Using linkedin to find a job. By Herman Tumurcuoglu John Abbott College.

1. Using LinkedIn to Build Your
Online Resume, Reputation &
Connections
Herman Tumurcuoglu
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/expertonlinereputation

2. What is LinkedIn ?
– Social Media Platform
– Online Resume
– Referral Generator
– Contact Manager
– Business Development tool
– Company Information Directory
– Industry Q&A Platform
– Job Hunting Site/Recruiting tool
– Much more!

3. What is LinkedIn ?
It’s big.
As of March 2015, LinkedIn reports
more than 364 million acquired users
in more than 200 countries

4. Why use ?
Estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics say that
over half of all jobs are found through networking. Up to
80% of executive level jobs are never even posted.
“Of the U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 75% report that their
companies have formal policies in place that require hiring personnel to
research applicants online.”
79% actually do it.
“Of U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 70% say they have rejected
candidates based on information they found online.”

5. The LinkedIn Tour
Without logging in, there is
not much to do
You can search.. but the
results are hidden behind
the login
Other tools are hidden in
the footer of the page… but
are much more useful after
logging in

6. Creating a LinkedIn Profile
Step 1: Name & Email
Tip!
Use a non-work email address.
This will ensure that the
primary email on the account
is always yours. You can &
should add your work email
later.

7. Creating a LinkedIn Profile
Step 2: Basic Professional Profile
Options change depending on
employment
Employed
A business owner
Looking for work
Working independently
A student

8. Creating a LinkedIn Profile
Steps 3-6: Find Initial Connections
Tip!
Skip it. Why connect
before you have set up
your profile?

9. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn helps
you fill your
profile out by
giving you tips
& the option
to upload
your resume.
Start by editing the “basic profile” section

10. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
Keep your Display Name your full name
– you WANT people to find you.
By default your headline is your job title
– expand it into something more
descriptive of what you are. You have
120 Characters!
Tip! Avoid titles like “guru” or “expert” – especially
if you are looking for work.

11. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
Now it’s time to add a photo!
• Your connections will see your face in their
stream – you will be more memorable
Choose a photo that best represents you
professionally.. This is not Facebook.. and
really not MySpace
• No pictures of you as a baby, no selfies..
• A headshot is best – LinkedIn has a tool that
lets you crop an image easily
• Light background is preferred
You can choose who gets to see your photo
• My Connections – people who are directly
connected to you
• My Network – people who are connected to
those connected to you
• Everyone – everyone! (Best option if you want
to be found)

12. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
Fill out your current & past positions
• You can have more than one current position
• Start with the current position you already
entered
Note – you can import your resume and have this
filled out, but I prefer the manual approach.
Fill out the description with real tangible information
on what you do / have done.
• Helps your network understand your role
• Shows recruiters & HR managers more detail
on your background
• Makes you more visible in the search results
Fill this out for all past positions that are relevant to
your goals.

13. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
Add your Education History
• You can add multiple schools/degrees
• “Degree” & “Field of Study” are flexible –
make sure you take advantage of that
• Fill out the activities & notes to highlight
accomplishments and associations

14. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
Clicking “Add Websites” Brings up the
Additional Information form – fill it all out if
you can!
You have 3 websites you can add. Take
advantage of as many as makes sense - at
the very least your company’s site.
Fill out your interests as it relates to your
career. Use as descriptive terminology as
you can.
Fill out the Groups and Associations section
& Honors and Awards if you possibly can.

15. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
You can add a link to your Twitter
account if you would like – as long as you
don’t mind it being associated with you
professionally.
You should absolutely customize your
profile URL
• You can include the link in your
email signature, on your website,
blog or Facebook.
• Improves your ability to be found on
Google
• Claim it before someone else does!
Clicking the “Customize your URL” link
brings up the Public Profile privacy
settings

16. Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile
The Summary Section = extremely
important, especially if you run your
own company
• Basically a cover letter for your profile
• Take some time to fill out these sections
For Specialties, use terms that you
would like to be found by
• Include the acronyms where applicable
• List as many as you can – make sure to
refresh this list often as well
Be factual and direct about yourself,
but not overly pompous.
Both of these sections are key in
being found via search.

17. Adding LinkedIn Connections
• Connections are the
real power of LinkedIn
• Based on the “6
degrees of separation”
concept - but limited to
just 3
• People you connect
directly to are your
Connections (“friends”)
• People 2-3 degrees
away are your
“Network”

18. Adding LinkedIn Connections
Adding Connections
• When you add a connection, they will get an
email and a LinkedIn InMail like this:
Tip!
You can customize the message
in the email – which you should
always do. It’s a much more
personal connection, and a lot
more likely to be accepted.

19. Adding LinkedIn Connections
Adding Connections
• Once they have accepted, you will be able to
see their connections – which is a great way to
add people you know.

20. LinkedIn Connections
Connections Tips:
• After you meet someone you can reinforce the relationship by
sending a connection request with a personal note.
• Maintain your relationships. Watch your network’s activity,
and communicate with them regularly based on updates.
• Use the “My Connections”
interface to tag contacts
and manage contact info

21. LinkedIn Status Updates
• Status updates are 140 character messages that appear on
your profile & in your connections’ stream.
• The update is semi-permanent – it will stay on your profile
until replaced or cleared
• Linkedin has partnered with Twitter to connect the two
services – the result is a lot of noise from Twitter.
• You can adjust visibility settings on who can see your updates.
• Your connections’ updates will appear in your stream – you
can reply privately to them as well as comment publicly

22. LinkedIn Recommendations
One of the most useful features of LinkedIn – Yet often
neglected.
• Instant reference for anyone
searching for you.
• Your public profile displays the
number of recommendations
you have received.
• Full recommendations only
appear to those within your
Network – if you choose.
• Recommendations you have
written will appear on your
public profile, as well as the
private profile of the recipient.

23. LinkedIn Groups
Groups are like Clubs within LinkedIn
• There are a few standard group types:
– Alumni: former members of schools,
universities, fraternities or sororities.
– Corporate: membership often composed
of current or past employees from the
same company.
– Conference: membership often
composed of people attending similar or
the same trade show or conference.
– Networking: membership often
composed of people with networking as
one of its primary goals.
– Non-Profit: membership often composed
of people in support of a similar cause or
value.
– Professional: membership often
composed of people with similar industry
interests.
– Other: ?

24. LinkedIn Groups
Why join Groups?
• Find people with similar
careers, businesses or
interests
• Members are ordered by
relationship to you
• This can and often does
lead to business referrals
• Keep up on news related
to that specific group’s
focus
• Engage in discussions
specific to that group –
gain insight & credibility

25. LinkedIn Groups
Finding Groups to Join
• The official group of your current or past companies.
• Your connections’ groups.
• Groups of people/companies that you aren’t connected to,
but would like to be.
• The Groups directory
– Search for topics that
interest you or locations
• Can’t find a group that fits?
Create one!
– A great way to almost
instantly become credible
in your field

26. LinkedIn Company Profiles
• You can see detailed
information about a
company, partially written
by a representative of the
company, and partially built
using demographic &
profile data
– Company overview (original
source is Capital IQ, but can
be overwritten by employee)
– Previous employers
– Demographic & educational
data
– List of all employees in your
network
– Changes in employee profiles
(promotions, hires,
departures, etc.)
– Job postings

27. LinkedIn Company Profiles
Tips!
• You can follow companies.. Which
means changes to their Company
Profile will show up in your stream
on your homepage
– Add the companies you know well,
and where your connections work
– Add companies you are interested
in – Job openings are posted!
– Competitors – watch to see what
talent they are gaining & losing
• Use the Company Search to find
companies by location & industry
– You can see connections and job
postings right from the search
results

28. Finding Work Using LinkedIn
• First and foremost, build out your profile &
connections before you need them to find a job… hit
the ground running! Fill out all applicable positions like you
would a resume
– Get recommendations for as many people as you can.
– Fill out the summary & interests to reflect your job search
and career goals
– Connect to anyone you worked with in the past
– Join any groups that align with your industry and goals –
participate on those groups too!

29. Finding Work Using LinkedIn
• Use the your Status Updates to let your network
know that you’re on the market.
– Update this status often, even if it is with the same update,
so you will appear in your Connections’ streams
frequently.
• Ask for recommendations – don’t be shy
– When you ask for a recommendation, ask them to keep an
eye out for you.
• Visit the Company Profile page on LinkedIn to get
more information on..
– See what current and former employees are in your
network – you can leverage these people!

30. The End! Questions?
Herman Tumurcuoglu