Looking Beyond the CV:
Developing a LinkedIn Profile
and understanding how social media is used in the workplace
Sue Beckingham | @suebecks | Sheffield Hallam University

Taking ownership of YOUR professional online
presence
Building valuable networks
Developing confident digital skills
Standing out from the crowd
Key objectives

Digital Literacies
(Jisc 2014) http://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-students-digital-literacy/

Preparing for YOUR graduate
employment

YOU need to make time to develop
YOUR professional online identity

WARNING:
Open sharing of your
social life (and others...)

WARNING:
Open sharing of photos of
your social life

WARNING:
Engaging in angry, rude or
defamatory exchanges

Every time you
use social media
you leave a trail.
What permanent
footprints are you
leaving?

What would a
potential Employer
think about your
online presence?

How can you use
social media
professionally?
If you don't know it's
time you found out....

SLEP considerations
• SOCIAL
• Legal
• Ethical
• Professional
As a professional how might
social media enhance social
interactions in the
workplace?

• social networking - connecting and communication
• social collaboration - project management
• social curation - bookmarking
In the office or on the road, mobile and desktop apps are being used to
keep teams synchronised across platforms and devices

SLEP considerations
• Social
• LEGAL
• Ethical
• Professional
Is it illegal to tweet (jokingly) that
you are going to blow the airport
"sky high" if your flight is delayed?

A man was arrested under the Terrorism Act
and issued with a life ban from Doncaster's
airport after joking on Twitter that he would
blow it "sky high" if his flight was delayed.
He was prosecuted under section 127(1) of
the Communications Act 2003, which
prohibits sending "by means of a public
electronic communications network a
message or other matter that is grossly
offensive or of an indecent, obscene or
menacing character".
"Unfortunately, yesterday I was found guilty and ordered to pay £1,000 in fines
and legal costs, which I have to find along with my own legal costs of another
£1,000. I am considering an appeal, though I have no means, having left my job
due to the circumstances." Paul Chambers 2010

SLEP considerations
• Social
• Legal
• ETHICAL
• Professional
Is it unethical at interview to:
• ask an applicant to hand over the log
in to their Facebook page?
• friend the HR Manager?
• screen the applicant by 'Googling'
them?

Make sure
you are in the
YES pile of
job
applications!

SLEP considerations
• Social
• Legal
• Ethical
• PROFESSIONAL
Would it be unprofessional to
post and tag photos of your
colleagues at the work Christmas
party on Facebook without
peer consent?

THINK before you
share anything online

Your digital profile is in YOUR hands

Why would you need
a LinkedIn profile?

Make the most of
YOUR profile!

• LinkedIn members carried out over 5.7 billion
professionally-oriented searches on the platform in 2012.
• More than 4 million companies have LinkedIn Company
Pages.
• LinkedIn members are sharing insights and knowledge in
more than 2 million LinkedIn Groups.
• There are over 40 million students and recent college
graduates on LinkedIn. They are LinkedIn's fastest-
growing demographic.
LinkedIn Facts

The tone of your LinkedIn profile
It is acceptable for the profile language to be a little
more informal (whilst remaining professional) than
your CV. What this means in practice is that you can
choose to use either:
• the “Created… Led…” action-verb format of the
CV where the personal pronouns “I” and “my” are
left out
OR
• the more informal personal pronoun format that is
generally not accepted in CVs, e.g. “My
experience…,” or “I led…”

Build your
personal digital
rolodex
Connections can be
accessed anytime
and anywhere from
your chosen device

LinkedIn helps you keep in
touch with your connections
as the onus is on the
individual to keep their
contact details up to date.

Your 1st degree connections open
opportunities to expand your network with
2nd degree connections.

Company search

LinkedIn Advanced People Search helps you easily find
experts and sources. Search by company name, company
size, keywords, title or any other aspect to find exactly the
source you need. Click on the person’s profile and you’ll see if
anyone in your network knows them and can introduce you.

Receive industry
news tailored to
your interests
and delivered to
your chosen
digital device

A space to showcase your BEST work

Digital Portfolio Toolbox

Professionals and experts
in your field will be more
likely to respond to your
inquiries if you have a
complete profile including
a professional headshot.

Developing an
online profile using

Begin to build your professional
identity online as an expert in your field

Whilst developing your profile opt to turn off
activity broadcasts or prepare offline
#1
Look at the
privacy
settings and
options

Click on the 'Edit Profile' button to update
any of the sections or the 'Improve your
profile' button for suggestions.
Proofread any changes you make for errors!
#2
Complete
your whole
profile

Research has found that profiles are trusted more
when they contain a photo
#3
Include a
photo

Think about the key search words people would
use if they were looking for:
 graduates with skills in your field
ADD these to your profile
#4
Include
relevant
keywords

Your headline will default to your current job title,
but this can be edited to add further information
and keywords.
Students may wish to display their degree title;
Graduates that they are recently graduated
#5
Edit your
headline

Your default public URL appears underneath your
photo. This will also include random numbers and
letters: uk.linkedin.com/pub/your-name/1x/11x/111
Edit this to have your full name then add to:
• your email signature
• business cards
• your bios on other social sites
#6
Customise
your public
profile URL

Add relevant skills to your profile in the Skills section.
Valued connections may then publically endorse your
skills and expertise
#7
Add skills
to your
profile

You may give others a recommendation, but do also
consider asking people you have worked with to
give you a recommendation.
#8
Ask for
recommendations

• Connect with current and previous work colleagues
• Develop relevant 2nd and 3rd degree connections
• Search by name, company, school, email contacts
or group members. Drill down using advanced
people search.
#9
Make
connections

• Join groups related to your specialism
• Engage in discussion topics
• Develop new connections and network
• Create your own group
#10
Join relevant
Groups

#11
Add projects
to your
profile

#13
Add
SlideShare
presentations
http://www.slideshare.net/suebeckingham

#14
Add links to
your blog/
website

#15
Write blog
posts within
LinkedIn

Top 5 Profile To-Dos

Don't neglect other social media
Do your research
• Be where industry experts are
• Follow/Connect
• Find out how they use social media

Simple rules for social media:
• RULE 1: YOU ARE WHAT YOU ‘TWEET’
• RULE 2: THE GRANDMA AND BOSS RULE
• RULE 3: FACE YOUR PROBLEMS, DON’T FACEBOOK YOUR
PROBLEMS
• RULE 4: IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, MAKE A LINKEDIN PROFILE
• RULE 5: ITS YOUR FUTURE. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

Resources: go.shu.ac.uk/socialmedia
How to use social media responsibly
How your personal use of Social media relates
to the University's rules and regulations; what is
inappropriate, and the associated
consequences
Managing your digital footprint
Four ways to stop your social media past
damaging your real-life future; simple steps to
clean up and manage your social media identity
Using social media for learning
Make social media work for you and stand out
from the crowd by identifying and harnessing
opportunities
Using social media to enhance your
employability
Outlining the ways in which social media can
improve your employability and develop a
satisfying career

Sue Beckingham
Senior Lecturer in Computing and Educational Developer (TEL) with a
research interest in the use of social media in education.
Blog: http://socialmediaforlearning.com/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/suebeckingham
Twitter: @suebecks
All images used (unless cited) have a public domain licence https://pixabay.com/