GETTING STARTED THE BASICS

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Kerry Lindsey
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GETTING STARTED To use LinkedIn, users must complete the free registration process. To begin, go to www.linkedin.com and follow the registration prompt on the homepage.

Employers, alumni, and recruiters are constantly viewing LinkedIn profiles and unfinished profiles can have negative or minimal impact on viewers.

1 GETTING STARTED To use LinkedIn, users must complete the free registration process. To begin, go to and follow the registration prompt on the homepage. After completing registration, users can create their LinkedIn profile. It is VERY important to have a complete and professional profile on LinkedIn. Employers, alumni, and recruiters are constantly viewing LinkedIn profiles and unfinished profiles can have negative or minimal impact on viewers. THE BASICS The 5 basic headings on your LinkedIn page will be in the upper left hand corner: Home, Profile, Network, Jobs, and Interests. In the upper right hand corner of your page, you ll find 4 icons: an envelope, a flag, a silhouette, and your profile shadow. This heading will bring you to your homepage. On your home page you ll find a newsfeed highlighting updates from your contacts and group discussions. When you d like to view your profile, click this heading. Your profile is the public page that contacts and others on LinkedIn see when they view your page. This is also where you should go to make any edits to your profile. This heading allows you to view all contacts in list order. Your contacts can be ordered alphabetically, chronologically, recently added, etc. Review jobs posted on LinkedIn by clicking this heading. From there, you can use LinkedIn s job search database to view all job postings. Under this heading, you can elect to follow companies, join groups, and connect with current and previous educational institutions. Messages: This icon represents your message center. Here you will find LinkedIn messages as well as invitations to connect from other Linked In users. Notifications: This icon notifies users to any activity on their page, including likes and comments from other contacts. It also tells users when they have new connections.

2 Add Connections: This icon allows users to find LinkedIn contacts via contact lists. Account & Settings: This icon allows you to view/edit account settings and access the Help Center. CREATING A STRONG PROFILE Summary Statement The Summary Statement gives a brief overview of your professional identity. This is a great way to create an interesting and creative tagline. For example, 2 nd year student at the University of Minnesota Law School dedicated to pro bono causes and public interest law might be a great way to summarize who you are (2L at U of M) and your professional interests (public interest law and pro bono work). Adding a Summary Statement: Profile Edit Profile Background Summary Add a Summary Save Experience and Education Sections The Experience section on your LinkedIn profile provides information about your professional experiences and qualifications. Consider this your digital resume. Include any and all experiences that you feel are important to your legal image. Feel free to include information that may not fit on your resume as well. Details are good! The Education section highlights your educational background. Include your undergraduate and law school information as well as any additional degrees. Don t forget to include any certifications, trainings, or other experiences related to your professional education. Adding Experience: Profile Edit Profile Background Experience Add a position Save Adding Education: Profile Edit Profile Background Education Add Education Save 2

Photo Connecting with others is much easier with a photo because they are more likely to recognize your photo than your name. However, make sure your LinkedIn picture is professional and polished.

3 Photo Connecting with others is much easier with a photo because they are more likely to recognize your photo than your name. However, make sure your LinkedIn picture is professional and polished. Remember, the legal profession can be quite conservative so choose a professional photo. Be sure you include a recent photo, edit as needed. Upload Photo: Profile Edit Profile Add a Photo Upload Photo Contact Info Include your preferred contact information in your profile. Again, remember to use a professional such as your University of Minnesota account. Edit Contact Info: Profile Edit Profile Edit Contact Info Create a vanity URL. Vanity URLs will often be the first link that appears if employers Google applicants. Consider using your LinkedIn URL for business cards and signature lines. Simplify the URL by deleting the URL characters and leaving your name. For example: Edit URL: Profile Edit Profile Edit (to the left of Edit Contact Info) Your Public Profile URL Customize your public profile URL 3

Don t forget to include your classmates as well as current and previous co-workers. Adding a Contact: Once you ve found a contact, click Connect.

4 USING LINKED IN FEATURES Connect With Others Once you have created a detailed profile you can begin building your network. You can use the LinkedIn search engine OR import contacts from your account. (See below) Begin with friends and family. Don t forget to include your classmates as well as current and previous co-workers. Adding a Contact: Once you ve found a contact, click Connect. Depending on their security settings, some contacts may require an explanation regarding your relationship to them. Using the drop down menu provided, choose your connection to that contact. Once you ve requested a connection with someone, an request with a generic message will be sent to each potential contact. Personalize each message so that contacts can identify you. For example: Dear John, Thank you for speaking with me last week at the Hennepin County Bar Association happy hour in Minneapolis. Your thoughts and ideas on volunteering opportunities for law students interested in criminal law were really helpful. I d like to add you as a contact on LinkedIn. Viewing Contacts: Network Contacts People can also invite you to connect with them. When that occurs, an invitation will be sent to your mailbox. You can review each member s profile and Accept or Ignore the request. If you would like to connect with the person, accept their invitation. If you are unsure of the person s 4

identity or connection to you, it s often best to ignore the request. You may also send the inviter a LinkedIn message asking for additional details if you are unsure how you ve met them.

5 identity or connection to you, it s often best to ignore the request. You may also send the inviter a LinkedIn message asking for additional details if you are unsure how you ve met them. Viewing Invitations: Messages Invitations Accept or Ignore Similarly, LinkedIn members can contact you via LinkedIn mail. Follow the directions above and click on Messages instead of Invitations to view any messages you ve received. You can also compose new messages from that screen as well. Join Groups/Follow Companies LinkedIn groups are networks dedicated to a particular profession or area of interest. You can search for groups in the main search section at the top of the page. Once you find a group of interest, click Join and you will be added to the group. (See below) If you are interested in a particular area of the law, search to see if there are any groups dedicated to that practice. Most likely there are several groups to join. Many times, group members post job openings in group discussions and forums so this is a great way to be alerted to new jobs! Viewing Groups: Interests Groups If there are particular companies, firms, or businesses of interest to you, it can be helpful to follow them on LinkedIn. This is a great way to stay up-to-date with a particular company while also showing your interest in them. Search for companies in the search section. If you find a company of interest, you can click the Follow button and you will automatically be added to the company s following. LINKED IN VOCAB 1 st Connection: When you add a contact, that person is a 1 st connection. 2 nd connection: A 2 nd connection means that you share a 1 st connection with another user. This is a very useful tool in LinkedIn because it gives members an opportunity to take advantage of networking connections through people they know. Before an interview, look up the interviewers and you may be surprised to find that you are connected through one or more people. 3 rd Connection: One of your 1 st connection contacts has a 2 nd connection with that person. This may be less useful but can illustrate how interconnected most industries can be. Endorsements: LinkedIn allows users to endorse one another for certain skills and abilities that are applicable to particular career fields. These endorsements are visible in each user s profile under the Skills and Endorsements section. 5

CHEVENING CONNECT: A step by step guide

CHEVENING CONNECT: A step by step guide Contents You can either read through each page in order or use these links to skip to a specific section. Introduction... 3 A. Getting started How to get access