Maximizing LinkedIn

Why LinkedIn Matters

• Active and Passive tool• Provides an online presence• Digital Rolodex• Allows you to “see” your network

and what people are doing• Lets people “get to know you”• Local, regional, national & int’l reach

LinkedIn can be used to find:

• Candidates• Business partners• Service providers• Subject matter experts• Clients• Jobs• Competitive intelligence• Information on people you are meeting

with• Old friends and new

The ‘Passive’ Approach: Creating and Optimizing your Profile

Headline

• Use the “Headline” as a way to attract visitors.

• Include what you do or what you are looking for.

• Be specific about your location and industry.

• Make it easy for people to contact you.

Real-Time Updates• What are you working

on?• Can be updated as

frequently as you wish (but at least weekly or it goes away)

• Say what you are doing similar to Facebook and Twitter

• Will show in your connections’ “Network Updates”

Where else can you be found?

• Default is o “My Company” o “My Website” o “My Blog”

• Edit to name your company, title of website, etc.

• More click-throughs occur when sites are ‘named’

Who are you and what do you do?

• Summary = 30 second elevator pitch

• Who you are, what you do, what kind of candidates you are interested in hearing from

• This is a great place to include your company’s recent news, awards and accolades

Online ‘Resume’• What keywords would

you use to find candidates? o Adding keywords

and acronyms specific to your industry will increase your chances of coming up in someone’s search

• Adding prior companies also helps other people find you.

Education• List school(s),

major(s), and activities, both in and out of the classroom

What Interests You?

• What are your hobbies, interests, volunteer activities?

• Great spot for additional information about you

• Gives others the ability to find common interests with you

Groups and Associations

• Include personal and professional groups

• Industry-specific groups are a great place to find passive candidates & post job notices

• Make sure to join local / regional groups

How to get in Touch with You

• Add a message telling candidates how to contact you

• Recommend adding your email address again

• Interested In = What you are open to being contacted for

Your Personal URL• Personalize your

URL• Add this to your email

footer / signature block• When commenting on

web sites, blogs, or industry-related articles, leave this URL for people to find you.

• Include it when signing up for events or anywhere you’re asked for your “web site address”

Groups

• You can belong to a maximum of 50 groups• Local, regional, (inter)national• Industry-specific• Special interest and causes• College and school alumni

This increases the size and scope of your network

You can also create a group

Super Connectors

• Those with 500+ connections• Anyone with an email in their “Headline” is

generally an open networker who will accept all invitations

• Most Recruiters are open networkers• LIONS, TopLinked.com(35,000+)• This can be a quick way to grow your

network• One caution: Many will include you in their

newsletters or other infrequent email

Who are your Connections?

• Current and former colleagues, bosses, vendors

• Friends• Candidates• College/school connections• Recruiters• People in this room• According to About.com's Alison Doyle, on LinkedIn,

"There are members from all 500 of the Fortune 500 companies. LinkedIn members comprise 130 different industries, and include 130,000 recruiters."

Your Network

How to Connect, 4 Options1. When reading a profile you can send an invitation

to connect – email address maybe required if you do not know the individual or aren’t connected through a group, school, or previous employer

2. Click on the LI homepageo Here you can add a small number of connections at one

time if you know the individuals’ email addresses

3. From the ‘Add Connections’ page you can import contacts by uploading your email address book(s)

4. On the Colleagues and Classmates tabs you can find people who used to work with you or attended the same schools

How to Invite

How to Search for People:The Active Approach

• Quick Search• Advanced Search• Saved Searches• Company Search

Quick Search• Search

o Peopleo Jobso Answerso Inboxo Groups

• This search field is in the top nav bar and is always visible

• Will support many Boolean search operators

Advanced Search• Click the ‘Advanced Search’ link next to the

Quick Search bar.

Advanced Search

• Other limiters available.

Saved Searches

• After clicking search on your ‘Quick’ or Advanced search, select ‘Save this search’ next to the results summary

• Title your search and select the notification frequency.

• To edit existing saved searches, click the ‘Saved Searches’ link on the ‘Advanced Search’ page.

• You can save up to 5 searches and get alerts over email when new people match your search.

Company Search (Beta)

• Click the ‘Companies’ link in the top nav or click the down arrow and select “Company Search”

• Enter a company name and Postal Code, if you know it

Company Search• Results will include

people in your network who work there, Popular Profiles, Past Employees, common Career Paths, Company Statistics, Related Companies, Stock Info, recent news, and any jobs posted on LinkedIn

How to Contact• 1st Level connections can be contacted directly

through LI

• 2nd Level (+) contacts can be connected by:o Sending an InMail ($)o Using your Network

• Figure out their email address and send them an emailo Use an email address verification tool

(mailtester.com) and try out various email syntaxes

o Google “@domain.com”

Use Google to Search LinkedIn

• Google indexes most personal and company profiles

• Depending on the size of your network, your reach is only so big

• Start with this search string on Googleo Site:LinkedIn.com, then enter

keywordso You may need to “play” with words,

phrases, “”, like you would usually do on any Boolean Google search

Tips to Maximize your LinkedIn Success

• Make sure your profile is 100% complete• Add all email addresses you use so people can more

easily connect to you• Archive unwanted or unknown connection requests• 5 ‘I Don’t Knows’ can get you in trouble with LinkedIn• 3,000 Invitations allowed (can request more)• Personalize invites or create your own templates; LinkedIn

templates are boring. People are more likely to accept if they know how connecting with you will help them.

• Write recommendations for people whose work you respect

• Participate in Questions & Answers to increase your visibility

LinkedIn is a Great Beginning!

Look at your profile.

Would you want to connect with you?

Thank You!

Questions?

Tips & Tricks

• 5 Tips on How to Search LinkedIn Like a Proo http://blog.linkedin.com/2007/07/15/5-tips-

on-how-t/• Advanced Search Tips

o http://learn.linkedin.com/linkedin-search/#advanced_search_tips

• 55 tips, tricks, and strategies for networkingo http://www.cheezhead.com/2008/09/16/ved

tricks-and-tips-for-networking-on-linkedin/