LinkedIn offers two ways to help you stand out among consultants and job-seekers -- Profiles and Content Creation. Its search capabilities also give you the opportunity to find the right people at your dream company.
Presentation to Wisconsin chapter of the Society for Technical Communication 9-16-2014.
Unlocking LinkedIn: Finding Your Dream Job or Client
1. Unlocking LinkedIn:
Finding Your Dream Job
or Client
Michael McCallister
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
2. Who am I?
• Senior Document Architect, PKWARE
• Books about openSUSE Linux and WordPress
• Blog: Notes from the Metaverse (metaverse.wordpress com)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
4. Ask questions any time!
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
5. What We’re Covering
● Making Your Profile Shine
● Demonstrating Authority by Contributing Content
● Searching for Your Dream Job/Client
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
6. Origins of LinkedIn
How do you break through the Old Boys
Network?
Understand the connections people make in
the business world!
7. LinkedIn: Two Key Numbers
● 300+ million profiles (April 2014)
● More than 3 million companies
represented (August 2014)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
8. Making a Shiny Profile
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
9. All Star Profile
More than just a resume
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
10. Components of an All Star Profile
• Photo
• Headline
• Background Summary
• Job History
– Projects
– Portfolio
– Recommendations
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
• Publications
• Education / Coursework
• Skills/Endorsements
• Portfolio
• Honors & Awards
• Certifications
• Volunteer Experience
11. Make it Easy to Find You
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
12. Company Pages
• Recommend for Independents / Consultants
• If you're full time, but available for freelance assignments
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
13. Company Page:
Required Components
● Company Name
● Company Description
● Company Type
● Company Size
● Website URL
● Main Company Industry
● Company Operating Status
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
15. Participating in Groups
● Demonstrate your knowledge and authority
● Get more visits to your profile
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
16. Targeting Groups
● Identify your interests
● Identify your clients' interests
● Find the right group(s)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
17. The “Right Group”?
● Large
● Active
● Relevant
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
19. Status Updates
● Tweets, only longer
● Facebook wall posts, only more
professional
● Links to quality content (not
necessarily your own)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
21. PPP: Ever Expanding
• Influencers: Celebrities, CEOs and
Politicians (2012)
• Top Influencers: LinkedIn
members with lots of followers
(2013)
• Everybody (2014)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
23. Searching for Experts
(and future colleagues)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
24. Follow Your Favorite Companies/Orgs
• See what's happening right in your
news feed
• Learn about jobs
• Get “who to follow” suggestions
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
25. Colleges: Old Boy Network Revisited
• See what's happening right in your
news feed
• See Notable Alumni
• Get “who to follow” suggestions
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
26. Search! Search! Search!
• Basic search plenty useful
• Advanced search even more
granular
• Premium Search
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
27. Basic Search: Plenty Useful
• Relationship
• Location
• Current Company
• Industry
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
• Past Company
• Profile Language
• Nonprofit Interests
28. Advanced Search: More Granular
• First/Last Name
• Title
• Company
• School
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
• Location (in or near)
• Country
• Postal Code
29. Premium Search: Anything you need
• Groups
• Years of Experience
• Function
• Seniority Level
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
• Interests
• Company Size
• Fortune 1000
• When Joined
30. Connecting with folks who matter
• Connect with 2nd level network
people
• Connect with Group members
• InMail
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
31. Is a Premium Membership Worth it?
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
32. LinkedIn Executive Benefits
• Very granular search
• Saved searches
• Analytics for posts
• Send 25 InMails per month
• Who viewed your profile? Analytics
for those too
● Costs
– Executive Plan $75/mo
– Pro Plan $440/mo (!)
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
33. LinkedIn for Journalists
• Lively group (Large, Active and Relevant)
• Monthly training on finding news sources
• Get trained: Get a year of Premium free!
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
34. Connect with Me
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/workingwriter
• Web: michaelmccallister.com
• Twitter: @workingwriter
Michael McCallister, STC-Wisconsin September 2014
Ask: Everyone have a LinkedIn Profile?
Independents vs Employees?
Know about STC-related groups?
Reminder: We're hiring an Android developer!
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Unofficial title: “Social Media for Writers.”
Chapter 6: LinkedIn!
Cover creating a central homebase on the web w/WordPress. Connecting to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and several other things. Good for anyone who wants to be published (or already is)
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Running through a lot of material, but slow me down if necessary.
Might be able to do an hour on each of these, but will push on.
Show my profile. Discuss everything here.
Add a screenshot of someone's not-personalized URL.
Add my personalized URL
LinkedIn says contributing to groups leads to 4x the profile visits
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If there's time, show how to create/edit.
Otherwise, just show off my first post.
Search your network for people who work (or have worked) at your dream company/client.
Now look for a Documentation Manager, or someone who went to your school
Now see if you can find a manager with a ton of experience in docs.