Using LinkedIn To Enhance Employability
Prospects For Computing Students
Thomas Lancaster
Birmingham City University
Workshop Overview
Introduction to the LinkedIn Social Network
Practical Activity Using LinkedIn
Discussion – Integrating LinkedIn Into Teaching
Introduction To LinkedIn
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Largest Professional Social Network
Over 120 million members
Provides opportunities for professionals to
Network with existing and new contacts
Establish a professional presence
Receive recommendations
Look for employment possibilities
Provides a professional mechanism for staff and students to stay in
contact
LinkedIn For General Users
Profile page
Introduction
Resume/CV
Photos
Portfolio
LinkedIn Profile
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/thomaslancaster
Use Of LinkedIn By Students
Maintain a professional network of acquaintances
Other students
Lecturers
Professional contacts
Find placement and employment opportunities
Look for existing jobs
Send speculative requests through contacts
Seek out freelancing work (good for their CV)
Maintain a professional presence
Shows what they do beyond their course
Vital for employability
A Professional Profile Is Essential
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9162356/Facebookpasswords-fair-game-in-job-interviews.html
Search Engine Control
Many employers in the technical fields will filter students informally
by searching for them online
Find embarrassing Facebook photos
Find their bebo account from when they were younger
LinkedIn allows some control over what information is available
through an Internet search
Ranks very high in Internet searches
Professional by default
Provides an online CV
Can be included in job applications
Students in technical fields are expected to be online
Use Of LinkedIn By Staff
Maintain a professional network
Other staff from their institution
Industrial and professional contacts
Former students
Provides a professional focus for their course
Encourages students to apply
Allows dissemination of professional activities
LinkedIn Networking For Teaching
Add people who you know
Suggest letting students approach you, rather than the other way around
Use the “Add Connections” feature
“People Who You May Know” is very powerful
Network outside your immediate Connections
Use “Get Introduced”
Generate speakers and work experience opportunities for students
Practical Activity Using LinkedIn
Activity
Create a LinkedIn profile
Include a professional photo
Include interesting text
Add professional connections
People you work with
People who you know from Higher Education Academy contacts
Improve The Profile
Add links to your other web sites
Customise your url
Advanced Activity
Join LinkedIn groups and use these for networking purposes
Ask for a Recommendation
Further Use Of LinkedIn
LinkedIn Is For Marketing
Pushing your personal brand through a professional channel
Headline needs to be attractive
Use keywords (both as keywords and within the text) to reflect your aims for being on
LinkedIn
Ensure that the profile is public
Make sure that the information is detailed (write it as an advert)
Post to the profile regularly (and monitor what is posted)
Social Media Syndication
Advanced Technique
Link your social media sites together
Provides great visibility across a professional presence and on LinkedIn
Twitter Linking
Showcases Twitter link on LinkedIn profile
Can automatically show all Tweets on LinkedIn
Can automatically syndicate LinkedIn content to Twitter
Using LinkedIn Within Teaching
Motivation
Make sure that students understand the need for a LinkedIn
profile
To represent themselves professionally online
To build up lifelong professional connections
Lead through staff
Ensure that staff are represented on LinkedIn (even if the information is brief)
Builds up the university brand (and their personal brand)
Training
Students are used to social networking
But training can still be beneficial
Students benefit from training on branding and marketing
Integrate teaching within appropriate modules
Professional Practice
Personal Development Planning
Assessment Idea
Professional Presence Assignment
Students required to represent themselves professionally online
Produce material for a CV
Can include elements of PDP
Mahara
LinkedIn
Web Site
http://emmettcooper.co.uk/
Web Site
http://www.cvickers.co.uk/
LinkedIn Is The Start
Building up a whole online presence across social media is
important
Controlled Facebook
Google+
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Web Site
etc
Discussion: LinkedIn Teaching
Upcoming Workshop
Enhancing The Employability Of Computing Students
Through An Online Professional Presence
Friday 8 June 2012
Birmingham City University
Millennium Point, Birmingham
Free Of Charge (Limited Places)
Contact: [email protected]
http://www.bcu.ac.uk/tee/ctn-hea-employability-workshop
Any Questions?