Take some time to search for those you admire. If you want to become a chief marketing officer, start looking at their profiles and see how they got there, what they studied, what skills they developed and where they’ve worked. Consider joining some of the same groups and see if you have any connections locally. LinkedIn also offers an Introduction feature to help you connect with businesses, firms or individuals you may not immediately know. For example, if your professor is acquainted with a connection in a business you are seeking a job, you can use the

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introduction from to request an introduction. Your professor, who is your connection, can decide whether to pass on the request to the individual or not.

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A more detailed view of what sharing a status looks like. The activity bar is located right below your headline and basic information.

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Build up support and validity with your profile by asking supervisors, co-workers, professors and others to write short recommendations for you, exactly as they would for a job you want to secure. Try to receive diverse responses, especially from those who have directly managed you which play a big part in whether recruiters associate you with success or not. Always remember to try to facilitate with those you receive recommendations from by returning the favor and providing endorsements for their specific skills. You can either recommend someone with a short written account of their skills, character, work ethic etc., or “endorse” them for skills & expertise in a voting like fashion.

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Endorsements are quick testaments to your skills while recommendations take more time and can range from a few sentences to several paragraphs. Recommendations are more personal and closely resemble the paper ones you received when applying to graduate school. When asking for recommendations, avoid sending the scripted, generic request generated by LinkedIn. You wouldn’t ask for a reference in person with a note saying, “Please recommend me,” so why would you do this online? Remind the individual how you know them and what purpose the recommendation serves. If you want to talk about key skills or experiences, say so.

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Utilize the URL assigned to you as a unique website and promote it in the appropriate places such as on your resume, online portfolios, in your email signature etc. Along with setting your profile as public, it is wise to choose your vanity URL to increase visibility on Google. Making your profile public allows you to be discovered through web searches in a way that you can control and this URL allows you to easily promote your page. Many people today include their URL in their email signatures and even on business cards.

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If you are looking for a job or internship or additional experience, LinkedIn often offers opportunities at your fingertips. Browse the site for jobs in an area near you-or cross country if your prefer-and apply. If you already have a connection within the organization, utilize it! If not, ask for an introduction and upload your resume and cover letter which will be directly delivered to the job poster. If you receive an opportunity to meet for a job interview or meeting, research the people you are scheduled to meet. Check out their background and intersts and get to know them before you are introduced.

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Demonstration of how to find and apply for jobs.

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Sometimes you may find you are connected to a person you’ve never met or you accidentally accepted one from a mysterious individual. Or perhaps for some reason, you just don’t want to be connected anymore. You may follow the above steps to remove connections and they will not be notified that they’ve been removed from your list. From now on, only you are able to reinitiate that connection and they will be added to your list of contacts in case you wish to do so in the future.

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Fill out your profile completely and include all your relevant employment, internships and even your volunteer work. It is important to mention any certifications or additional training you have as well. Use keywords to describe your major-look at how UNI describes your education and search for strong and dynamic verbs to include in your descriptions. UNI Career Services offers a list of many verbs to include in your descriptions. We have already discussed uploading a professional headshot but your activity within LinkedIn should also be professional. Use full sentences, proofread and spell check and watch your grammar. Avoid slang and exclamation points and for reference, double check with others in your industry. While LinkedIn is about your career and professionalism, don’t forget to be you. This is still considered a social network and you should create personal connections and allow people to get to know you. Include a status update or be sure to comment in the groups you are involved in. Either way, be an active participant. Finally, add credibility to your page. You can talk about yourself and your accomplishments as much as you want, but employers and job seekers are looking for someone to vouch for you. Past employers, professors and supervisors are excellent sources to recommend you. A good goal from our source recommends you try to receive three or more recommendations highlighting a particular skill.

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Ask for advice and give advice. LinkedIn’s Answers feature is a great place to seek advice from a wide variety of people all around the world. You can also show the world what you have to offer by answering people’s questions about a topic where you have some expertise. Asking and answering questions is a way to build your online visibility. The more active you are in forums like Answers, the more people will come across your profile and want to connect with you.

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