Craft Your LinkedIn for Success with Career Development
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Whether you’re already an established LinkedIn connoisseur or your profile has yet to make its debut, there is something to be said for the platform’s impact on today’s job market. You can use LinkedIn to find jobs, internships, or to network with new or known colleagues. In order to help you prep for the post-grad world, we collaborated with the Career Development team to come up with some need-to-know tricks to help make your LinkedIn pop and the beginning of your career journey a rousing success. Check out these crucial insights below—
Director of Career Development, Kate Sheridan
Associate Director of Career Development, Lesli Somerset Talley
Assistant Director of Career Development, Kate Labriola-Gorentz
Coordinator of Career Development, Hannah Hepler
A little background on LinkedIn
Director of Career Development, Kate Sheridan: LinkedIn has always been a compelling and useful professional tool, but now more than ever, with so much of our lives being lived through a screen, LinkedIn has become a model for resource sharing and abundance in the professional landscape. It is used heavily by recruiters which is beneficial when you’re job searching and is also an exceptional source of professional insight and knowledge, networking, and learning.
You don’t need to have an “all-star” profile to make the most of LinkedIn– it only takes about 30 minutes to set up a profile that aligns with your resume (bonus: your LinkedIn profile can include more info than a one-page resume and has a dynamic portfolio feature you can use to highlight your work).
Grow your network
Assistant Director of Career Development, Kate Labriola-Gorentz: Request connections from peers, faculty, Chatham alumni in your field, internship supervisors and colleagues, your high school gym teacher … anyone and everyone you’ve worked or interacted with over the years, and especially those in the fields, sectors, or organizations that most interest you. Then explore their connections and see if there’s anyone else you want to connect with. You can ask your 1st connection to facilitate an introduction OR you can connect and send a tailored message on why you’re requesting the connection. The strength of LinkedIn lies in your network–direct and indirect connections–and the more you reach out to people, the larger your network becomes. You increase your access and exposure to others.
Ask for endorsements or recommendations
Associate Director of Career Development, Lesli Somerset Talley: Getting endorsements for your skills and strengths, or individualized endorsements from folks you’ve worked with in the past, can help potential employers and others in your network get a sense of how you’ve applied your experiences and strengths in ways that have impacted others.
Post and share content
Coordinator for Career Development, Hannah Hepler: The more you use your LinkedIn account the more current you stay in the minds (and feeds!) of your network. This is a chance to showcase your interests and knowledge, connect with others in your network who share your professional perspective, and ensure your network knows when you’ve reached important professional milestones.
Pro Tip: Announce to your network that you're looking for jobs or internships and provide a brief overview of what you’re looking for–you never know what opportunities your network is aware of that they can send your way!
Follow organizations and associations in your area(s) of interest
KLG: Not only does this give you exposure to these organizations and networks, it delivers great content, job and professional development opportunities, industry insights, and sometimes hilarious memes.
Utilize the portfolio feature
LST: Unlike your resume–which should align with the content on your LinkedIn profile—LinkedIn is a dynamic and interactive platform. The Portfolio feature allows you to showcase your work: class projects, design samples, writing, research, and any other media that highlights your work, effort, and knowledge. Take advantage of this feature and share those high-impact projects.
Create a summary
HH: This is one place on your LinkedIn profile where you can share who you are in your own words, outside of the context of specific jobs or experiences. What are you most interested in? What values do you seek to live out through your professional life? What do you most want your network to know about you? Use this space to define the ways you are more than the sum of your LinkedIn experiences. And here are some great examples from LinkedIn to give you some inspiration.
Choose a photo that pops
Writer & Digital Content Specialist, Chloe Bell: According to the LinkedIn team, choosing the right profile picture for your LinkedIn page is key. They have a wide range of resources recommending how to choose the right photo, but here are some quick tips from LinkedIn Content Marketing Manager, Jane Deehan: “Make sure the picture is recent and looks like you, make sure your face takes up around 60% of it (long-distance shots don’t stand out), wear what you would like to wear to work, and smile with your eyes!” Hanna’s headshot, pictured above, is a great example of a “fun” headshot that showcases some of your personality while the rest of the team’s are great examples of traditional professional headshots.
Endorse others for your collaborations
CB: As they say, ‘what goes around comes around.’ What better way to build your LinkedIn presence than by endorsing those you’ve collaborated with for their strengths? Endorse your colleagues—be that other students, co-workers, or internship collaborators—for the professional skills you’ve recognized while working with them.
If you’re looking for help with your LinkedIn presence, your resume, or figuring out your next career move, make an appointment with Career Development via Handshake.