Managing Your Online Reputation and LinkedIn

Workshop Objectives By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: summarize how employers and grad school recruiters use the internet to research job candidates Discuss conclusions you reach about someone else by looking at a social network profile Create professional LinkedIn profile using best practices to show your best self online Utilize the Find Alumni tool to find STU alum in your field

Tools I will distribute after the session PowerPoint slides LinkedIn Profile Checklist

Google Yourself Take 15 seconds and Google yourself What do you see?

What will a prospective employer find? Thought-provoking Tweets about what you learned in your lecture today Photos of you volunteering and winning awards Status updates reflecting on how hard you’re studying An expletive-ridden Twitter war with an arch nemesis Endless selfies, including those at wild parties with drink in hand Status updates about constant boredom at your part-time job

Ashlee Warren What kind of person is Ashlee? Would you want to hire her based on her facebook profile?

Ashlee Warren Dean’s List Volunteers with children, helping them improve their reading skills Volunteers with York Manor Wants to be an elementary school teacher

Employers and Recruiters “Creeping” For student job-seekers… Just as job seekers research employers, employers research job seekers About 70% of recruiters have reported Googling potential employees For grad school applicants… Nearly 30% of university admissions officers Googled applicants 31% visited an applicant’s Facebook or other social media profile The 31% who researched profiles or social media accounts, “30% reported finding something online that negatively impacted a student’s admissions chances” (Kohen, 2013).

A word about Facebook Facebook is constantly modifying its privacy settings. Keep on top of it! Excellent article from The Telegraph as of October, 2013: k/ /11-ways-to-protect-your-privacy- on-Facebook.html k/ /11-ways-to-protect-your-privacy- on-Facebook.html

Your Options Closely monitor privacy settings Remove objectionable content – regardless of privacy settings Ask others to remove objectionable content Add professional content Drown out unprofessional content

The “Grandma Rule”

What is LinkedIn? Career-focused social networking site based on profiles Launched in 2003 “Connect” with professionals Our mission is simple: connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. When you join LinkedIn, you get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help you be great at what you do.

LinkedIn with other Activities LinkedIn, like the resume, is one of many job- search tools. You must also participate in other job-search activities: Information Sessions (with professionals in your field) Networking (in person!) Job ads

Steps for LinkedIn Success Create your profile and optimize each section Connect with colleagues, classmates, professors, strangers Use the Find Alumni feature

Trish’s LinkedIn Profile Photo Headline Summary Experience Organizations Education Volunteer Experience and Causes Skills and Expertise (Endorsements) Honors and Awards Courses Projects Recommendations

Top Area

Photo Headshot Smile! Nice shirt Clear, crisp, bright 7x more likely to click on your profile if you have a photo

Headline and URL Headline Search algorithm – searches headlines first, then summary, then work history Focus on skill sets and keywords – separate with a vertical divider Research job postings for your ideal job and take keywords that appear in several Make your Headline consistent with your Endorsements Avoid phrases like “job seeker” “looking for an opportunity” as it invites discrimination Profile URL Customize your URL Headline Profile URL

Summary Must be easy to read and skim. No scrolling! Focus on facts - stats and numbers Use “I” Simplified, concise

Experience Focus on results and numbers Similar to a resume accomplishment statement Leave it blank if you are not employed now (don’t put “unemployed” Align your previous work history to your brand and what you want to do Explicitly ask for and get recommendations from colleagues, professors, classmates, etc ( 1-2 per job) Put relevant volunteer experience here

Experience Form

Adding Files

Organizations Clubs, associations Memberships

Education and Volunteer Experience

Skills and Expertise Give and receive endorsements!

Honors & Awards, Courses

Projects

Recommendations

Make Connections Whom are you willing to have as a connection? 1 st – people who have accepted your connection requests or you’ve accepted theirs 2 nd – connections of your 1 st degree connections 3 rd – connections of your 2 nd degree connections

Why make Connections? Information gets added to your “Updates” feed (new jobs, promotions, connections’ links, posts) Get excuses to reach out and congratulate connections Access to information the connection hid from public view Remain connected with Information Session interviewees, networking contacts, etc (if they give permission!)

Find Alumni Find out what STU alum who took your major are doing for careers and where Find out if graduates of a certain master’s program are working in their field

Filter Options

New Brunswick (location) + Media and Communication(industry)+ Communication, Journalism and Related Programs (studies) 43 Students and Alumni

Connecting to People You Don’t Know ALWAYS customize connection requests Click on the person’s profile first and research the individual to find commonality Click on “Connect” from the person’s profile, not from the search results (sends out a generic request)

NO

YES

The Customized Request

An Invitation Create your LinkedIn profile, me the link and I will provide suggestions for improvement Trish Murray-Zelmer

References Harrison, J. (2013, October 21). “ Online Identity and Your Career”. Portfolio Business Projects, Algonquin College Advertising. PowerPoint. 13 October Kohen, K. (2013, December 4). The Role of Social Media in College Admissions. Retrieved from admissions/?utm_content=sf &utm_medium=spredfast&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=Linke dIn+Social&sf =1 O’Donnell, J.T. (2013, November 18). How to Get your LinkedIn Request Accepted [Episode 1]. The LinkedIn Lab. Podcast retrieved from: O’Donnell, J.T. (2013, November 25). How to Write a LinkedIn Headline [Episode 2]. The LinkedIn Lab. Podcast retrieved from: O’Donnell, J.T. (2013, December 2). How to Write A LinkedIn Summary [Episode 3]. The LinkedIn Lab. Podcast retrieved from: O’Donnell, J.T. (2013, December 9). What to Put in Your LinkedIn Work History [Episode 4]. The LinkedIn Lab. Podcast retrieved from: Pollak, Lindsey. (2013, December 11). LinkedIn On Campus. Retrieved from