LInkedIn & More for Networking & Job Searches

LinkedIn (& more)
for Networking
& Job Searches
Carl B. Forkner, Ph.D.
Chief Consultant
Success! Professional Consulting

© 2014 byC. Forkner
Agenda
• Branding & LinkedIn
• LinkedIn Foundations: The 6 Essentials
• Building on Experience & Skills
• Industry Focus & Specialized Categories
• Groups, Recommendations, & Introductions
• Employment: Looking for & Enhancing Careers
• The Real Objective: Going Beyond the Internet
• BREAK
• Introduction to Social Media Resources
• Q & A Period

What is “Branding?”
What does LinkedIn do for you?

Creating your Account
• www.linkedin.com
• If you do not already have a LinkedIn
account, you can easily establish one.
• Does anyone need to create an account?

• What you need:
• E-mail address
• Create a password
• Follow the menu-driven setup
• Yes, it is that easy!

I do NOT recommend…

Six Critical Components
1. Name, Headline, Industry, & Location
2. Professional Photograph
3. Summary
4. Current & Previous (2+) Work Experience
5. Education & Skills (5+)
6. Connections (50+)

Why is the Heading Important?
Phoenix Professionals Now
Phoenix Professionals
Now
Your Name
Your Headline * Best
Salesman * Serving
Customers * Building
Your Business *
Will YOU pay to see more?

Name, Headline, Industry, & Location
• Proper Name
• NO Nicknames
• Include important designations (MBA, PMP, PHR, etc.)
• Headline
• 10-12 words describing who you are and what you offer to
prospective employers
• NOT your current position
• Keywords preceded by powerful descriptive adjectives
• The Primary DESIRED Industry for your Expertise
• Geographic Location
• City, State …or… City/Province, Country

Name, Headline, Industry, & Location
Name
Picture Headline
Location/Industry

An Outstanding Marketing Headline
Howard Yost
Managing your Supply Chain • Supporting your Customer •
Profiting your Business
Chandler, Arizona | Semiconductors

Professional Photograph
YES
NO
FREE Professional photographs available weekly at Career Connectors!
Event schedule: www.careerconnectors.org

Your LinkedIn URL & Contact Info
Click to edit URL
Click to edit Contact Info

Summary
You have 30 seconds to sell yourself!
For job seekers not currently employed:
**WHO YOU ARE PROFESSIONALLY pursuing position as ___________ in _____________ (industry) in the
_______________ (geographic) area.**
[blank line]
Insert your 30-second “elevator talk” here…
[blank line]
Specialties: __________; __________; __________; etc… (Should be no more than 12. Each should be no more
than 2 words long.)
[blank line]
e-mail:
Twitter:
For people currently working but looking for other options (i.e. don’t want to make your boss mad):
**WHO YOU ARE PROFESSIONALLY [overall professional tag line, such as “providing superior client services”] in
_____________ (industry) in the _______________ (geographic) area.**
[blank line]
Insert your 30-second “elevator talk” here…
[blank line]
Specialties: __________; __________; __________; etc… (Should be no more than 12. Each should be no more
than 2 words long.)
[blank line]
e-mail:
Twitter:

Summary (Looking for Work)
**EXPERIENCED LEADER AND EDUCATOR pursuing position in education & training,
corporate, or government leadership in the Phoenix, AZ area**
AWARD-WINNING PROFESSIONAL with over 20 years of leadership, research, and
educational experience in K-12, undergraduate, graduate university, and government
programs. Experienced research analyst and author.
Enhanced productivity concurrent with resource and cost savings are hallmarks of
success in leadership and education. My career is replete with experience leading
organizations to success through innovative strategic planning and providing
environments where personnel may thrive, learn, and advance. My passion is leadership,
education, and training that enhances institution and personnel accomplishment.
Specialties: Education Administration; Academic Affairs; Education and Training
Leadership; Strategic Organizational Leadership; Research and Analysis; International
Affairs; Culture & Language; Logistics & Supply Management; National Security Affairs;
Information Operations; Intelligence.
e-mail: carl.forkner@gmail.com
Twitter: @carlforkner
Blog: http://www.writerbeat.com (host site)
1
2
3
4

Summary (In a Job)
1
2
3
4
Bonus Content
(but no too much)

Making Your Experience Count
• You must have:
• Current Experience
• At least two past positions
• “Experience” does not have to be a paid
position…
• …but only if you need it for your current position
listing.
• Otherwise, it is best listed as Volunteer work.

Experience
Required
Required
Required
Recommended (especially if local to the job market)
Template

Experience
Try to use generally understood terms (CEO, COO, Senior VP, VP, Director, Sr.
Manager, Manager, etc…)
 Spell out position and then include abbreviation, for example: Chief Operating
Officer (COO)
 If your company is already on LinkedIn, you do not need to describe the company.
A link will appear to the company’s LinkedIn presence.
If it is not on LinkedIn, put 1-3 lines describing the company (in general, strategic
terms)
 You need to put 1-2 lines describing your position/responsibilities.
 Then you need 2-4 bullets highlighting your accomplishments in that position.
+ The accomplishments need to be results-based.
+ For example: - Did “x” resulting in “y”
+ If you can quantify with numbers (%, growth, savings, magnitude, etc.) it
draws people to the facts.

Education & Skills
• Education
• Highest Degree First
• For graduate degrees, include thesis/dissertation title
• Reverse Chronological Order (newest first)
• What sets your education apart as unique?
• Do not include dates if >20 years ago
• Do not include high school if:
• You attended postsecondary education
• AND/OR you are at least 25 years old
• “Skills & Endorsements”
• Pick those that represent your marketable skills
• Used by Recruiters & HR as searchable keywords
• Push to bottom of profile

Education
University of Phoenix
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Higher Education Administration
2009 – 2013
Dissertation: "Writing Assessment as a Predictor of Performance in an Executive
Graduate Degree Program.“
Activities and Societies: Cohort writing coach.
Western Illinois University
Master of Science in Education (M.S.Ed.), Special Education; Education Administration
Thesis: "Disproportionate Placement of Black Students in Special Education Classes in
the Illinois Public Schools“
Activities and Societies: Graduate Teaching Assistant in Assessment and Evaluation;
Phi Delta Kappa
NOTE: No date (>20 years ago)

Skills & Endorsements
• Select from the list of available skills
• Start with your most important “Top Ten”
• Once you have skills posted, others may
endorse you for those skills
• Remember to endorse others, but only for
skills you know they possess
• “80/20” Rule…
• This should be the LAST section at the
bottom of your editable profile!
• The main purpose is providing keywords for
electronic searches by Recruiters and HR

Skills & Endorsements
As you type, standard fields may appear.
This indicates the skill is a widely-understood standard
Type skill here
When skill comes up in the dropdown window, click on it!

Connections
• Build your connections by:
• Searching for professionals you know personally
• Searching your connections’ connections
• Build at least 50 connections to be an “All Star”
• Only “All Star” profile posts can be autoshared on Twitter
or Facebook!
• “All Star” profiles show up in the top group in searches
done by recruiters and HR personnel!
• Be careful with connections…
• If someone you do not know asks to connect:
• View their profile
• See if they are connected to your connections
• If not, are they in your career field?

What to do with Connections
• The real value in connections is access to the
2nd level connections
• Use your 1st level connections to lead you to others
in your industry
• Use your online connection to develop a
relationship that results in a face-to-face
meeting
• “Can I meet with you and buy you a cup of
coffee/tea/etc. and talk about _____?”
• Make them feel important, not just the company.
• Personal connections are the goal of networking
(whenever possible & practical)

Volunteer Experience
• Volunteering in the community, within your
school, church, etc.
• Viewed as positive engagement activities
• LinkedIn will not automatically put them in
reverse chronological order
• Use the black arrows in your edit screen to move
them into the order desired.

Industry Focus
• Profile organization based on industry
• Organizing the profile to highlight the right
data first
• Aligning past experience with desired
positions

Organization Examples
Education
• Summary
• Education
• Certifications
• Experience
• Courses (Taught)
• Publications
• Projects
• Volunteer Work
• Organizations
• Awards & Honors
• Languages
• Add’l Info
Business
• Summary
• Experience
• Education
• Certifications
• Projects
• Publications
• Patents
• Organizations
• Volunteer Work
• Awards & Honors
• Languages
• Add’l Info
Technology
• Summary
• Experience
• Certifications
• Education
• Projects
• Patents
• Publications
• Organizations
• Volunteer Work
• Awards & Honors
• Languages
• Add’l Info

Highlighting the Right Data
• Most jobs have many facets.
• Highlight the parts of your experience that reflect
the position you are trying to obtain in your
desired industry or companies.
• This is *not* cheating! Much like a resume, your
LinkedIn profile has limited space to sell yourself
and your achievements as they apply to your
desired career.

Align Experience with Target
• Look, for example, at someone with sales
experience…
• If you want a job in sales, it is easy.
• Recognized for three straight quarters for exceptional
sales, exceeding target sales projections by over 30%.
• If you want a job in customer service:
• Expertly responded to customer inquiries, resulting
the right product being delivered, increasing customer
satisfaction and potential return business.
• If you want a job in the financial sector:
• Optimized ability to acquire services based on client
needs and financial resources, resulting in customer
satisfaction while increasing company business.

Finding Groups
Select “Groups”
Select “Interests” from the Menu Bar

Search for a Group
• You are limited to 50 groups
• If you join groups, try to be active in them at least monthly!
From “Groups” Page
From Main Search Box Menu

Recommendations
• You should try to get at least 2, and up to 6,
recommendations for each position listed under
“Experience” in the last 20 years.
• Best method:
• Request recommendations from another LinkedIn
colleague. They can enter using the LinkedIn
recommendations system.
• Give them something to work with! Tell them what
accomplishment(s) you would like them to write a
recommendation about.
• 30-40% of people will respond if you give them a hint…
• 10-15% will respond if you give them a “blank sheet of paper.”

Recommendations
Dropdown box to
Select Experience
Select Contact to Ask
Give Contact a Review of WhatYou Want to be Recommended for!
**Make it a personal professional message – one contact at a time**

Recommendations
Dan Henk
Director, Air Force Culture and Language Center at United States Air Force
Carl is a visionary leader and manager and extraordinarily hard worker. Over the course
of three years, he developed and implemented an innovative new program for military
language learning in the two senior Air Force professional military education colleges.
This required the coordination of multiple agencies and the interpersonal skills to
convince educational administrators to accept significant change. The program itself was
notable for its high quality and highly positive rating by students. Carl accomplished all
this while maintaining a full-time teaching position in strategy and warfighting - a
remarkable achievement.less
January 31, 2011, Dan worked with Carl at Air War College
Director
Air War College
Position
Company/Organization
Who recommended you
Expanded experience description
The
Recommendation
How the recommender knows you
Recommendation date

Recommendations
• What if the person is not on LinkedIn?
• You can ask the person to send you a signed
letter of recommendation.
• Scan the letter
• Post it under the position as media

Introductions
• Some people on LinkedIn do not allow people
not already at least a 2nd level contact to
request to connect directly.
• Introductions allow your contacts to
“introduce” you to another person.
• This is also good if you want to contact with a
senior HR or Hiring Manager—it is best to go
through a contact you both already know, much
like having a company employee hand your
resume to the Hiring Manager or HR…

Introductions
• Search for a contact’s name
• When you open the person’s profile, scroll
down until you see how you are connected
in the righthand column.

Introductions
YOU are Here…
Contacts who may
IntroduceYou
Target Contact

Finding the Right Companies
Select “Companies” from the “Interests” Menu

Type in a Company Name or Industry

Matching Company Profiles
Matching Company Options
Matching Company Groups
Current Employees
Past Employees
Job Postings

Following Companies
Who You Know
Click to Follow
Company News
Company Profile Click to See Jobs

Job Postings at Target Companies
Job Postings!

Begin a Targeted Network
• Identify and send a connection request to
people in companies you targeted for your
career.

Begin a Targeted Network
• Note the potential connections and what
positions they hold in the company…
1. Select contacts based on your skill set
2. Connecting with HR & Recruiters may link you into
the company better…
Recruiter
Specific Field of Focus

Successful Networking
• Know the Environment!
• Most available fields
• Appropriate attire and demeanor
• Commute distance (Relocation?)
• Online helps…but is not the end…

“Handshakes”
• Even in the digital age, face-to-face is key!
• Human interpersonal communication is
about 80% non-verbal cues and messages…
• Taking the step to reach out:
• Shows initiative
• Shows class
• Makes your name more recognizable

Get Up, Get Out, Get Going!
• The computer can only take you so far…
• Get out and take a first-hand look at your
target companies
• You may be able to get a brief tour through a
connection!
• Networking opportunities abound in the
Phoenix Metro area!

Networking Opportunities
Google Search is Your Friend…

Networking Phoenix
http://www.networkingphoenix.com/

Professional Networking Meetup
http://professional-networking.meetup.com/cities/us/az/phoenix/

Executives Network
http://www.executivesnetwork.com/
(This group is for Director-level positions and above)
George Fleming is
PHX Coordinator
(see LinkedIn profile)

Network After Work
http://www.meetup.com/Network-After-Work-Phoenix-Networking-Events/

Professionals Career Network
Mr. Edward Desjardins runs this group.
He has over 40 years of HR and Recruiter leadership experience.
Look him up on LinkedIn.
Ed hosts a bi-weekly networking meeting at Lovitt and Touche on 1050
W. Washington Street in Tempe, AZ. The meetings are a great way to
network if you are looking for work or need employees. His meetings
follow a "round table" approach and usually have informed speakers
that are interesting and motivating. To contact Ed Desjardins go to
his website at: www.hrinsights.info or call him at: 623-986-0133

Let’s take
a
10-minute break…

Other Social Media
&
Opportunities

Facebook Personal Account

Facebook Professional “Page”

Facebook Company Page

Twitter Personal Account

Twitter for Job Searches
#jobs

TweetMyJobs.com

Pinterest for Jobs#jobs

Pinterest for Jobs#hiring

YouTube for Jobs#jobs

Managing it all: Hootsuite

Managing it all: Mobile
Hootsuite
Mobile
Flipboard Mobile

LInkedIn & More for Networking & Job Searches

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