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What is LinkedIn?And Why Should You Care?

Texas A&M Health Science Center College of MedicineResource Team Retreat Breakout Session

July 17, 2014Stephanie A. Hilliard

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Why LinkedIn?And what can it do for you?

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a Social Media site

social media (noun): forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos) (Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary) (emphasis mine)

First known use of the term: 2004 (Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Examples of other social media: MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and many others

Why Should You Care?

Some people see no need for social media – why should that change? Social media, like it or not, is increasingly the way

business gets done in most fields, including higher education In higher education, electronic learning formats are rapidly

increasing, including social media A primary client group is Millennials – and many of them live

on social media Social media is an increasingly present and relevant work

tool beyond electronic learning

Why Should You Care?

Some people naturally enjoy social media – but why should they use LinkedIn? LinkedIn is not about funny cat videos or posting about the concert

you attended…LinkedIn is about YOUR CAREER A powerful career tool is NETWORKING…and LinkedIn is a

significant networking tool

LinkedIn’s growth as a business tool (LinkedIn, 2014): 300 million members in 200 countries and territories Two new members being added per second 39 million students and recent graduates on the site – fastest

growing demographic

Why Does Networking Matter?

It is often said that it is not “what” you know but “who” you know that makes the difference.

However, networking is not about currying favor with others merely to get something from them

Good networking is a two-way relationship where you give as well as get Establish trust Establish a currency of exchange (information, etc.) Serve others

Why Does Networking Matter?

Who you know in your field can make a major difference in your ability to do your job.

Today’s workplace often expects employees to do more with less. To succeed in any tough environment, we need not only

skills and experience but also resources. Other human beings are one of the greatest resources

available to you. Networking creates human connections that become

resources.

Networking Summarized

Networking (Michael Page CareerCentre, 2014): Keeps you abreast of information and changes in your

field Gives you access to advice and support Exposes you to fresh ideas and new ways to work smarter Allows you to share your expertise Adds value to you as an employee Connects you to other people’s networks, increasing your

reach

Social Media and Networking

By its nature, social media is a networking tool; remember it it is used to create communities.

We all have strong and weak social ties in our lives (McKeown, 2012) Strong ties (for most of us) equate to family or personal friends Weak ties consist of acquaintances, business associates, and people we

meet via social media. Weak ties can strengthen over time, even on social media.

Social media allows us to form extended connections and leverage weak ties as resources Research has shown that tapping into weak ties can be strategically

valuable for activities such as job hunting.

Social Media and Networking

Social media such as Facebook and YouTube let you maintain and extend your personal networks Strong ties – maintain existing relationships Weak ties – develop new relationships

LinkedIn allows you to extend your business networks Strong ties – maintain existing business relationships Weak ties – develop new business relationships

Work is increasingly global in scope Reach beyond your personal location to connect with the world

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Entering the LinkedIn World

Screens and Menus

The Main Screen (Home)

This is the main screen you see when you log into the site.

Your home page is your “working” page with access to a number of LinkedIn information features.

For those of you familiar with social media, this is your “newsfeed”.

The Main Screen - Left

The left side shows the news from all your different connections When a connection posts

a status update, it shows up here

You can add your status update at the top of the left column

The Main Screen – Right

The right side shows stats for your usage

This side also shares suggestions from LinkedIn for things like connections, companies, etc.

LinkedIn tries to be very helpful…you may view that as good or bad.

The Main Screen – Right

On the stats side you’ll see these options: People You May Know =

suggested connections Ads You May be

Interested In You Recently Visited Who’s Viewed Your

Profile

The Main Screen – Right

Continuing down the stats side: Who’s Viewed Your

Updates = Views of shared content

Your LinkedIn Network stats

Jobs You May be Interested In

The Main Screen – Right

Final Options: Groups You May Like Companies You May

Want to Follow

At the bottom are links for LinkedIn itself for About, Feedback, and Privacy & Terms

Filter Bubbles

What you see on your home page is based on your interests (customized content). This is common to all web browsing, not just LinkedIn Algorithms (programs) record your browsing habits and customize

content This takes place even with search engines such as Google

Upside: you get customized content Upside: you don’t have to put up with as much irrelevant content Downside: what content you see is filtered Downside: your browsing habits are being recorded Online political activist Eli Pariser dubbed these “filter bubbles”

(TED.com, 2011)

Navigating LinkedIn - Menu

You can navigate from many areas on the page, but your main menu is at the top.

Main menu: options Home – go back to the main newsfeed page Profile – view and edit your personal profile; see who has accessed your profile Connections – access your connections and Keep in Touch, Add Connections, or

Find Alumni Jobs – go to the employment section Interests – access companies, groups, Pulse news, and education sections

Navigating LinkedIn - Menu

Main menu: options, continued Business Services –access features beneficial to an employer

including Post a Job, Talent Solutions, Advertise, Sales Solutions Upgrade – get access to a paid version with additional features

such as InMail InMail lets you send email messages to people who are not

already connections Used correctly, it can be good for contacting someone about

information or even a job (introducing yourself)

Menus – Profile

From this menu, you can choose to view your profile, edit it, or see who else has looked at it.

We will briefly look at each option.

Additional handout covers working with your profile in greater detail

Pages – Your Profile

This is what people see when they look for you on LinkedIn

The section in this image is considered “prime real estate” to market who you are.

The top area offers a snapshot of your credentials

The Background section is where you summarize the qualities that make you unique

Pages – Profile Editing Mode

This is what your profile page looks like in Edit Profile mode

Edit mode offers a number of tools for adding to and updating your profile information Edit links/buttons Add Link or Upload File Move Sections Suggestions for profile

sections

Pages – Viewed Profile

This page shows people who have viewed your profile.

They do not need to be connections already to view your profile.

It can be interesting to see who visits your page; people who view your profile also hold potential as new contacts.

Menus – Connections

Connections are the people in your personal LinkedIn “community”. Connections are achieved through invitations sent to and from potential contacts

Clicking Connections or Keep in Touch takes you to your Connections page

Add Connections lets you leverage your email contacts to see who you already known on LinkedIn

Find Alumni shows connections who are fellow alumni of your college or university

Pages – Keep in Touch

The top section shows milestones for your connections, such as work anniversaries

The tab just below that section lets you select See more people to contact

Below the tab you can view your connections, using several different sort options Recent Conversation Last Name First Name New

Pages – Add Connections

See Who You Already Know on LinkedIn authorizes the program to import your address book to suggest connections and help you manage contacts.

As you can see from the example at the left, LinkedIn can import addresses from several different email programs.

You do NOT have to use this feature in order to connect with others.

Pages – Alumni

The top of the page shows stats on alumni You can scroll over for

more stats You can click on a

particular stat to do a filtered search

The bottom of the page gives info about specific alumni

Pages – Alumni

Shows both current connections and non-connections who are associated with the same school The small number to the

right below the picture shows how many connections you have in common

Can be a good way to find and connect with alumni and administrators

Pages – People You May Know

This section is accessed on your main page at the top right

Suggests people you may know based on various organizations listed on your profile.

Allows you to send invitations to connect.*

*Note: there are limits to making direct connections with others on LinkedIn; you typically need a “real world” connection such as a work connection

Pages – People You May Know

*When you attempt to connect with someone, you see this screen (left)

You establish your “relationship” with the person

If you don’t know the person but have an email address, you can still send an invitation

You can also send an InMail request that emails them through LinkedIn

InMail requests are limited in the free version of LinkedIn. Premium subscriptions offer additional Inmail requests

Menus – Jobs

Clicking the Jobs menu takes you to a page with information primarily for job seekers Jobs you may be

interested in Discover jobs in your

network Saved job ads

Pages – Jobs

The Jobs section is where you view ads from companies that are hiring.

You can use search terms to narrow down your job search.

The company link typically takes you to the job ad where the requirements and contact info are listed

Additional Benefits

LinkedIn offers much more than “just” profiles and connections Groups Pulse news Industry “Thought” leader postings Company access Job Postings

Menus – Interests

The Interests menu allows you to View information for

Companies you are following

Access your Groups View industry news

through Pulse Access additional

information for your school by clicking Education

Pages – Companies

The Home link shows you news from the companies you are following

The Following link (screen example not shown) reminds you which companies you are following

Pages – Your Groups

This is an important area of LinkedIn because it lets you access your Groups Groups are forums where you

can “talk” to people who share your field or your interests 1000s of groups available

on many different topics You can respond to topics You can ask questions

Pages – Your Groups

Connect more easily with people that share groups with you LinkedIn will allow

connection invitations between group members who don’t know each other otherwise

Pages – Pulse News Screen

This is a news summary page

You get updates on your main newsfeed page from companies or leaders you already follow

Here you see news from additional industry leaders and companies

Notes who you are already following

You can choose to follow others by clicking +Follow

Available as an app for your phone or tablet as well

Pages – Education

LinkedIn offers a special section devoted to educational connections

You can follow a school and get their news posts (left side)

The right side shows which schools you are following

Notice at the top that there are options for Prospective, Current, and Former Students as well as links for Schools and Employers

Navigating LinkedIn - Other

Messages

Connections

Notifications

Account and

Settings

Navigating LinkedIn - Other

Messages This section serves as

LinkedIn’s email service You will see a red

number indicating unread messages

You can read and reply to messages by clicking on the icon

Notifications This section is where you

see activities, such connection requests, or replies to threads on a group

You will see a red number indicating the number of unread notifications

You can read notification by clicking on this icon

Navigating LinkedIn - Other

Add Connections Clicking on the icon

takes you to the page where you can direct LinkedIn to go through your contacts and suggest connections for you

Also accessible via the Connections menu, and then Add Connections

Account and Settings This section allows you

to manage “under the hood” in your account.

Account options are described on the next slide

Menus – Account & Settings

Click on your picture icon at the top right to Sign Out See an Account Tutorial Manage job posting

settings Change the language of

your page Review privacy settings Access the Help Center

Conclusions

Use LinkedIn to make your professional persona “shine”

Leverage connections to enhance your career no matter the field Don’t forget to have fun while you connect – meeting new people, discussing new ideas, and exploring the world from your office chair

Networking is a valuable personal and professional tool

Networking is enhanced by using social media

LinkedIn is a powerful professional networking social media tool

References

About. (2014). LinkedIn. Retrieved from http://press.linkedin.com/about on June 20, 2014.

Benefits of Networking. Michael Page CareerCentre. Retrieved July 10, 2014 fromhttp://www.michaelpage.com.cn/ContentArticle/page/8007/title/Michael-Page-Career-Centre-Growing-Your-Career-Benefits-of-Networking.html

McKeown, K. (Dec. 14, 2012). The strength of weak ties in social networking: Seek to be worth knowing. Leadership Closeup. Retrieved July 14, 2014 from http://www.leadershipcloseup.com/2012/12/14/strength-of-weak-ties-in-social-networking-seek-to-be-worth-knowing/

Social media. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2014 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social media

Pariser, E. (2011) Filter bubbles. Retrieved June 20, 2014 from http://www.thefilterbubble.com/ted-talk.