LinkedIn Beginners Guide
If you are unfamiliar with LinkedIn, I most often describe it as the networking/professional version of Facebook. It’s where you can connect with people you have worked with, worked for or friends/classmates. This is the place where you really can start to build your personal brand, and a online profile that you actually want employers to see. The being said, if you aren’t on LinkedIn you should be, because you’re missing out on some great ways to network before you finish university. To help you get started I’ve put together a very basic LinkedIn Beginners Guide to help you on your path to a job after grad.
LinkedIn Beginners Guide
Here’s a list of the first few things you should do on LinkedIn
1. Add a Photo
- This should be a shoulders up shot, don’t do a mug shot or something weird or distorted, and especially not a photo of you partying/drinking or anything else you wouldn’t want an employer to see.
- Choose groups based on your interests, the university you go to, the field that you want to be in etc.
- Once you have done that, start posting on discussion boards and networking with individuals with similar interests
- When the standard message comes up when adding people on LinkedIn, sometimes its good just to write a bit of a personal greeting to the individual you are adding. In some cases you may have not spoken to them in a while, or want to send them a personalized greeting.
Heatmap: Where People Look First on your LinkedIn Profile
1. Profile Picture
2. Most recent “status update”
3. Current place of employment
4. Contact/Add section
5. Number of connections/recommendations
Also if you would like to network, add me on LinkedIn