How to Get Started Using LinkedIn For Career TransitionBy Kathleen Smith, ClearedJobs.Net

Setting Up Your AccountEasy steps for setting up your account:

Fill out Name, Email Address and Password.

You will need to confirm your email address before continuing on to complete your Profile.

Basics of Setting Up Your Profile

Name, Headline, Locations & Industry show at the top of your Profile, this is what people see in Search

Name: This is the name that people will see when they search for

Headline: is your current Position, Location, Industry

Completing Your Profile

Yes, you need to add a Picture.

You will have a quick snapshot of your career history and an opportunity to fill this out more later.

You can also import your resume to help with the Profile completion.

It is helpful to add a Summary which should be at least two paragraphs long describing your skills, and accomplishments.

Settings … Profile and Privacy ControlsYou will find Settings underneath your name in the upper right hand corner.

The bottom box contains 4 key areas: Profile, Email Preferences, Groups, Account.

Each of these areas help how you see your network and how they see you.

Profile: Select who sees your broadcasts, who sees your connections, who sees if you have looked at their profile…

Settings continued…. Email Preferences Email Preferences covers how frequently you get information from LinkedIn and your network.

Also controls how people can email or connect with you.

Settings continued….Groups, Companies, Applications Controls how frequently you get information from your groups and the companies you are following.

Controls how much information is shared with Third Party Applications

Settings continued….Account Account information and how you see the updates for your network.

Home versus Profile

Home is what you will see when you log into your account.

This will show your network activity, recommendations on who to connect with, who has viewed your profile along with any ads that may be targeted toward you.

You can also post Updates from your home page. This will show up on your Profile as well.

A best practice is to post a new Update each week.

ApplicationsThere are many Applications that you can have attached to your LinkedIn profile.

One of the most used and helpful for networking is Events.

Once you have Events, you can share with your Network the Events you are attending.

You can also post an Event and share it with your Network.

Contacts

It is all about building your network and adding new Contacts.

The magic number to reach is 500, at that point LinkedIn just lists you as 500+ connections.

Connecting with Your CommunityOne of the first ways to add connections is to connect your LinkedIn account with your Web Email Account to import email addresses.

If your connections use the Web Mail email address as their LinkedIn email, you will be able to find them, but many folks use their work email address.

Searching for ContactsYou can search for Contacts through the navigation bar at the top.

You can Search based on recommendations from LinkedIn. The more people you connect with the better recommendations you will receive.

For any of these searches, you can also narrow the search through the Filters.

Sending Invitations

Only connect with people you know.

You will have to select how you know them: through school, work or a group.

It is best to personalize the invitation.

Once someone connects with you, thank them for the connection.

GroupsGroups are categorized as either Open or Closed. Open means anyone can join the group; Closed means you have to request to join and the Group Manager will have to approve you to be part of the Group. Groups are categorized around a key topic, schools, locations.

There are Networking, Alumni, Conference, Nonprofit and Company groups.

Navigating a Group

Groups are a good place to get information on articles, events, jobs or general information. Each group has a different level of activity depending on the members of the group.

It is good to introduce yourself to the Group and why you want to be part of that Group.Being part of the Group also allows you to connect with the other members of the Group. Jobs are also posted under the Jobs and Career Discussions tabs. You can also Comment or Like other members’ discussions.

Jobs and Job Postings

Jobs are posted under the Jobs tab. You can search for Jobs just like you would on any job board. You will also see who you are connected with in that company who could refer you for that job.

These same Jobs are posted to the Groups that the person has elected to have them posted to. These are different from the Career Discussions which are posted by members of the Group.

Recommendations

The more Recommendations you have the higher you will appear in the Search results.

This is another way that recruiters pre-screen candidates.

You will want to request Recommendations from your colleagues and be prepared to provide Recommendations in return.

It also shows on your Profile if you have Recommended someone else.

What to do next? A network is like a garden, you have to tend it frequently to get the results that you want.

Complete any unfinished part of your profile.Connect with 20 new people Set a weekly goal of connections.Update your status weekly.Join groups and participate!