{"id":12459,"date":"2019-12-23T04:08:42","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T09:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internsdc.com\/?p=12459"},"modified":"2019-12-23T04:08:42","modified_gmt":"2019-12-23T09:08:42","slug":"secret-dos-and-donts-of-linkedin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/secret-dos-and-donts-of-linkedin\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Do’s and Don’ts of LinkedIn"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all love Social Media, and even when you’re in Jobsearch mode, there’s a social media platform for that! LinkedIn<\/a> (I like to describe it as Facebook for grown ups) can be\u00a0a powerful tool when you’re looking to land\u00a0an internship (or your dream job!). But all too often people blow their chances by not following the actual rules<\/strong>\u00a0of LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

How to Use LinkedIn Effectively…<\/h2>\n

LinkedIn is different from\u00a0every other type of social media. There are many do’s and don’ts of LinkedIn that don’t apply to sites like Facebook or Twitter. Check them out and make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance of landing\u00a0your dream role.<\/p>\n

\"Do's<\/p>\n

LinkedIn Do’s<\/h2>\n

1. Personalize Your Connection Requests<\/h3>\n

You should never send a connection request with the LinkedIn default message when you want to connect. This is one sure fire way to make sure your\u00a0connection request will go unnoticed. You need to\u00a0personalize all your connection requests with a short message. Have you met the person before (even briefly)? Is their a common connection? Say it! As an\u00a0example, imagine you want to connect with a certain very famous CEO:<\/p>\n

Hi Mark,<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It was great to meet you at Facebook HQ last week! Loved your sweatshirt! I was the guy you were talking to in the line for the beer tap.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Your name.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Think of how many requests certain\u00a0people (like Mark Zuckerberg) may get to connect. Make sure yours stands out with your personalized message.<\/p>\n

2. Have A Businesslike\u00a0Profile Picture<\/h3>\n

You need a profile picture, and I’m not talking about your Facebook profile picture. LinkedIn is a\u00a0professional social network, so believe it or not, your profile picture should look professional. Don\u2019t start connecting with people until you have\u00a0a nice clean, professional headshot on your account. The worst thing for your profile –\u00a0having\u00a0no picture at all.<\/p>\n

3. Keep It Professional<\/h3>\n

LinkedIn is all about business. Your profile and the posts you share should always\u00a0relate to the area you want to work in. Leave out that you ran a lemonade stand one summer. And remember, always keep it professional.<\/p>\n

4. Write In A Way that Tells A Story About You<\/h3>\n

People like stories. You should write your profile (story) in a polished way, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring your unique personality into it. LinkedIn\u00a0is all about business, but it can still have a thread running through it that weaves a tale about you and what you give to your work. Another great tip is to always write your profile in the first person, referring to yourself in the third person is too formal.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Do's<\/p>\n

LinkedIn Don’ts<\/h2>\n

1. Don\u2019t Treat LinkedIn Like Other Social Media Channels<\/h3>\n

LinkedIn is not Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. This is not the place for pictures of your food or that time you were partying with your friends. It’s also not the place for sharing a constant stream of funny\/inappropriate posts.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn is for professionals, so share posts that show your expertise.\u00a0Write about your internship. Show\u00a0how you benefitted from it, show what you learned and what your accomplished.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t Connect With Everyone and Anyone<\/h3>\n

It’s not a numbers game! In LinkedIn world, less IS more. You should never<\/strong>\u00a0randomly connect with people on LinkedIn, unless of course Mr Obama sends you a request. In that case, by all means,\u00a0connect!<\/p>\n

Don’t\u00a0accept anyone who randomly wants to connect with you either. They could just be trying to beef up their LinkedIn connections, so make sure you check out their profile before accepting.<\/p>\n

To get real value from LinkedIn, only connect with people you’ve worked with, have had a\u00a0personal connection with and\u00a0who may be a valuable connection in the future.\u00a0It’s not the place to connect with the woman in the IT department you spoke to while she helped solve your problems with the Internet on campus (unless you want a job in IT!).<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t Ask People You Don\u2019t Know For Recommendations<\/h3>\n

If you are going to ask someone for a recommendation (or if you are going to give one), make sure you know them. Imagine if you ask someone to give\u00a0you a recommendation and it turns out they have a bad reputation in the industry? Their recommendation will live on your profile and will link to their profile too. If an potential employer looks at your profile before they hire you (which will happen), this won’t look good!<\/p>\n

\n

The most important thing to remember about\u00a0how to use LinkedIn effectively\u00a0(and every other form of social media) is to think about the people who will be\u00a0reading your profile and the posts you share. You need to write it for them<\/strong>, not you.<\/p>\n

On social media you’re connected to other people. They see what you share, so before you hit that share button think ‘what is this going to add to their day?’ If the answer is nothing, you might want to rethink what you’re about to share.<\/p>\n

See more great tips on how to clean up your social media act<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all love Social Media, and even when you’re in Jobsearch mode, there’s a social media platform for that! LinkedIn (I like to describe it as Facebook for grown ups) can be\u00a0a powerful tool when you’re looking to land\u00a0an internship (or your dream job!). But all too often people blow their chances by not following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment-tips","category-internship-advice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atdevserver.com\/Internsdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}