Full transcript
0:00hi there Manchester University career
0:02service here my name is Adam I am one of
0:04the careers Consultants as part of the
0:06careers team and welcome to this
0:07playlist on LinkedIn what we're calling
0:10the LinkedIn master class over the
0:12course of these videos we're going to be
0:14covering a few things specifically what
0:17LinkedIn actually is an introduction to
0:19it and how to create a strong profile
0:21which we'll cover in this video then how
0:24to make strong connections and how to
0:26network using LinkedIn as that powerful
0:29networking tool
0:30how to search for alumni and finally how
0:33to use it to find Opportunities and jobs
0:36whatever sector and whatever industry
0:39that might be in so LinkedIn the idea
0:42behind it is that it's a global social
0:44media platform professionals and
0:47organizations and because of that has a
0:49lot of different uses it's been around
0:51for quite a while it's about 21 years
0:54old now at the time of the recording of
0:56this video founded in 2003
1:00which you could argue it's a bit long in
1:02the tooth but because of that it's got
1:04nearly a billion members and the access
1:07that you have to the people on it makes
1:10it an incredibly powerful tool
1:12recruiters use it a lot professionals
1:15obviously use it a fair bit and
1:17organizations are really active on it as
1:19well and there are a number of different
1:21ways that you can use it because of that
1:24one of the most well-known reasons for
1:26using it is the job search organizations
1:28do Post jobs on there but there's also
1:31the hidden job market that you can
1:33access through it through networking it
1:34is an incredibly powerful networking
1:38tool and that is broadly speaking going
1:40to be the focus of these videos now to
1:43get started with LinkedIn you're going
1:45to need a profile and there are some
1:47fairly basic rules you've got to follow
1:49to create your profile none of this is
1:52necessarily as strict as it might seem
1:55there are some things that you need to
1:56do but your profile is very much your
1:59profile so you set it up how you want
2:01these are some guidelines and some
2:03things you should include this is your
2:05basic framework you need a professional
2:08photo an
2:09engaging specific headline these are the
2:12most important bits really the things
2:15that are the most visible then you want
2:17to customize your public URL so it
2:19actually says something about you your
2:21name whatever it might be and an about
2:24section this is similar to a personal
2:27profile on a CV I need to shortly and
2:30sharply tell someone who you are what
2:32you're good at and what you want then
2:35you want your up-to-date information
2:37about your education your work
2:39experience whatever that is voluntary
2:42experience in a way it's a copy and
2:44paste of your CV and then if you can
2:49recommendations a skills profile these
2:52sorts of things let's start with the
2:54photo you need a strong professional
2:57looking photo the reason is you are far
3:00more visible and far more likely to have
3:02your profile looked at by potential
3:05employers recruiters Etc if you have a
3:09good photo on there you'll see some of
3:11the examples here we actually need a
3:13photo we need it to be visible we need
3:15it to be visibly you we don't want logos
3:18and we definitely don't want group
3:20photos we want to be able to recognize
3:22you from your photo and it needs to
3:26present that professional image so
3:28nothing that you would put on your face
3:30or your Instagram something professional
3:32with you dressed up that kind of thing
3:34that is what we need and that will be a
3:37really good start to a profile and then
3:39next and I would say equally as
3:41important is your headline that little
3:44sentence that appears underneath your
3:46name when you appear in a search this is
3:49really important you want to keep it
3:51short and it needs to tell the person
3:54reading it a little bit about you who
3:56you are what you want and is focused on
3:59the kind of industry or the kind of job
4:01that you're particularly interested in
4:03the thing I would suggest is look at
4:06people with the kind of job you want
4:08what are they putting in their headline
4:10you don't want to copy it directly but
4:12you want to say that you have an
4:13interest in that so something like
4:16current student in X whatever your
4:19subject is looking for a role
4:22in that is what we need something really
4:26focused on what it is you're actually
4:28asking for what it is you're after then
4:30you want sections for your experience
4:33and your education and I'll be honest if
4:35all you did was copy these sections from
4:37a good CV that would be enough you want
4:40them as easily digestible and as easy to
4:43read as possible you don't necessarily
4:45have a long time of someone's attention
4:47span especially if they're just flicking
4:49through profiles so you want it to
4:51communicate quickly and positively what
4:54you've done what you're good at what
4:56your experience is think about positive
5:00powerful language so the words I've got
5:02on screen there things like designed
5:04developed be as specific and as
5:07assertive in your language as possible
5:09you want to demonstrate what your
5:11experience is what your skills are this
5:14will make a really good profile and very
5:16similar to a CV the further back in time
5:19you go the less detail you want to give
5:22as a general rule the first three
5:24experiences in your work experience
5:27section are where the most details going
5:29to be after that it's going to Trail off
5:31because that's probably what they're
5:34going to read and then after that their
5:36attention is going to wne and as a final
5:39touch take some skills assessments
5:41through the platform go into your
5:43profile view your profile go down to the
5:45skills and endorsements and take a quick
5:47quiz just adds the finishing touches to
5:50your profile makes it stand out a bit
5:53and gives it that little bit of
5:56specificity that puts it maybe above
5:58some others because you'll come up in
6:00keyword searches you'll come up in other
6:02searches where they're looking for
6:04specific skills like I say just puts the
6:07finishing touches on what already should
6:09be a good profile that's all there
6:11really is to say on a profile it's very
6:13much a starting point at LinkedIn yes it
6:16gets you on there and it's good to be
6:17visible all those things but LinkedIn is
6:20incredibly powerful networking and
6:23research tool and that is what will be
6:25coming up in the next section of this
6:27playlist we'll be looking particularly
6:29at how to find people what to say to
6:31them and how to use that as part of your
6:34job search as always if you could like
6:37And subscribe to the channel just to
6:39help us grow the channel and reach more
6:41students that would be really really
6:43appreciated and we'll see you in the
6:45next video