An introduction to getting started on LinkedIn

1. Getting Started on LinkedIn
How to develop your
professional online presence
Sue Beckingham
Sheffield Hallam University

2. Why would you want to use
LinkedIn?

3. The key professional networking tool
the corporate office
the water cooler
the staff canteen
the bar

4.  LinkedIn is in the Top 20 most visited
websites in the world
 Nearly 5.7 billion people searches on
LinkedIn
LinkedIn Demographics

5.  300 million members worldwide
 students and recent graduates - fastest
growing demographic
 15m+ members in the UK
 professionals are signing up to LinkedIn at a
rate of approx. 2 new members per second.
 Company presence
 3m companies have a page
 LinkedIn Groups
 2.1 million
LinkedIn Demographics

6. 39,000,000
are students and
recent graduates
There were 5.7 billion professionally-oriented searches undertaken by
LinkedIn members on the platform in 2012 alone
Understanding the value of

8. Take note….
an unprofessional
profile can be more damaging than
not having one at all.

9. http://www.alexa.com/topsites/global!
will find
you!
Be mindful of how people search
for information

10. LinkedIn ranks highly!

11. Who will look at your online profile?
 What do people want to know about you?
 Where will they use this information?
 Why is your profile important?
 When and how often do you update it?
 How will you use your profile to your
advantage?
Questions to consider

12. Developing your professional
online profile

13. #1
Check the
privacy
settings and
options
Whilst developing your profile you can opt to
make it private until you are ready to share it

14. Think about the keywords you would use in a search
and include relevant ones within your profile so that
people searching for your expertise can find you.
Include in your headline, current and past work
experiences, summary and specialities
#2
Use
keywords

15. Aim for
NOT this
#3
Complete
your profile

16. People want to connect with you as an
individual, so avoid displaying an avatar or
worse leaving the default image
#4
Include a
photo

17. Add to your email signature, blog, business cards
#5
Customise
your public
URL

18. Consider the keywords users might use
to search for expertise
#6
Add your
skills
Your
skills can
be
endorsed

19. #7
Give and ask for
recommendations

20. Add links to publications
#8
Add projects
and
publications

21. Add links to projects#9
Add projects

22. Professional
networking on
Your initial steps will include
completing the sections on your
profile and making connections,
however will need to be revisited
from time to time
is an iterative process
#10
Be a
Gardener

23. A minimalistic approach to
your profile might be fine for
Mark Zuckerberg but potential
employers want to know
about you!
Better to take a leaf out of Reid
Hoffman’s book

24. Exploring LinkedIn beyond
your profile page

25. Developing new contacts

26. People search
A good way to find the
head of any company

27. People search

28. Search for Companies

29. http://www.linkedin.com/directory/groups/
Follow Companies

30. Groups search

31. The LinkedIn Apply Button
https://developer.linkedin.com/apply
Companies
can add this
to their job
page on the
company
website
Applicants
are asked to
submit a link
to their
LinkedIn
profile

32. http://go.shu.ac.uk/socialmedia
Creating guidance for students

33. Getting Started with Twitter
Sue Beckingham | @suebecks
Sheffield Hallam University