I have come to rely on LinkedIn as a tool for my position and want to share with you how I set it up and use it on a regular basis.

1. LinkedIn … for your
Professional Development
Presented to the RCLCO Team and CFO Network Bethesda
Spring 2009

2. LINKEDIN
WHY AM I TALKING ABOUT THIS
I believe LinkedIn is a useful business development tool, whether the
“business” you are targeting right now is you or your current position.
In the past two months I ve personally invested the time to build my
I’ve
network, and now simply maintain it. LinkedIn is now a tool for me. I want
to share that with others, and am certain that my investment to build the
network has paid off already.
This is how I’ve used it.
•Leveraged my contacts for three specific needs, and been successful in
accomplishing my task
•Confirmed ith 2-3 ll
•C fi d with 2 3 colleagues th t th t h
that they too have recently come t rely on
tl to l
this tool
•Challenged me to document my own career; has identified key goals for
myself in where I want to grow
•Accomplished both RCLCO business development and Kelly Jennings
Accomplished
professional development by re-establishing contacts and reaching out to
them proactively and not
•Eliminated my paper rolodex with an electronic one in many cases
1 RCLCO P-number

3. LINKEDIN
DISCLAIMER
It’s likely that the information in this presentation is only 50-75% of what
LinkedIn has to offer. Please pass along to me any features you’ve found
useful, I’d love to learn more.
They say LinkedIn is a way to find a job, and network how marketable you
really are. If you are seeking other employment, then I believe LinkedIn
would help you get there. But I still feel strongly that to build up your own
p
personal business development, this is a g
p , great tool to help with j
p just that.
I have used some quotes from the LinkedIn website as to the best use of
some areas.
2 RCLCO P-number

4. How I have maximized LinkedIn
3 RCLCO P-number

5. PROFESSIONAL “HEADLINE”
BEYOND YOUR TITLE
This can be your brand, your skill set, your area
of expertise. In your rolodex of connections, this
is the one liner others see. Is this how you want
yourself reflected?
Examples
• Leave out your title:
“Experienced leader of accounting finance
Experienced accounting, finance,
and technology teams in Small-Mid Sized
growing businesses”
• Include your certifications:
“Vice President, LEED-AP”
• Include your college degree:
“Masters of Political Science,
Yale University (’04)”
• Include your company’s name:
“Vice President of Character Development
Vice Development,
Disney International”
4 RCLCO P-number

6. SUMMARY
LIST AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Summary y
This area will be searchable
when people are looking for
someone. Be sure to include
your passions/expertise
Light up your Profile with your
voice. Use specific adjectives,
colorful verbs, active
construction ('managed project
team,' not 'responsible for
, p
project team management').
Act naturally. Don't write in the
third person unless that
formality suits your brand.
Picture yourself at a conference
or client meeting. How do you
introduce yourself? That's your
authentic voice, so use it.
5 RCLCO P-number

7. JOB HISTORY & EDUCATION
IMPROVE YOUR CONNECTIBILITY
Job History & Education
y
Put in all of your positions,
current and past
Put in your university (expand to
high school if that’s your target
audience)
6 RCLCO P-number

8. CONNECTIONS
MULTIPLE AVENUES TO FIND CONNECTIONS
Classmates
Once you identify your education, you can search by
g
graduation y
year
Colleagues
Once you enter your job history, you can search by
history
employer
Import Contacts
Search your Outlook contacts or your
Gmail/Hotmail/Yahoo
Invite Contacts individually
Last Name, First Name, Email required (be sure you
have input into LinkedIn all your email addresses, so
people can find you)
7 RCLCO P-number

9. CLAIM AND DISPLAY YOUR WEB PRESENCE
GRAB YOUR VANITY URL AND ADD YOUR WEBSITES
Your URL with LinkedIn
Follow the link to search for
what is available and grab it
before its taken
Remember your brand
(WinklerDev)
List Any Websites you have
See the recommended choices
for ideas
RCLCO Business Development
can be done here
8 RCLCO P-number

10. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
YOUR PERSONAL EXPOSURE AND INTERUPTION
Too many options to
list
li t
Add both work and
personal email; set
one as the primary for
notifications
Notify connections (or
not) when you update
status
(recommended)
What is displayed i
Wh t i di l d in
your public profile
Determine when and
how you see any
messages/updates
Filter your invitations
9 RCLCO P-number

11. ACCOUNT SETTINGS
WHAT UPDATES DO YOU WANT ABOUT YOUR NETWORK
On your home page or not
y g
How many items
What are those items
Remember that you can set up
settings so that you get a
weekly email
10 RCLCO P-number

12. USING LINKEDIN
STATUS UPDATES
Status Update
It will be on here until you
remove it
Advertise yourself, advertise
your company
Announce an addition to your
profile (SlideShare posting)
Connect with your connections
by commenting on their Status
Update
p
Refer to a website
11 RCLCO P-number

13. USING LINKEDIN
ATTACH FILES TO YOUR PROFILE USING SLIDESHARE
Your Profile will list any
y
presentations you post to
SlideShare
You must register for
SlideShare and install the tool
first,
first see Applications (there are
other applications)
Get permission to publish the
information
Post only PDFs
y
Use your status update to
announce this posting
12 RCLCO P-number

14. USING LINKEDIN
RECOMMEND PEOPLE, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
Received Recommendations
View them all at one time
Choose to show or not show
them
Request an update to a
recommendation
Sent Recommendations
Display them where?
Increase your exposure
Reward where reward is due
Request Recommendations
Choose what you want to be
recommended for, from whom,
, ,
and send a personal message
Seems reasonable if you are
moving jobs, but be careful
about asking – some think it’s
an imposition
13 RCLCO P-number

15. USING LINKEDIN
ANSWERS? DO YOU HAVE ONE, OR NEED ONE?
Answers, and Questions
See what questions your
network is asking
Ask questions to specific people
in your network
Search by category that interest
you
Thoughtful questions and useful
answers build your credibility.
The best ones give p p a
g people
reason to look at your Profile.
Make a point of answering
questions in your field to
establish your expertise, raise
your visibility and most
visibility,
important, to build social capital
with people in your network.
Questions are able to be
answered for 7 days y
14 RCLCO P-number

16. Thank You.
Kelly Jennings, VP of Finance & Administration at RCLCO
www.linkedin.com/in/kellyjenningscpa
www linkedin com/in/kellyjenningscpa
15 RCLCO P-number