Work on It Wednesday: LinkedIn

By Emily Young MA ‘16

Summer is a great time to invest in your career goals and personal image.  During the school year, it is easy to get caught up in classwork and extra curricular activities and put your long-term career planning on the back burner.  Therefore, each Wednesday I will post tips, tricks and advice from across the Internet to help you improve your online image and achieve your career goals.  First step, LinkedIn!

1. Update

Add your Summer Internship and Connect with Colleagues

Connect with colleagues at your internship while you still have a few weeks of your internship left.  Complimenting your boss’s LinkedIn and expressing a career interest in someone they are connected to can be a great conversation starter.  It will get you talking about your long-term career goals and open a door for new connections.   

Change your Photo

The simplest way to update your LinkedIn profile is to change your photo. Changing your photo to a professional head shot will convey confidence, experience, and get your profile headed in the right direction.

Craft an eye-grabbing Summary that accurately Reflects your Specialties

Recruiters often use word searches to determine if you’re a match for the position they are trying to fill.  Use the Summary section to grab their attention and let them know you have the appropriate skills for the job.

Update your Top Skills Section

While we are on the topic of letting recruiters know you have the skills for the job, why not update your top skills section.  It’s a good place to start when crafting your summary to make sure they match.

Upload major Class Projects or Achievements

Don’t let those group projects that you mulled over all semester go to waste. Showcase your hard work in the Projects section.

Add Volunteer Experience

If you don’t have any recent volunteer experience, summer is the time to hit the streets and get involved with a worthy cause.  Check out the USC Volunteer Center for great opportunities.  (https://sait.usc.edu/volunteer/) Having active volunteer hours helps with scholarship opportunities and interviews.

Add Organizations you’re Involved In

Yes, we are busy during the semester, but don’t forget to record the organizations you are a part of and what you achieved with that group.

Update the Honors & Awards Section

Brag.  You’ve earned it.

2. Search

I believe one of the best ways to make your profile better is to search and connect with individuals you admire in your field of interest.  LinkedIn has a great search function that allows you to see find people, companies, groups, and more, so use it.  Read your bosses’ and co-workers’ descriptions of their jobs, maybe you’ll realize you’ve left out an important aspect of your work or find the proper way to phrase it.

Many times a valuable connection is just sitting in the “People You May Know” list.  I try to casually browse through it at least once a week, usually when I get a notification that someone has looked at my profile.  With the LinkedIn app for iPhone, you receive notifications when someone looks at your profile so it’s a nice quick way to monitor your profile on the go. 

Fictitious Example:

3. Connect

Whenever possible do not use the generic LinkedIn message, “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”  Or even worse, “Since you are a person I trust, I wanted to invite you to join my network on LinkedIn.”

If you really want to connect with someone, take the time to write a personal message. Tell him or her who you are and why you want to connect with them.  You only have 250 characters to make your pitch, but you will have a better chance of being accepted and building a valuable connection.  

Example:

Tip: You may have noticed that sometimes it doesn’t give you the opportunity to write a personalized LinkedIn invitation when you try to connect with people.   Not sure why this happens, but if you want to avoid it, make sure you go directly to the person’s profile page and connect with them there.  Otherwise, it will just send a generic invitation.

4. Maintain

Stay active.  Share articles in your Feed.  Write a blog post on LinkedIn’s platform once and awhile.  Now that you have invested the time to update your LinkedIn, keep it that way!

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn!

~Emily