This document provides guidance on using social media, particularly LinkedIn, to develop one's professional network and career. It discusses best practices for creating an effective LinkedIn profile, building connections, using groups and messaging tools, and leveraging one's network over time with a small daily investment. The document also outlines tips for searching for connections and cautions about privacy settings and maintaining a professional online presence across multiple social media platforms.

1. Using Social Media to Develop
Your Network and Career
Mark Hennessey
Senior Recruiter, ACT

2. Session Objectives
• Gain an understanding of why using Social
Media is critical for finding opportunities and
advancing your career
• Learn best practices in creating your profile
and building a social network
• Learn how a small investment of time in
developing your network can pay huge
dividends in your career
• Learn the Do’s and Don'ts of using Social
Media in a job search

3. A Little Data About Social Media
• If Facebook were a country it would be the 3rd
most populated in the world, ahead of the
U.S.
• 1.04 billion daily active FB users on average
for December 2015
• 95% of companies are using LinkedIn to
recruit
• 59% use Facebook
• 42% use Twitter
*Statistics from Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter

4. • LinkedIn is an Internet platform company focused on connecting the
world’s professionals
• Website launched in 2003 and is the world’s largest professional
network
– Over 400 million members in over 200 countries across the
globe
– More than 3 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages
– Over 2 new members per second
*Statistics from LinkedIn

6. Your Profile (And How to Get Found)
• Photo
• Work History/Summary/Specialties – resume
feature
• School
• Interests
• Contact Settings – use name (dot) (at) format
• Be honest – People will call you out
The closer to 100% complete, the better!

7. How to: Manage Security Settings on LinkedIn
Please be sure to check your activity feed setting first to
ensure your network can see your updates!

8. How To: Editing URL and Contact Info
 Create a customized URL with your
name vs. numbers.
 Ensure you check off that your
summary, picture, etc. are visible to
the public.
 For Web site links that you add to your
profile, select Other and rename each
link to include meaningful keywords,
i.e. instead of it saying “My Company”
it should say “ABC Website.”

9. Additional Recommendations
 Add other components to profile
like relevant publications,
patents, recent awards etc.
 If you are published add the links,
etc.
 Personal account: Aim to reach
over 500+ connections in order to
increase search ranking
 Also, ask colleagues and peers for
recommendations.

10. How To: Adding a Summary Section
Add a Summary section within the Background
section.
Tip: Write in the first person
 Be concise, engaging and specific in the summary
field of your LinkedIn page.
 Express your personal brand in the LinkedIn
summary.
 You want to show who you are, what you do, and
why it's unique.

This is also a chance to weave in relevant
information about your current or past employer
 You can include video here too (use the option next
to Edit or the box below to add links).

11. How To: Editing Work Experience
1. Check that the official company name is listed as
your current company. This will add the logo to
your account and link to our company page.
2. Ensure your current experience is correct with
clear bullets about your role.
3. Include a boiler plate about your company so
those interested can learn more.
4. You can add relevant videos / decks here that are
related to your role and others may findvaluable.

12. After: Profile Updated

13. How NOT to Make a Good
Impression
• 17,456 users who are in “mangement”
• 172,184 users who are “mangers”
• Only 48 Exceptional “commincator”s but
128 “communcator”s
• 4,448 users who are a “professonal” and
477 who simply are “professonals”
• 5,177 who are in “Business Devlopment”

14. Groups
• 50 Limit
• Members
• Rules
• Job Boards
• National & Local – Corridor Job Club,
LinkedIowa, Diversity Focus, Alma Mater

15. Viewing Group Members

16. InMail
• Why InMail?
– You can reach out to people you may not actually have a 'face to
face' relationship with
– You can send a message to the people that you need to contact
without relying on a long chain of contacts using LinkedIn
Introductions
– You can contact a LinkedIn member without knowing that
person's email address
– You don't have to be a premium member to receive or respond to
InMails
– There is a 7 day guaranteed response. If no response is
received within 7 days your account will be credited with an
InMail on the 8th day.
– Cost is $10 each with a free account

17. This Doesn’t Work Anymore
To Whom This May Concern:
I am interested in a position with your company, I and believe that my
education and employment background that is equivalent to a significant
amount of relevant experience together are appropriate for this position. I
am confident that my background and skills in journalism, free lance
writing and print media with additional exploration in social media research
will prove to be an effective match for your qualifications.
I believe that the combination of my print media, journalism, newspaper
writing and editing experience is well-suited to the position you described. I
have enclosed a copy of my resume as a Word attachment with additional
information about my qualifications. I am also willing to volunteer or intern
with your company to obtain the necessary skills to use in the Mass
Communication field, I look forward to receiving your reply. Thank you for
your consideration.
Sincerely,
XXXXXX

18. Really? Is it that big of a deal?
• 94% of recruiters use or plan to use
social media in their recruitment efforts
• 79% of recruiters have made a hire
through social media. Up from 58% in
2010
*2014 Jobvite Social Media Survey

19. Introductions
• It is a 2 way street – be willing to give and receive
• Introductions let you contact members in your
extended network through the people you know
• All LinkedIn members (even those with free accounts)
have a certain number of introductions they can
request
• Introductions expire after 6 months if the receiver
doesn't respond
• Once the member accepts your introduction you can
exchange information and do business
• You won't become 1st degree connections unless one
of you invites the other to connect and the request is
accepted

20. Invitations
• Template – just change the name
• Add value
• The dreaded “IDK”
• Limited number and eventually will have to
request additional invites

21. Templates
Hello,
As a member of the Corridor Job Club group, I wanted to introduce myself. I’m looking for a new
opportunity (AS A BLANK) (OR IN THE FIELD OF) and wanted to connect with industry experts. If you
are not open to connecting, please ignore this invitation.
Thanks!
Mark Hennessey
Hello,
I am hoping that you will help me with an introduction to XXX. I came across XXX profile on LinkedIn
and wanted to introduce myself. I am looking for a new opportunity (AS A BLANK) (OR IN THE FIELD
OF).
Given XXXX background, I thought XXX may be willing to share their expertise. If you are not open to
helping, that is fine. Please ignore this invitation. Thanks for your assistance!
Mark Hennessey
Hello,
I came across your profile on LinkedIn wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mark Hennessey with
ACT. I’m looking for a new opportunity (AS A BLANK) (OR IN THE FIELD OF) and wanted to connect
with industry experts such as yourself. If you are not open to helping, that is fine. Please archive this
InMail. If you would like to connect to help build both our networks, just let me know the e-mail address
for the invitation since this does not actually connect us.
Thanks in advance for the consideration.
Mark Hennessey

22. Connections
• Kevin Bacon – 6 Degrees of Separation
How big is your digital Rolodex

23. Importing Connections
• Use the address book importer to import your
address book directly from web-based email
clients such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail, or use the
Outlook address book importer

24. Free vs. Premium
• What is the cost and is it worth it?
– Basic account is free and will typically allow
you to only a limited number of people per
search and no InMails
– Job Seeker is $29.95 per month (5 Inmails,
more search results)
– Job Seeker Plus is $59.95 per month (10
InMails, More Invitations and search results)
– Job Seeker Premium free for Veterans – 1 yr

25. Free vs. Premium
• Corporate Accounts
– Basic account is free and will typically allow
you to only a limited number of people per
search and no InMails
– Business is $24.95 per month (5 Inmails,
more search results 300)
– Business Plus is $47.99 per month (8 InMails,
More Invitations and search results)
– Professional is $64.99 per month (15 InMails)

26. Job Seeking
• People – 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections
• Companies – follow companies
• Groups – search for contacts within a group
• Compliance – you will likely have to apply to the
company website for compliance reasons

27. How do I find potential
connections?

28. Search Tips
• Use generic title keywords rather than specific
skills
• Booleans (AND’s, OR’s, -’s)
• Use filters to narrow by: location, industries,
groups and company names
• Company Profile searches with employees

29. LI Extra’s
• Send an invite to new contacts this week
• Use your Outlook signature line
• Updates – remember to add value
• Link to Twitter
• Use important search keywords
throughout your profile

30. • Personal yet professional
• Profile – Settings – HIGHLY recommend
private
• Generational differences – Grandparents
can keep up with their grandkids
• Photo’s – careful about tags
• Graph Search

31. • “Don’t be an egg”
• Tweets - 140 characters
• # hashtags and @ mentions
• Profile – can I be found?
• Followers/Following
• Outlook signature
• Finding people with Tweets

32. • Over 300 million active users
• Over 500,000,000 per day
• www.hootsuite.com
• www.twuffer.com
*Statistics from Touch Agency

33. • April 23, 2005 – 1st Video Uploaded
• May 2010 – YouTube exceeds 2 billion
views per day
• Second most popular search engine next
to Google
• *Statistics from You Tube

34. Other Sites

35. Privacy Settings
Do you want the world to know you are
gone?
Just viewed by friends
It’s my life!

36. Final thoughts
• Out there FOREVER
• It takes time to build a network
• Keep it fresh and learn from other power users
• Add value to your posts, be someone that
people want to hear from

37. If you thought this was helpful

38. Then please…
• Follow me on Twitter @markhennessey
• Invite me on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/markhennessey
• Contact me at mark.hennessey@act.org

39. Easy First Steps/Homework
• Complete your profile within 72 hours
• Connect with me on LI and or Twitter
• Follow at least 5 companies
• Spend at least 20 minutes a day adding
new connections (10 per day x 5 days =
50 new connections per week or 200 a
month)