LinkedIn for Students

This curriculum explores the concept of a professional brand and introduces young people to the many resources available on LinkedIn, including mentors, jobs and internship opportunities.

1. for Students Building Your Professional Brand

2. What We Will Cover in This Workshop STEP 02 Introduction - What is LinkedIn? Define Your Professional Brand Create A LinkedIn Account STEP 03 STEP 04 EC Build A LinkedIn Profile That Attracts Employers Build Your LinkedIn Network to Connect to Opportunities Search For Jobs, Internships and Schools on LinkedIn STEP 01 STEP 05

3. What You Do on Other Social Media I like donuts Here’s a cool photo of my donut Anyone want a donut? I’m listening to “Donuts” Here’s a donut recipe Watch me eat a donut

4. On LinkedIn: A Professional Mindset I hope to operate a donut franchise one day. I have three years experience making donuts. Here are 3 recommendations from former donut colleagues. My top skills are donut production and sales. I’m looking for a job at a donut company.

5. Connect to Jobs and Internships

6. “By using LinkedIn's suggestion for a 100% profile, I was able to complete my profile details, be found by employers who were hiring, and was ultimately approached with a job opportunity that I never would have found otherwise. LinkedIn was instrumental in my new career.” RECENT GRADUATE PITTSBURGH, PA

7. Define Your Professional Brand What Makes a Good Brand? Identify Your Brand Show You’re the Right Choice STEP 01

8. What Makes a Good Brand? A brand is a company’s promise to its customer. It tells customers what they can expect from the company’s products and services. It shows how its products are unique from its competitors’. STEP 01

9. Nike vs. Adidas How do you decide which kind of shoe you like more? What does each brand promise its customers? What can you expect from a Nike Air vs. an Adidas high top? How are they different? STEP 01

10. So wait - I have my own brand? Your brand is your promise to those around you. It tells people what they can expect from working with you and around you. It shows how you are unique from other people. You can shape your brand by the way you present yourself to others. STEP 01 YOU? Who are

11. The Value of Your Brand Why choose you? How does an employer, coach or college decide who to choose? What do you promise your employer, team or school? What can they expect from you? How are you unique? STEP 01

12. Show You’re the Right Choice Your brand includes who you are now: Skills: Your school, work experience and specific skills you learned in each job or class Network: How you are to be around and work with, as told by the people you know Information: Your areas of expertise and wisdom STEP 01

13. Show You’re the Right Choice And what you want in the future: Values: Things that are important to you and give meaning to your life Goals: What you want to be doing in 2, 10 or 30 years STEP 01 Respect Responsibility Honesty Caring

14. Grab a partner and brainstorm three words your friends would use to describe you. ACTIVITY WHAT ABOUT MY PROFESSIONAL BRAND?

15. Show You’re the Right Choice Decide what you want people’s first impression of you to be! Make a strong LinkedIn profile so your professional profile shows up in Google first Stay active on social media to build our your online presence Be careful what you post that could harm your professional brand STEP 01

16. Create a LinkedIn Account DID YOU KNOW? 9 out of 10 employers use LinkedIn during the hiring process. Set Up Your Account Import Your Contacts Add a Photo Download the LinkedIn Mobile App STEP 02

17. Set Up Your Account Go to LinkedIn.com and complete the prompts, including: Location Industry Reason for Joining LinkedIn STEP 02

18. Import Your Contacts Sync your email account to connect with people you already know on LinkedIn. STEP 02 Inviting and Importing Your Email Contacts

19. Add a Photo Members with profile photos receive up to 21x more profile views and 9x more connection requests. STEP 02 Introducing LinkedIn Photo Editing We’ll talk more about professional profile photos later!

20. Build a LinkedIn Profile That Attracts Employers DID YOU KNOW? Over 50% of hiring managers use LinkedIn profiles to qualify jobseekers Profile vs Resume Take a Great Photo Edit Your Profile Privacy Settings STEP 03

21. Profile vs Resume STEP 03 There are big differences between your LinkedIn profile and your resume. For example, your LinkedIn profile: Speaks to all potential employers, not just a single one Goes into more detail with skills, projects, interests, certifications, & more Contains recommendations and endorsements Allows other professionals & employers to interact, learn, and contact you

22. Take a Great Photo Before taking your photo, make sure you: Use a background that isn’t distracting Dress for the job you want Smile & have a friendly expression To create a good profile picture, double check that your face takes up a majority of the frame. STEP 03

23. Edit Your Profile: Your story in your words Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. On the right side of the page, click “Add new profile section” to begin editing and adding to your profile. Add your: STEP 03 Location & Industry Work & Internship Experience Volunteer Experience Education & Certifications Skills Program or Organization

24. Edit Your Profile: Headline spotlight Your headline is an opportunity to show what you are – not just what you do. When writing your headline, ask yourself: If this is the only thing someone sees, what does it convey about me? Does this represent my professional brand & show why I am unique? Does it capture what a recruiter would care about? STEP 03

25. Edit Your Profile: Summary spotlight Your summary is prime real estate for your professional brand. It’s where you can put your own spin on your experience & tell the story you want to tell. We recommend: Including past accomplishments and future goals Sticking to 3-5 short paragraphs Writing how you speak – be authentic! Using keywords STEP 02

26. Privacy Settings Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. In the dropdown menu, select “Settings & Privacy” to begin managing your account settings. For example, you can: Add an additional email address Change your password Control your notification preferences STEP 03

27. Build Your LinkedIn Network to Connect to Opportunities DID YOU KNOW? 70% of people were hired at a company where they had a connection. Discover Existing Connections Search for New Connections Message Connections Get Career Advice STEP 04 Engage With Your Community

28. Discover Existing Connections Click “My Network” in the top navigation to find people you already know. Personalize your invitation with a note when you send an invitation – especially if you don’t know them in real life. This makes it clear to the other person why you reaching out! STEP 04

29. Search for New Connections Use the search bar in the top navigation to find new connections by: Name Company Keyword School STEP 04

30. Search for New Connections Use the search bar in the top navigation to find new connections by: Name Company Keyword STEP 04 Personalize your invitation with a note when you send an invitation. This makes it clear to the other person why you reaching out!

31. Message Connections Send messages to your connections directly from: The LinkedIn messaging page Your connections page Their profile page Rahul’s Story: Persistence and Connections Can Help You Get the Job STEP 04 If you don’t know the person you’re messaging in real life, clearly explain why you are reaching out.

32. Request Recommendations Recommendations on LinkedIn are like references from people in your network. On a connection’s profile, click More… and then Request a Recommendation. You can select your relationship to this person, indicate whether you worked with them in a particular role, & customize your message. STEP 04

33. Get Career Advice From your profile page, select the Career Advice hub located in Your Dashboard. Set your preferences by answering questions related to receiving advice and LinkedIn will suggest members who have relevant experience. STEP 04 If you don’t have Career Advice as an option, you may need to add more connections or more content on your profile.

34. Engage With Your Community STEP 04

35. Search for Jobs, Internships and Schools on LinkedIn DID YOU KNOW? There are over 10 million employers and 7.5 million monthly job and internship postings on LinkedIn. Get the LinkedIn Job Search App Set Career Interests Search for Jobs Review “Jobs You May Be Interested In” Use Your Network Follow Companies Explore Schools STEP 05

36. Set Career Interests Include potential job titles and locations in your career interests to receive more relevant job suggestions Turn on the Open Candidates setting to let employers know you are actively searching and available for a new job. Download the LinkedIn Job Search Mobile App to see new job notifications quickly STEP 05

37. Search for Jobs Use LinkedIn’s search filters to find jobs by: Keyword Job title Company Location Function Industry Experience level Date posted STEP 05

38. Review Jobs You May Be Interested In For the best jobs, make sure your profile is filled out with accurate: Work experience Skills Location information STEP 05

39. Use Your Network Ask for a job referral by reaching out to your connections at a company you would like to apply to. STEP 05

40. Explore Schools Learn about and see the latest news from schools you are interested in attending. STEP 04 EC STEP 05

41. Explore Schools Explore the paths taken by alumni and reach out to anyone whose career interests you. STEP 04 EC STEP 05

42. “I found myself struggling to get any leads when looking for my first real job … I then amped up my job searching by utilizing LinkedIn to find positions, research companies, identify contacts and hiring managers and began reaching out to actual people … by mid-July I was fortunate enough to land a salaried position with full benefits.” RECENT GRADUATE MINNEAPOLIS, MN