LinkedIn Tutorial

An Introduction to Today’s Leading

Job-Search Social Network
 Introduction to
The second most popular social network in the U.S., LinkedIn is used for keeping track of
and growing a professional network, finding and applying for jobs, posting and viewing
online résumés, giving and receiving recommendations, learning more about companies,
tracking industry news and moves, and more. There are premium (paid) accounts for job-
seekers and recruiters, which give those who pay for the services more insights into the
robust analytics LinkedIn has about applicants, job openings, and companies.

LinkedIn users with free accounts can:

• Post their résumé online.
• Find and add professional contacts.
• Find and follow companies to receive important updates about job openings, company
news, and more.
• Create and join online professional networking groups by industry, location, age, and
educational background.
• Find and apply for jobs.
• Give and receive recommendations.
• Post public messages—status updates similar to Facebook or Twitter, but these are
typically professional in nature.
• Send private messages.
• Find out how many times their profile has been seen.
• Post a digital portfolio.
• Ask for introductions to their contacts’ contacts.
 Profile
The profile section of LinkedIn should look familiar to you. Most of the
fields correspond to sections of a traditional resume. Complete each
section, and you will have a digital resume. You can include contact
information, a photo—keep it professional—and links to your website,
other social media accounts, and more. Note: Most people want their
LinkedIn profile to be discovered and found by people they do not
know—in the hopes that it will lead to professional development,
career opportunities, networking, and more. Do not share any
information you do not feel comfortable having anyone with Internet
access discovering.
 Jobs
The more complete your profile is, the more likely you are to find jobs that fit you—and the more likely
recruiters and hiring managers are to find you when they search for candidates for their job openings.

Discover job openings: You can search

for jobs by industry, location, job title,
and more. LinkedIn will also suggest jobs
to you based on the information you’ve
shared. Recruiters may also contact you
based on your online profile.

Learn about the job requirements and

company: If you click on a job opening,
you will usually find out when the job
was posted, what skills and experiences
are required, other details like benefits,
and what company—and often who
within the company—posted the
position. Plus, you can usually see how
many people have clicked on and applied
for the job through LinkedIn already. You
can also see a link to the company’s
LinkedIn profile, so you can follow the
company to be notified of news and job
openings.
Apply for jobs: After you search for jobs, you can save them to the “Saved
Jobs” section of LinkedIn for future reference. You can usually also apply
to the job directly through LinkedIn or find out how to apply online.
 Recommendations

When you’re on your profile page,

under each job that you list, there
will be a link that says, “Ask for
recommendations.” Any
recommendations you receive, can
be displayed on your profile—and
potential hiring managers may see
these and take them into
consideration when deciding
whether to offer you an interview.
This is a way to prescreen
candidates before contacting them
or their references.

You can help your contacts out by

also giving them a recommendation.
 Contacts
Consider this section of LinkedIn like your digital address book or Rolodex.
Find: When you first sign up for an account, and in various sections across the site once
you have an account up and running, LinkedIn will prompt you to find contacts by
giving it permission to search your email inbox to find connections who already have
accounts, by emailing your contacts directly, and by suggesting people it thinks you
may know—based on the information, such as job, education, and volunteer history,
you share on your LinkedIn account. You can also always click on the “Contacts” link at
the top of the page, and click “Add Connections,” OR use the search bar at the top of
LinkedIn to find people to add on LinkedIn.

Connect: When LinkedIn finds or suggests contacts to connect

with, you will see a profile icon, the user’s name, current title, or
location and a “+ Connect” button. Click “+ Connect.” An
automated message will appear that may or may not ask how
you know the person. Select the best option. There will also be
an automated email that the person will receive, which you can
customize if you want to be more personalized. Then click “Send
Invitation.”

Sort: Once you have accumulated contacts, you will be able to

sort through them by type—classmates, colleagues, group
members, and so forth—as well as by company, location,
industry, and recently updated profile.

Network Statistics: You can find out statistics on how many

contacts you have, how many contacts they connect you to,
what industries your contacts work in, and where your contacts
are located geographically.
 Groups

You can search for and join groups by industry, location, education
background, and more. There is no cost to join or create a group.

Group members and leaders

can start and join discussions,
announce job openings, and
make other special
announcements. Many
companies and organizations
create groups. Some are private
and require permission to join,
but for many, all you have to do
is click “Join Group.”
 Companies
Find and follow companies to learn about job openings, news, employment trends and statistics,
find contacts who work at the company, and be notified of the company’s status updates.
Companies can use these pages to announce job openings and share links, news, and updates.
 Inbox

Here you’ll find invitations to connect, or become

someone’s contact, as well as messages from contacts. You
can send, delete, search for, and archive messages, too. If
you are a job seeker, you may be notified of job openings
through messages, so don’t forget to check your inbox
every so often—though you will get email notifications of
these messages as well. Note: You do not have to accept a
request to connect.
 News

LinkedIn News is designed to deliver news customized to

your professional interests. It will display industry
updates based on categories you select.
 Skills

You have the option to add “skills” to your LinkedIn profile, but now you can
do more with “skills.” You can track the top companies and LinkedIn profiles
related to those skills, see related skills you may want to add to your profile,
and find job openings related to those skills.
 For Businesses
Businesses can:
• Post job openings and a company
profile.
• Post public messages — status
updates similar to Facebook or Twitter
— about the company.
• Track who is following their company
on LinkedIn, and how your company
page is performing compared to
similar companies within the industry
on LinkedIn.
• Find out statistics about company
employees.
• Promote products and services.
• Advertise.
 Sign Up for an Account at
www.linkedin.com

It is recommended you use your

real name—the one you use in
professional settings. You must
have an email address to sign up.
Note: The password you choose
does not have to be the same as
the one you use to access your
email address, but it can be if
that helps you remember it. Your
password must be at least six
characters in length.

User Agreement and Privacy Policy:

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=user_agreement
http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=privacy_policy
Create Your Profile
 Find LinkedIn Contacts

If you complete this step, you are—temporarily—giving LinkedIn

permission to search your email contacts to find out if any of
them have LinkedIn accounts. Note: You can skip this step.
Confirm Your Email Address
The next step is to confirm
your email address. You will
get an email asking you to
click on a confirmation link.
Once you click on the link,
you will be taken to LinkedIn,
where you will be asked to
click on a button that says
“Confirm.”
 LinkedIn Will Suggest Contacts

If you recognize any of the people LinkedIn suggests, you can add them by
clicking on “Add Connenction(s)” or skip this step for now.
 LinkedIn Will Suggest You Share Your
LinkedIn Profile on Facebook and Twitter

This is a good way to let your Facebook and Twitter contacts know
you’ve joined LinkedIn, but you can always let them know at a later
point, when your profile is more complete. You can skip this step.
 You Will Be Asked to Choose Between
“Basic” and “Premium” Accounts

Try the “Basic” account to start. You will likely find

it meets all of your job-searching needs. Choosing
a “Premium” plan may be advisable if you are a
recruiter or hiring manager and would like extra
tools to help you find qualified candidates.
 Account Settings

Click on your profile name at anytime to change your settings—including your

password, email notifications, account type, privacy, and more.
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