CREATING YOUR PROFILE

STEP 1: COMPLETE THE LINKEDIN® SUCCESS CHECKLIST

This checklist will provide you with tips for accurately creating a LinkedIn® profile, which will help you to begin gaining the connections you’ll need for a successful job search. LOG ON.Log on to www.linkedin.com and enter your information to start a profile.

CREATE YOUR HEADLINE.This is a professional summary of your focused, special skills, not your current position title. Remember, people will look at this headline first to determine who you are. It should be specialized, yet relatively general, showing you as qualified for multiple positions in your field.

Examples: • Certified IT Professional; Skilled Healthcare Administrator;

Experienced Administrative Professional; Qualified Accounting Specialist. If you want to advertise you are seeking a job, you can add that to your profile.

HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD BE USING LINKEDIN®:

ESTABLISH AND EXPAND YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK. LinkedIn® gives you the ability to import and organize your own personal contacts, then use site tools to connect; degree by degree, with the connections of your connections. With 80% of jobs found through networking, LinkedIn® makes it possible to reach out and connect with professionals in and around your chosen field.1

DEVELOP YOUR PERSONAL BRAND.What better way to impress a hiring manager than to tell your professional story and advertise your most marketable traits on an easy-to-read and accessible online profile? Use keywords in your industry and a targeted headline to show you are a viable candidate in your field.

GET NOTICED. More than 7 out of 10 employers have successfully hired a candidate through social media.2 Drive employers to your profile by completing it 100% of the way, adding coursework and experience (unpaid experience such as internships and volunteering works too), incorporating keywords, adding skills, obtaining recommendations, and joining groups.

RESEARCH YOUR FIELD. Join groups that are relevant to your career field. Read the posted articles, post comments, and take part in the professional conversations occurring on these pages. This helps you stay on top of industry trends, makes you more visible to recruiters using LinkedIn®, and arms you with key knowledge going into an interview.

FOLLOW COMPANIES.More than 3 million companies have a LinkedIn® page.3 Follow targeted companies to gain insight about their mission, beliefs, and needs. View who works for the company, and make connections through your current connections. You will also be able to see posted jobs.

DISCOVER JOB OPPORTUNITIES.If you post your resume online on a major job site like Monster, you are facing stiff competition. 1.27 million other resumes are posted on Monster alone every week.4 Spending your time making connections on LinkedIn®, targeting specific companies, and building your network will help you to find opportunities more quickly and effectively than blindly posting to job boards.

LinkedIn® is the premier networking tool available to career professionals today. LinkedIn® has made it easier than ever before to broaden your professional network and market yourself in a way that will benefit your job search.

UPLOAD A PROFESSIONAL PICTURE.We suggest a “headshot” (shoulders and up) of you in professional clothing. Do not include other people in the picture.

CHOOSE THE LOCATION AND INDUSTRY.Choose the industry of your desired career field, not necessarily the industry in which you have experience. Enter the zip code for the largest city near you. These steps will help to target your profile.

ADD YOUR SUMMARY.Remember that your LinkedIn® profile is not an exact copy of your resume. It is also acceptable to use “I” as well as full sentences in your professional experience and goals sections. Within your summary, include your email address. LinkedIn® does not regularly display this information, so if you provide it in this section, you will be allowing prospective employers another way to contact you directly.

FILL IN YOUR SPECIALTIES WITH KEYWORDS.Use information from your past work experience and your target industry. Items you can emphasize here include knowledge you’ve gained in volunteer work, past jobs, and classes. Names of courses can be entered here too in a separate section. A key tip is to research the typesof skills needed for your target industry by visiting www.careeronestop.org and www.onetonline.org and browse your occupation. These are great words to use in your specialties section. Also view the profiles of experts in your desired field to discover more key industry terms. Do your research!

ADD YOUR EXPERIENCE.Focus on RELEVANT work and jobs (those that directly pertain to the type of work you want to do in the future).

If you have NO experience in your field:

• Highlight transferable skills from past, unrelated jobs. Transferable skills include communication, problem-

solving, research, analysis, organization, planning, leadership, decision-making, creativity, innovation, prioritizing.

• Document your internships, volunteer work, or industry-related community activities.

• Give examples of when you’ve done the types of things you want to do in your chosen career field. For example, if you trained someone in your former fast food job, do not document the job, i.e. burger line at McDonalds. Instead, document the fact that you trained new employees on policies and procedures.

If you DO have experience in your field: • Highlight those positions here. Include pertinent job

accomplishments, not just tasks.

Example: • Instead of simply listing your tasks like “answered multiple

phone lines, made copies, managed schedules,” choose specific achievements you’ve had in those positions that show how you stand out.

• Provided prompt, courteous phone service to customers during heavy rush periods, completing 40 transactions per hour. Received “employee of the month” award for team leadership. Led a customer outreach calling program resulting in 10% base increase of customers.

ADD YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERTISE.Click “Add a Skill.” Begin typing skills, and LinkedIn® will give you options. Again here, consider what www.careeronestop.org says about necessary skills in your target industry. Also take a look at the “skills and expertise” found on other people’s profiles who are leaders in that industry. Search specific companies and explore the “top skills” that people in that company have listed.

ENTER YOUR EDUCATION.You may enter your high school information here forconnection purposes (connecting to people in the workforce that attended your high school). You do not enter high school information, however, on your résumé.

Enter current (anticipated) and past college DEGREES only. Do not enter colleges where you only completed some coursework but not a full degree program. Be sure to enter your degree in progress from CTU!

ADD RECOMMENDATIONS.Ask for recommendations from past supervisors and colleagues. Be selective. Think about your peer responses at CTU—you only want to post recommendations that are constructive, complimentary, and specific, not those that are general or bland.

JOIN GROUPS RELATED TO YOUR INDUSTRY.Go to the “Interests” tab at the top bar. You can search your industry and see what groups come up. Another option is using the “Discover” tab. Join as many relevant groups as you can. You do not have to only join “open” groups. Some groups have to approve your request, and this is okay. Being active in groups will put you in connection with more people. Once you’ve joined, click the group on your profile.

Remember all groups will be displayed on your profile once you’ve joined through the groups logo, but you may choose if you do not want to display that logo on your profile. Remember, showing you are a member of a pertinent, career-focused target group works to your advantage in the career market.

Join www.linkedin.com/edu/ctuniversity

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once accepted in a group, click the group and click the settings icon in the upper right corner. Then click member settings for the group. You can adjust the digest frequency here from daily to weekly. Also click “messages” to allow members of the group to send you messages. Another key tip when entering a new group is to introduce yourself through a thread on the group page. Example: “Hello, I’m new to this group. I’m interested in/ involved in/ here for….” ADD YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION TO YOUR PROFILE.This allows you to be contacted by employers. Definitely enter your phone number and email here. The rest is up to your discretion. We advise against including your personal address.

STEP 2: GET CONTACTS SO YOU CAN GET CONNECTED

FINDING CONTACTS.Go to “Add Connections” in the upper right corner to import your contacts from email. Also use the “people you may know” feature.

SENDING REQUESTS.When sending a contact request, it is important to personalize the general message in three basic steps:

A. Identify how you know this personB. Tell him/her why you want to connectC. Offer to return the support

Examples:• “I saw you are connected with X, and I wanted to

introduce myself.”

• “I see you are an expert in the X industry. I’m looking to get involved in this industry and would like to connect with you to learn more/ network / obtain additional information.”

• “If I can be of any assistance to you, please let me know.”

STEP 3: STAY CONNECTED!

USE LINKEDIN® FREQUENTLY.Update your profile, create a status, look at your groups, and connect with others. Remember that jobs are often posted in groups, and 80% of jobs are found through networking.5

LinkedIn® is a convenient and effective way to network!

If you have questions along the way, we’re here to help. Call or visit us online to learn more.

Call: 855.230.0555Visit: coloradotech.edu

4435 N Chestnut Street | Colorado Springs, CO 80907 CTU cannot guarantee employment or salary. Find employment rates, financial obligations and other disclosures at www.coloradotech.edu/disclosures. 852-0991777 1039664 03/16

1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics & Rothberg, S. (2013, March 28).

https://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2013/03/28/80-of-job-openings-are-

unadvertised/

2 Source: Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey. (2014). Page 9. https://www.

jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Jobvite_SocialRecruiting_

Survey2014.pdf

3 Source: WERSM. (2015, November 26). Top LinkedIn® Facts and Stats.

http://wersm.com/top-linkedin-facts-and-stats-infographic/

4 Source: Monster.com (2015, November 30). http://www.monster.com/about

5 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics & Rothberg, S. (2013, March 28).

https://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2013/03/28/80-of-job-openings-are-

unadvertised/