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

Your

Digi

tal

Busine

ss C

ard

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

#1Look 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!

#2Complete

your whole profile

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

#3Include 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

#4Include 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

#5Edit 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

#6Customise your public profile URL

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

skills and expertise

#7Add 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.

#8Ask 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.

#9Make

connections

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

#10Join relevant

Groups

#11Add projects

to your profile

#13Add

SlideShare presentations

http://www.slideshare.net/suebeckingham

#14Add links to your blog/

website

#15Write 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 identityUsing social media for learning Make social media work for you and stand out from the crowd by identifying and harnessing opportunitiesUsing social media to enhance your employability

Outlining the ways in which social media can improve your employability and develop a satisfying career 

Sue BeckinghamSenior 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/suebeckinghamTwitter: @suebecks

All images used (unless cited) have a public domain licence https://pixabay.com/