Linked In-Workbook - from UTS PDF

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Careers

LinkedIn

Workbook

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Photo & Headline Keeping your picture professional Your profile is 14 times more likely to be viewed if you have a photo! Upload a highquality, work appropriate photo of you alone and professionally dressed. No party shots or cartoon avatars! Recruiters have premium accounts that allow them to see everything on your profile – including your photo. You want the first impression they have of you to be a professional one.

Questions to ask when reflecting on whether or not a particular photo is appropriate: • Is the photo current or recent? • Are you smiling naturally? • Does your face take up at least 60% of the frame? • Is the background too busy or distracting? • Is your outfit work appropriate? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’ it is time to arrange taking a new photo. You are welcome to Drop-in between 10-12pm (no appointment necessary), or between 1.30-4.30pm (booking essential via CareerHub) to use the LinkedIn photo booth, or get your LinkedIn profile reviewed.

Headline Tips This is a short, 120 characters or less, memorable professional ‘slogan’ that will appear next to your photo or in a search. It’s the one thing you want a recruiter, hiring manager, or future co-worker to know about you. Your headline is the first thing people see other than your photo and your name. It can reflect: • Your current situation • Areas of interest and expertise • Unique selling points • Your purpose / What you are looking for

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Keywords Keywords are relevant buzzwords that a Recruiter will search for when seeking talent matches for a position on LinkedIn. You should aim to include relevant keywords that align to your industry or the industry you would like to work in. Check out the LinkedIn profiles of other professionals in similar positions and pay attention to the words that they use in their ‘Skills’ sections. For example, if you are a Marketing professional, some keywords you can consider incorporating includes: ‘Strategy’; ‘Marketing Analysis’; ‘Campaign Management’.

Activity Think about the top 2 or 3 keywords that you want to be known for • • • Example headlines: 1) ‘Separated style’ headline – Social Media Maestro | SEO | Photoshop Whiz | Seeking a Marketing Internship 2) ‘Sentence style’ headline - Data Analytics graduate seeking full-time role to utilize skills in data visualization and database programming

Activity Write your LinkedIn headline

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Summary Briefly describe who you are This includes your mission, what you are passionate about, what you are interested in, and words to describe your character. The job of the summary section is to tell a story about your past, present, future and notable achievements, in a brief manner while not sacrificing quality.

Use keywords The more functional keywords you include, the more likely it is that you’ll show up on a Recruiter’s radar. Key words could include job titles, subjects studied, areas of interest, industry jargon and your key skills.

Take a look at the summaries of prominent business people in your industry Each industry will have its own LinkedIn jargon and structural approaches – with some being more formal or informal than others. For example, if most professionals in your industry are writing in first person instead of third, you may want to consider doing that as well. Writing in first person gives your summary a more personal touch, and is more interesting and compelling to read.

One Final Tip When you are writing, keep your audience in mind. Who are they? What do they care about? For example, if you are targeting Recruiters, put on your Recruiter hat while you are writing. If you were looking for a candidate to fill a position, what would you search for? What would impress you? What would make you interested enough to reach out to a LinkedIn member?

Activity Think about some key words that would be relevant in your field

Find two example LinkedIn profiles from your field and make a note about what you like about the individuals’ summary section and what style or approach they have taken

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Example: “As a passionate and motivated business student majoring in Human Resources at the University of Technology Sydney, I have a keen interest in customer service and supporting the growth of positive workplace culture. Through my current HR internship at Woolworths I have been able to apply my academic knowledge in a professional environment. In my previous role as a Customer Service Assistant at David Jones, I spent 3 years developing my excellent communication and teamwork ability, by attending weekly team meetings and resolving customer complaints. During this time I was promoted from casual to permanent part-time in recognition of my commit to providing an exceptional customer experience. I then went on to supervise a team of 3 casuals every Sunday which shows my strong leadership capabilities. With my previous experience and interest in HR, I am proactively seeking a part time HR Admin Support role which would allow me to use my strong skills in time management, organisation and the knowledge gained from my degree.”

Activity Write your draft LinkedIn Summary Paragraph 1: Present

Paragraph 2: Past

Paragraph 3: Notable Achievements

Paragraph 4: Future

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Experience Writing your experience section Unlike a resume where the bullet point structure makes sense, on LinkedIn you can use the narrative approach for the Experience section if that is your preference. LinkedIn is a multifaceted tool – i.e. it is not just an overview profile but also a networking tool. To start compiling an experience section, for each of your roles, ask: What did/does your company or team do? What did/do you do? What have you achieved? Example role statements if you take the bullet point approach: • Developed a new clinical interventions recording system in line with policy. • Copy created for a client saw an increase in sales of 25% over a 2 week period • Successful delivery of three prototypes currently under test by clients.

Example of a more narrative approach: HR Admin Assistant Mar 2019 - Current This role allowed me to provide a high level of administrative support to the People and Culture team whilst working on a shot-term project to restructure the company’s HR files. Here I demonstrated effective attention to detail by ensuring soft and hard copies of employee files were identical, up-to-date and stowed correctly. I was also able to utilize my written communication skills and my strong digital proficiency by uploading soft updates of employee information on to the internal global HR system (PeopleSoft). My pride moment in this role was ending my contract knowing that I had developed a relationship of trust with the employer in a short period of time. By producing and sending offer of employment emails, and employment contracts to new staff in a timely manner, I was able to establish myself as a HR professional who operated with integrity.

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Activity Activity: Write a description for one of your past roles. Company (1-2 sentences):

What I do (2-5 sentences):

Achievements:

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Education The Education section is where you include all your university and schools, degrees, major(s) and submajors, study abroad and activities/societies details. If you choose to, you can include your final grades, honours, or award details. If you did Honours, make sure you mention it.

Putting the Education section together The Education section won’t appear if you don’t have any schools listed on your profile yet. To add a new Education section: 1. Click Add new profile section on the right rail. 2. From the Background dropdown, click the Add icon next to Education. 3. Type your education information into each field. 4. Click Save To add, edit, or remove education: 1. Scroll to the Education section of your profile. 2. Click Edit icon into the section you’d like to update. 3. To add a new school, click Add. 4. Type the name of your school, then select the school name from the list that appears. 5. Fill in the text fields, and then click Save. 6. To delete an education entry, click Delete at the bottom of the page.

Difference between “Education” and “Course” As LinkedIn was started in America, some of the terminology is a little different. When you see ‘degree’ they are referring to your course title (i.e. Bachelor of Business) and ‘Field of Study’ is referring to your major (i.e. Accounting). When you see “Courses”, these are the actual subjects or units of credit you have completed. It is not compulsory to list your specific subjects but it can be helpful to give recruiters and employers an idea of what sorts of topics you have knowledge of. To list the courses just hover over to the right rail on your profile page. Under the ‘Accomplishments’ list you will find the “Courses” option. When you press the addition symbol it will allow you to add your courses and align it to the relevant entry in the education section.

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

LinkedIn Connection Requests When you are approaching someone to connect with you it is important to follow these tips: 1. Be specific: When you want to connect with someone, ensure that your LinkedIn request is specific. There’s nothing worse than receiving a LinkedIn request with the standard, generic format and no idea who the person is or why he/she wants to connect with you. 2. Give context: Take some time to tell the person how you have met them. It’s important that if you met them at a social occasion, such as a networking event, that you remind them of this. If you haven’t met them before, be ready to explain to them why you would like to connect. 3. Find the common thread: If you do not know the person well, find a common element between you and highlight it. Mention a shared group membership, note a common contact, or point out similar backgrounds, education, or experience. 4. Do your research: If you are approaching an employer on LinkedIn, you want to show your enthusiasm for their business. Your expertise, background, and skillset should take a backseat to your passion or interest for their business. You want to capture their attention and break the ice.

Activity Brainstorm ideas of who you would approach on LinkedIn:

Connection Ideas

Family / Friends • • • •

Industry Contacts • • • •

Academics • • • •

Faculty Staff • • • •

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Example message when you are approaching an individual you know or have met before Hi Becca, It was nice to meet you at the UTS Careers Fair. It was great chatting to you about your work in stem-cell research. I would love the opportunity to connect with you on LinkedIn. Thank you so much. Have a great day.

Example messages when you are approaching an individual you do not know Hi Becca, My name is (Name) and I am a current Communication student at UTS. I have been following your blog posts for quite some time and I really enjoy your writing. I would really appreciate connecting with you as I would like to learn more about the copywriter and blog writer career path. Thanks so much. Best, [Name]

Activity Write your own LinkedIn invite message:

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Using the LinkedIn Alumni Tool What is the LinkedIn Alumni tool? There is an Alumni page for every university that lets you see where people from your university have ended up. Filtering through this freely-accessible database is a great tool you can add to your pre-existing networking strategy.

Where to find the UTS Alumni page There are two ways of finding the UTS Alumni page. The first option is to search the full name of the university in the search bar at the top. Alternatively, you can go to your profile’s education section and hover over the UTS logo and press on it. Option 1

Option 2

Either option will take you to the main UTS page, where you can click on ‘alumni’ in the column on the right.

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

At the top of your Alumni page you will see two subheadings: “Where they live” and “Where they work”. Click the ‘Next’ arrow to the right to view additional categories, which include, “What the studied”, “What they are skilled at”, and “How are you connected”. You can filter by clicking on the relevant bar graphs, for instance, if you want to speak to alumni from UTS who work in the Finance sector, you can narrow down the results by clicking on the Finance bar graph. When you scroll down the page, you will see alumni who meet the criteria you filtered or searched for. If you find a person you want to network with always go to the person’s profile page before clicking on the ‘Connect’ button. This ensures you can ‘add a note’ before you connect. Always send a personalised message when you invite someone to connect with you, especially if it is someone you don’t know. You can invite them to connect with you by sending them a short note like the one below: ‘Hi John, I am a final year student from the UTS Business School and found your profile while I was researching finance professionals in the Sydney area. I am very interested in learning more about your career path. Would you be willing to speak to me about your experiences at a time convenient to you?” By sending a tailored message, often most people would respond and are happy to discuss their experiences with you in a face-to-face or online information interview as they themselves have probably had mentors before. For assistance on information interviews, see the UTS Careers Interview Workbook.

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Staying Active on LinkedIn There are many ways of staying active of LinkedIn. You can post articles, share, like, & comment on others’ posts, getting involved in groups, congratulating connections on special events like work anniversaries, etc.

To publish an article: 1. Click Write an article located at the top of the homepage. This takes you to the publishing tool. 2. Place your cursor into the Headline field. Write the headline for your article here. 3. To begin writing your article, place your cursor below the Headline into the field Write here. It is a good idea to have pre-drafted your article in word document and then just copy and paste text into the field once ready. Add images or a video for visual impact. 4. When you are happy with the piece, click the Publish button in the top right of the page. 5. Once it’s published. Click the Share icon located next to the author by-line or at the bottom of the article to share it on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

Why you should consider publishing your own articles? • Allows you to build your personal brand identity and develop an online presence • Publishing will give you the opportunity to expand your network. • Publishing on LinkedIn may lead to job opportunities, particularly in fields where strong written communication skills are desired. • If you are a start-up Entrepreneur you have the opportunity to post on issues relevant to your business or potential business and possibly gain exposure.

Tips • Make your writing purposeful: Who is your target audience? What do you want achieve? • Relevant topic: Leverage what you have already written about in a recent assignment or write about a topic you are passionate about and the words should flow naturally. • Use data: Use data or an expert source to back up what you are saying. • Easy to read: Make formatting your friend; use bolding, bullets, headings, subheadings etc. • Give credit where credit is due: When using someone else’s idea, reference the original source. • Proofread: Utilise spell check, proofread your article, and have a friend read it before publishing. • Get inspired: Follow other Publishers or Bloggers, find a Mentor, join a social club at university relevant to your profession and start having more conversations about professional topics. • Don’t underestimate yourself: You may not be an expert on a topic but your observations are valuable as you may see things in new ways. LinkedIn provides the opportunity to reach audiences that you may not have previously had access to. Take advantage of it and get your voice out there!

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Finding and Joining a LinkedIn Group LinkedIn groups are a fantastic way to share expertise, discuss ideas, and expand your professional network. You can find and join LinkedIn groups by searching for groups from the ‘Search’ field at the top of your homepage. You can search for groups by name or keyword or you can browse groups recommended for you by LinkedIn. To select an appropriate fit, click a group’s name to read the group’s ‘About’ page.

To join a group: • Click on the group name and then on the group Discussions page press the Join button. • Respond to an invitation from a group member or manager. If you are new to participating in LinkedIn groups, here are a few guidelines to assist you: • Keep discussions meaningful: Participation is actively encouraged, but keep discussions relevant. Ask questions about subjects that interest you and encourage discussion from the group that way. Members will follow you if they find your discussions interesting and of relevance to them. • Avoid controlling the conversation: Give others a chance to contribute their views to the discussion too. Let some time pass before responding in order to allow the dialogue to develop. This will show that you are open to hearing other members’ opinions. • Keep it social: LinkedIn is a professional networking tool so keep your contributions appropriate. Be helpful, thank other members for their contributions, share your expertise and mentor other group members. These actions contribute to your personal brand, and help members remember you for the right reasons

Activity Find at least 2 LinkedIn Groups relevant to your industry or studies that you can join: • •

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LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Editing the Public URL Tailoring your public profile URL is quick and easy to do, and creates a more professional link to include in your resume, website, business cards, or email signature.

To change your public profile URL: 1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and then hover over and click View profile. 2. On your profile page, click Edit your public profile in the right rail. 3. Under the section Edit public profile URL in the right rail, click the Edit icon next to your public profile URL. • The default address looks like www.linkedin.com/in/yourname with a random combination of digits after the name. Remove these digits. • If another LinkedIn user has the same name, you will need to use symbols like a hyphen between your first and last name and perhaps a combination of capital and lower case letters. 4. Type the last part of your new custom URL in the text box and click Save.

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Notes

LINKEDIN WORKBOOK

Contact us (02) 9514 1471 [email protected] Building 1, Level 4, Room 13 (CB01.04.13)

Drop-in 10am-12pm (No appointment necessary) 1:30pm-4.30pm (Appointments bookable via: careerhub.uts.edu.au)...