Guide for

Beginners
By Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS
www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyacallahan

Revised 02/11
 INTRODUCTION
Please note that recently LinkedIn has been making
numerous changes—in particular to what features
are available to basic (free) members. I will do my
best to keep this guide updated to reflect those
changes as LinkedIn makes them. Last update 02/11.
I am not one of the rare Certified LinkedIn Trainers nor do I consider myself
any type of special LinkedIn guru. However, I have learned a lot in the time I
have been a member of LinkedIn. As a frequent responder in the Answers
section, I see many of the same questions asked. I also hear a common
refrain from others that have joined: “I don’t get LinkedIn. What are you
supposed to do on it?” I hope this guide will answer some common
questions and provide a more thorough look at what LinkedIn is about. This
is not intended to be an exhaustive guide of everything there is to know
about LinkedIn, however, for the average user it should cover most issues.

The book is divided up into several sections:

Getting Started……………....…………..page 3
Settings………………………....…………..page 8
Contacts……………………….…………...page 10
Groups…………………………….....……..page 16
Answers……………………………...….....page 19
Applications…………………………..…...page 20
Building Your Reputation………….....page 20
Other Common Questions…….…..….page 21

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 2 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 GETTING STARTED
LinkedIn.com is an international professional networking website with over 85 million members. It is
estimated that a new member joins every second! Reasons to join LinkedIn include staying in touch,
reconnecting with past coworkers and classmates, making connections in your industry, finding job
opportunities, information exchange, and creating a global presence online.

Before you join, consider first what you want to accomplish by joining LinkedIn. Are you joining just to
join or are you looking to build a network to help further your career? If it’s the former, then it won’t be
worth your time. If it’s the latter, then it will require effort.

Step 1 Sign up! Visit www.linkedin.com.

Step 2 Fill ’er out!

Completely fill out your information: job title, company,

education, work history (including volunteer positions), awards/
honors, certifications, skills, etc. Sounds like a resume, doesn’t it?
Well it is, so treat it just as you would a paper resume with proper
capitalization and grammar, be honest, and be specific. Unlike a re-
sume however, you don’t have space limitations. So, add all prior
jobs and be detailed in what your job responsibilities and accomplish-
ments were. Note that you can use the “upload resume” feature, but
many have trouble with that feature and it’s just as easy to type or
copy & paste the information since you will probably need to edit the info anyway.

LinkedIn is more than just a static electronic resume. Consider it your professional advertisement to
the world. It should be compelling. It should be strategic. It should make people visiting your profile
take interest in you, want to connect with you, and more importantly—want to hire you!

Your “headline”—what appears directly underneath your name—is automatically generated based on
your current job position. However, you can edit this. Look for the edit button that appears next to your
name. While you may see members who have email addresses, phone numbers, and other extraneous
information in their headline, it actually violates LinkedIn’s User Agreement so don’t do this.

Take the time to craft a knockout personal “summary.” Let your personality shine through (don’t be too
“cutesy” though.) It may take several revisions until you find something you’re happy with. Also, be spe-
cific when filling out the “specialties” and “skills” sections (e.g. “Microsoft Office”).

When entering your job positions in the “experience” area, watch for the drop-down menu that will ap-
pear as you enter your employer’s name. For larger companies, chances are it already appears in the
list. Click the name when you see it and you will be added to the Company Profile page. This will make
it easy for your co-workers to find you and for others to find information about your employer.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 3 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

If you are looking to be found by recruiters, then you will want to use “keywords” in your profile—for
example terms like “Microsoft Office” and “administrative assistant.” This is also why it is important to
spell out words and triple check your spelling! Think like someone hiring for the position you want—
what types of skills and experience will they be looking for and how does that match up with your
resume? Use LinkedIn to demonstrate your competencies, how a company will benefit by hiring you,
and what makes you a better choice than the next candidate. Don’t overdo it, but be conscious about
the words you use in your profile. For example, if you type in “exceptional administrative assistant” in
the People search—the top ranked person is...me. Think about how you would like to “brand” yourself.
“Sales maestro”? “Rockstar Manager”? Just be sure your skills, experience, and reputation back it up.

Tip: Personalize your LinkedIn address. Do a LinkedIn search to see how you can set
yourself apart from others sharing a similar name then create a personalized address and
Profile name accordingly. For example there is only one “Kimberly A. Callahan” on LinkedIn
and that’s me! In the edit profile mode click the edit link next to the Public Profile listing.

Step 3 Start connecting!

To add your first “connections”, you can import your email address books. I personally don’t recom-
mend importing your contacts unless you have hundreds of them. Even if you know the person well,
you should write a brief note to everyone before you send the invitation rather than the default text.
The import feature does not give you this ability. It sends a generic invite. This is critical for people you
may not know as well—remind them who you are and why you want to connect with them. In order to
get this personalization option, you must click on the “Connect With…” link on the person’s actual pro-
file. Take the time to search for friends, family, colleagues, business contacts, etc. This is a great way
to build up your network quickly. Don’t fret if someone doesn’t respond right away since some people
have let their accounts go stale, rarely check in, or simply have a different purpose on LinkedIn.

Step 4 Recommend and be recommended!

Once you’ve got some of your colleagues and business associates as Connections, request
“recommendations” from those who can offer a legitimate reference. Also give recommendations to
those you have worked with. I strongly suggest you don’t give or receive recommendations from people
you wouldn’t be comfortable having a potential employer contact.

Tip: Filling out your profile, adding a photo, and receiving recommendations will make your
Profile more “complete,” which means it will be placed higher in search results. It will also
make people more likely to connect with you.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 4 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

Common Profile Questions
How do I combine profiles/remove a duplicate profile?
You cannot merge profiles or automatically transfer contacts to another profile. So your first step is to
determine which of the profiles you will be deleting. Log into the profile you want to delete. Take note
of or export any connections you have. Then go to Settings and choose Close Your Account. Repeat if
you have more than one duplicate profile. Now log into your remaining profile. Re-invite all the connec-
tions who were associated with your other account(s). Now go back to Settings and then add all of your
Email Addresses to avoid creating a duplicate in the future.

How do I get bullets into my Profile?

Two ways, both of which involve copying & pasting. You can find a profile which includes the bullet or
character you want to use, copy it, and then open your profile in edit mode to paste it in the appropri-
ate location. Or you can open a Word document, create the bullet or character, copy it, and then open
your profile in edit mode to paste it. I have found this method doesn’t always work. Again a reminder
that these types of characters are not allowed to be pasted into your name or headline fields.

Does LinkedIn allow HTML?

No, LinkedIn does not allow HTML.

How do I add links to my profile?

As noted above, LinkedIn does not allow HTML and links you add to the text in your profile will not be
active. LinkedIn provides three slots for links. Use them wisely. Also note that if your company has a
profile and it is properly selected in your job entry, visitors to your profile can access the link that way.

One note about adding personal links—whether it’s a personal website, a blog, Twitter, or your Face-
book profile. First and foremost LinkedIn is a professional networking site. Consider whether it is ap-
propriate to link all of your online websites together. Don’t ruin your professional reputation because of
risqué photos or crude language. You don’t need to be “boring”, but you do need to be smart.

How do people download my resume?

They don’t. Unless you have added an Application such as Box.Net to your profile then uploaded your
resume document there. Using the “import resume” function serves only to help new members to pop-
ulate their profile, it does make it available for others to download.

How do I add photos?

You can create a Slideshare presentation or you can add the Box.Net application and upload a PPT,
PDF, or other files. If you have one of your three website links available, create an account with an
online photo sharing service such as Flickr and link to it. LinkedIn does not provide a “photo album”
feature as some other websites do.

I cannot find my profile

Patience, grasshopper. Indexing on LinkedIn may take a few days. It can take anywhere from a few
days to a few weeks for you to show up in search engines like Google. Second, keep in mind that you
may not be the only person with your name no matter how unique you may think it is! So you will need
to take some steps to help increase your visibility. 1. Complete your profile and make more of it public-
ly available. 2. Start connecting with people. 3. If you have a middle initial, you might consider adding
that to your name so that you stand apart from the others with your same name. You'll note that I use
my full first name and middle initial.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 5 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

Managing recommendations
Mouse over Profile in the static menu and select “Recommendations.” You can “hide” a recommenda-
tion someone has sent to you, but you cannot delete it entirely. Find the position for which the recom-
mendation was made and click the “manage” link. Find the recommendation you want to hide, un-
check the “show” box, and then “Save Changes.”

If a recommendation someone sent you needs to be edited, you can click the “request a new or re-
vised recommendation” link. The individual can also initiate the edits on their end.

If you want to withdraw a recommendation you have made, click on the “Sent Recommendations” tab.
Click “edit” next to the recommendation. Look for the “withdraw this recommendation” link. If you
simply need to edit or amend the recommendation, you can do this here too.

If someone sends you a recommendation, but chooses the wrong position for it. They can edit it on
their end to choose the correct job. You can also change it yourself—though you need to be very careful
when doing this as it will involve removing the position the recommendation is currently associated
with. So the first step is to go to your profile and copy all of the job description information and paste it
to a document on your computer. Then, remove that position. This will result in the recommendation
being “orphaned”. You can now go to the Recommendations area and associate that recommendation
with the correct position. The last step is to go to your profile and add back the position you removed.

How do I add a blog feed?

The only way to integrate a blog into you profile is by using the application. Click on “More” from the
static menu, choose “Applications”, and then select the appropriate application.

Should I post a photo of myself?

Like many people, I'm not fond of having my photo taken and I've not yet seen one of me I like....but I
digress. The importance of a photo is that it puts a face to a name. Many people are visual and like to
see who they are dealing with. A photo also personalizes your profile. I have heard it put this way:
would you go to a networking event with a bag over your head or a mask on?

Where should I add volunteer positions?

There's several ways to go about this:
You can list each position as a separate listing in the Experience section just as you would a paid job.

You can create a listing(s) for "philanthropy", "volunteer positions", "advisory board member" or other
appropriate title then list your positions this way. Note: you will be required to add a company name.
You can get a little creative here. For example most of my volunteer positions are listed under
"Philanthropist at Planet Earth".

You can also choose to list them under the "Groups and Associations" area or in the "Summary" area.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 6 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 USER AGREEMENT

Most people breeze past LinkedIn’s User Agreement and miss

important points. It is critical to note:

Profiles are for “natural persons” only (not a company or mascot)

Individuals may only have one profile (in other words you may not
have one “personal” profile and one “business” profile)

Photos must be headshots of the individual (i.e. no logos, pets,

graphics, poses with kids/spouses, group photos, etc.)

Do not place your email, phone number, or address in your public

profile except where LinkedIn specifically requests such info

LinkedIn only recommends connecting with people you know (or

at least have interacted with in some way)

Post accurate information

The LinkedIn User Agreement can be found linked at the bottom of every page.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 7 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 SETTINGS
It may seem odd to dedicate a section to something so mundane-sounding as “settings.” However, this
is really the nerve center of your LinkedIn account. Chances are if you need to change something, Set-
tings is the place you want to go. We won’t touch on every item listed, but look at a few of them.

How do you get there? In the upper right hand corner of your LinkedIn screen you will see your name
with a blue down arrow next to it. Click the down arrow next your name and choose the Settings option.
Enter your password if asked and you’re ready to explore.

Email Addresses
Let’s start with an important issue. A common problem on LinkedIn is that an individual signs up with
one email address. Then they receive an invitation at another, accept it, and inadvertently create a du-
plicate profile. Not only is this contrary to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, but it makes it more difficult for
people to find you (which one do they connect to?!) and it splits your contacts up. An easy solution:
associate all of your email addresses with your account. You can even add old or unused addresses—
this will help those trying to get in touch with you to be able to using an old email. You should confirm
all active email addresses. If you ever want to change your primary email account (the account where
LinkedIn email goes to) then you simply change the selection. You can login using any address
associated with your account. Also, when sending emails through LinkedIn you can select any of the
email addresses associated with your account in the “from” field.

Public Profile
This is where you can choose how much of your profile to make publicly viewable. I recommend mak-
ing as much of it viewable as you’re comfortable with. If you are actively seeking a job, then it is critical
for you to make it completely viewable. This also helps your search rankings on LinkedIn and Google.

Connections Browse
Choose whether to allow your contacts to view your other connections. While some people, such as
recruiters may have good reason to want to hide their connections, it is preferable to leave them open
to your contacts. Only your 1st degree connections can see your other connections. A good rule of
thumb is that if you don’t “trust” someone with your connections list, then don’t connect to them.

Profile Views
There are several different settings you can choose from when deciding what information people will
see when you visit their profile. “Nothing” of course means they will see no information. You can also
choose to remain somewhat anonymous by having only your title and employer show. These two set-
tings however mean that you will not be able to view any information about who has viewed your pro-
file other than the statistics located on the Home page. The third setting will display your name, photo,
title, and employer. It will also allow you to see names of people who have recently visited your profile.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 8 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

Member Feed Visibility
This will display your actions such as posting a network activity update, joining or starting groups, com-
ments you’ve made on other updates, Answers activity and posts to groups you share with that con-
nection. It’s a good idea to keep this visible to others. You can choose a range of options from
“nobody” to “everybody.” Keeping your actions visible helps your connections keep tabs on you.

Profile and Status Updates

This will alert your connections to profile updates, recommendations you make, and companies you
follow. Again, a good idea to keep this visible to your connections. If you will be doing a lot of updating
of your profile, you might consider turning this off temporarily.

Email Notifications
The Receiving Messages link will allow to you change how you receive email from LinkedIn. Want to
turn off your daily group digests? Want to stop receiving a notification via email for each invitation you
receive? One notification you cannot turn off is when someone accepts your invitation to connect.
LinkedIn will always send you an email about this.

Invitation Filtering
You have three options on LinkedIn. The default, and recommended, setting is to accept ALL invita-
tions. This means that yes you will have to deal with unwanted invitations, but click “ignore” and move
on. The next option is to require people who want to connect with you to have your email address. The
most restrictive option is to limit invitations only to people who are in an imported address book.

Groups Order and Display

You can also access this area from the “My Groups” page. You can change the order the groups ap-
pear on your “My Groups” page. You click the “Member Settings” link off to the right to change the
email digest type, contact setting, and email address those are sent to as well as whether the group
logo will be displayed on your profile.

There are numerous other settings. I recommend you take time to explore each one.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 9 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 CONTACTS
Making contacts, also known as connections, is the purpose behind LinkedIn. How do you find them?
Once you make connections, what do you do with them? How do you keep track of them?

Invitations
How to Connect With Someone
As discussed earlier, it is critical to personalize each invitation you send. To access this, visit the per-
son’s profile, click on the “Connect With…” link in the menu to the right. Other ways to send invitations
are to click on the “Add Connections” in the upper right hand corner or by choosing the option under
the “Contacts” menu option. But again, this will not allow you to personalize your invitation.

Who Do I Connect With?

Okay, so you have exhausted your lists of family, friends, and colleagues. Hopefully this will put your
list of contacts in double figures. Since LinkedIn recommends only inviting “people you know” to con-
nect, how do you get to “know” others on LinkedIn? We will discuss Groups in further detail in the next
section. They are a great place to interact with other members who you already share something in
common with. If you belong to a Group and the individual member has allowed emails to be sent from
other Group members, send the individual an email asking if they would like to connect. If a member
of a Group starts a discussion thread, you have the option (under "More") to reply privately.

If you are responding to a question a user has asked in the Answers section you can send them a
"Private Reply" in addition to your response. If you ask a question all responses will arrive as an email
in your LinkedIn Inbox which allows you to respond to the individual directly.

You can also check a user's profile and see if they have a link to a blog, Twitter, or personal website.
You can contact them through those means.

Finally, use your current contacts to introduce you to interesting people they are connected to.

LinkedIn offers a service called “InMails.” For basic accounts, the cost is $10 each. You must decide if
it’s worth the cost if you absolutely must contact a person and have no other way to get in touch.

You may find some users indiscriminately send invitations to everyone they suspect has a pulse
(others aren’t even that picky). You needn’t feel obligated to accept every invitation you receive.

Sent Invitations
You can get to the list of invitations you sent in two ways: the first is at the bottom of the contacts sec-
tion. You will see a link that shows the number of your “outstanding” invitations (no, LinkedIn doesn’t
think they’re really great, it means they haven’t been acted upon yet.) You can also access that list by
clicking on the Inbox option from the static menu, then choosing Sent in the left hand menu, then the
Invitations tab. FYI: You are initially given somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 invitations. Should
you exhaust that amount, you can contact Customer Service and request additional invitations be add-
ed to your account. If you think are close to the 3,000 limit, it might be time to withdraw some.

To withdraw an invitation, you will need to click on the link for the invitation that says “Join my network
on LinkedIn.” On that screen you will see a “withdraw” button. You must click that button. Deleting the
invitation does not withdraw it, it just removes it from your list.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 10 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

If someone “ignores” your invitation (which actually sends it to the “Archives” area of their Inbox), it will
not be noted as such on your invitations list. The only notation is when the person “accepts” or choos-
es the “I Don’t Know This Person” option after selecting “ignore.”

Avoiding “IDK”
If a person chooses “ignore” on an invite they receive, there is an additional option to select “I Don’t
Know This Person.” Why does this matter? If you receive three “IDK” responses, you will receive a
warning. This may mean that for every invitation you want to send, you must first enter the person’s
email address. If you receive 5-7 IDK responses LinkedIn may suspend your account. Regardless of
who you are inviting, you should always personalize the invitation and be specific as to why you want to
connect. Even if the other person isn’t interested in connecting, they are less likely to choose the “I
Don’t Know This Person” option if you explain why you are inviting them.

Managing Your Connections

To access your list of connections at any time, simply click on the “Contacts” option from the static
menu that appears near the top of every screen. The Contacts area is divided into three columns. On
the left you will see a list of your “tags” and several other headings such as “Companies” and
“Locations.” In the middle you will see by default a complete scrolling list of all of your contacts in al-
phabetical order. The right hand column will show you some basic details of the contact you click on.

As you scroll down your list, you might notice some of your contacts have a yellow number. That means
they have added new contacts. If that connection has their list of contacts available to view, then se-
lect the contact by clicking on their listing in the middle column and then click on the connections link
that appears in the third column. At the top of their list of contacts will be their most recent connec-
tions. Get into the habit of keeping tabs on who your connections are linking to.

When you have a connection highlighted and their information is displaying in the third column, you
will notice that there is a link that says “Edit Details.” If you click on it, a new screen will appear. This
will allow you to fill in additional information about your contact. This is info that displays only to you,
so if you add an address or personal note you needn’t worry about others having access to it.

Another area you can edit is “Tags.” When you initially send an invitation to someone and select the
category, this not only alerts the person receiving the invitation to how you know each other, but will
alert LinkedIn to how it will categorize it in your list of contacts once they accept. It is worth noting that

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 11 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

you should choose the appropriate category when sending an invitation so as not to misrepresent your-
self, however should you choose the “wrong” category (or likewise a person sending you an invitation),
it really isn’t that big of a deal once the connection is made because you can edit the tags. Like the
“details” section, the tags are only visible to you and not to anyone else. LinkedIn not only allows you
to edit the tags, but to add your own. You can do this two ways, by clicking on the edit tags button of
the individual contact or clicking on the “manage” link that appears next to “tags” in the left column.
Day to day this may not seem like something that’s important. However, if you would like to send a
message to certain contacts, it may be helpful to have them tagged in a way that will make it easy for
you to navigate. In the left hand column LinkedIn provides several filters for you already—including
company, location, and industry. But let’s say in the course of making connections, you learned six of
them were interested in a gardening workshop you were putting together. You can add a tag to each
profile that says “gardening.” When you were ready to send them information, you could click on tags
in the left hand menu, select the gardening tag, select all of those contacts, and then send a message
to them all at once through LinkedIn with the workshop information. If you have hundreds of contacts,
this is a real time-saver!

Removing Connections
On the contacts screen, you will see a link off to the right that says “Remove Connections.” Click on
that, then follow the instructions for selecting those you would like to remove. The connection is not
notified of this transaction, although the fewer connections they have the more likely they are to notice
one missing.

Exporting Contacts
Still in the Contacts area, scroll down to the bottom of the screen. You’ll see two links relating to your
contacts. The one on the right, aptly titled “Export Connections” will take you to the export feature. Just
as you would do any time you save a file, pay attention to where on your computer you are saving it!
One catch in exporting your contacts: LinkedIn will only export very limited information. So, if you were
hoping to create a fully populated database or spreadsheet, you’re out of luck. You will only receive a
list with first name, last name, email, title, and company. When you download the file you will note it
has headings for lots of fields, so why does LinkedIn include columns for these fields but doesn’t in-
clude the information? It’s a mystery. Even if you aren’t planning on creating a database, exporting
your contacts regularly is a good way to keep a back-up list.

Keeping Tabs on Your Contacts

Having a network won’t be of much use to you if you don’t
know how you can help them and vice versa. People are also
less likely to help you if you only contact them when you want
something. The best network isn’t necessarily the biggest one,
it’s the strongest one. And to build a strong network, you need
to build strong relationships. So how to do this? One tool
LinkedIn provides is located on your Home page. This will be
the page you come to when you log in to LinkedIn. It also the
first option in the static menu near the top of each page.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 12 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 YOUR NETWORK
What is my “network”?
Your LinkedIn network consists of your first, second, and third degree connections. Every time you con-
nect with someone, you are increasing the size of your network. LinkedIn will give you a rough estimate
of the size of your network—this is the number of people you potentially have access to on the website.

= First degree connection is someone you have chosen to connect to.

= Second degree connection. This is a contact of a first degree

connection. They can introduce you to this person.

= Third degree connection. This is a contact of a second degree

connection. You can be introduced to this person, but it will require an
extra step in the process.

How Do I Get Introduced to Someone?

Visit the profile of the person you want to be introduced to. If the person is a second or third degree
connection, you can click on the “Get Introduction Through A Connection” link that appears off to the
right of their summary box. If you have more than one first degree contact that is connected to this
person, you can choose who you want to introduce you. Write a note to the individual in the top mes-
sage field explaining why you would like to be connected to them. Then write a note to your connection
in the bottom message field—explain to them why you would like to be introduced to this person.

If the individual is a third degree connection, then you will need an intermediary. You will need one of
your first degree connections to request an introduction from one of their connections.

What if I am unable to request an introduction?

If the person is open to InMails, you can send them one if you think the cost ($10 for a basic account
holder) is worth it. If they have a website, blog, or Twitter account, you can try reaching them outside of
LinkedIn. If they belong to any Groups, you can try joining one of the groups they belong to.

What if I want to introduce connections?

There are several ways you can do this. First, one of the connections can initiate a formal introduction.
Second, you can visit each person’s profile and choose the “forward profile” option. Write a note to the
person explaining why you are forwarding the profile to them. Third, you can send a LinkedIn message
to both connections (or one at a time) explaining why you think the two of them should meet.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 13 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

Common Contacts Questions
How Do I Know If My Invitation Has Been Ignored?
You don't. You will only see a notation if it has been accepted or they have clicked "I Don't Know This
Person."

How Long Should I Keep Outstanding Invitations?

It's up to you. I keep mine indefinitely because I realize that not everyone uses LinkedIn regularly. If
you'd really like to be connected to them, then leave it. If you want to set a "time limit" then that would
need to be based on your personal preference.

What is a "LION"?
“LION” is an acronym for “LinkedIn Open Networker.” This group of people is not officially endorsed by
LinkedIn, but they do not explicitly “crack down” on such behavior either. An “open networker” is some-
one who connects with anyone and everyone. They will often add “LION” to their name or headline
and/or boast of their number of connections and network size. You can find groups dedicated to open
networking if this is something that interests you. In general, this is not a networking tactic I would rec-
ommend as I believe it is more valuable to have a “strong” network rather than simply a “large” one.

Why do I keep being asked for an email address when I want to connect with someone?
Several possible reasons:
Using the “Add Connections” option will always require you to submit the person’s email address.

You have received too many “I Don’t Know” responses to other invitations.

The individual has set their invitation filter to accept only those users who know their email address.

How do I find people that I went to school with?

Many colleges and Greek/Service/Honors/Athletics organizations have alumni Groups on LinkedIn so
you may want to seek them out and join.

Another way is to click the "Add Connections" link in the upper right hand part of your screen. Click the
"Classmates" link then click the link to your school and like magic, there's the list of folks you went to
school with.

Lastly, you can use the Advanced People Search.

Also make sure you completely fill out your education information (spell out school completely, list cor-
rect years, major, and activities) so that others can more easily find you.

How do I send a message to multiple contacts at once?

To start a new message, click on the Compose button from your Inbox. To forward a message, click on
the message link and then click the Forward button. To select multiple addressees, click on the
LinkedIn icon to the right of the To field. This will bring up a new window with a list of your contacts.
Select the check mark boxes to the left of the names you want to email. You are limited to sending a
message to 50 people at a time. So if you have more, you will need to do multiple emails. Once you
have all the names checked, click the Finish button (you may need to scroll down to see the button.)
Before you send your message, I recommend, out of courtesy, unchecking the "Allow recipients to see
each other’s names and email addresses" which appears underneath the message window.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 14 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

Network Activity
Browse through your "Network Activity" on the Home page. You can view new connections your con-
tacts have made; read their "Network Updates"; see if they have posted to a group you share; asked or
answered any questions in the Answers section; if they have Twitter linked to their Profile you might
see these updates as well; and you can also see if they have made any updates to their profile. You
can “like” or “comment” on many of these. If you "follow" any companies, you will see hires and depar-
tures listed here as well. You can even set this up as an RSS feed.

Now there are a few variables here: first, your connection has to be active on LinkedIn in order for
there to be activity associated with their account; second, they must have their network activity set to
be viewable by their contacts; and third, you have to have their activity showing on your home page (it
will by default but you can “hide” activity by specific contacts by mousing over an update and clicking
the “Hide” link that appears.)

Note that if you click “Hide” on a contact’s update on your Home

page, it will hide all of their activity. It will not simply hide that par-
ticular update or one type of update from them. Now what hap-
pens if you accidentally click this? Well first, you will immediately
have the opportunity to undo this action. Secondly, you can click
on the “Hidden” link in the “More” menu at the top of the Net-
work Activity area and select “Show Updates.” Additionally, you
can also click on the “Customize” link that appears under the
“More” menu. Click on the “Manage Updates by Connection” tab
and select the option to display their activity. A contact will never
be notified if you choose to hide their updates.

Now you can choose to hide certain types of updates, but this will apply to all of your connections, not
just specified ones. To do this, you’ll need to click on the “Customize” link. You will be on the “Manage
Updates by Type” tab. You can also choose how many updates show on your Home page.

Email
It’s also a good idea to get into the habit of periodically sending an email to your contacts individually.
A few lines will do—ask what new projects they are working on; comment about one of their recent net-
work updates or blog posts; or ask if there’s anything you can do to help them (be genuine in this offer
of assistance.)

Take It Offline
Some members even periodically meet local connections, or connections whose city they will be travel-
ing to, for a “coffee meeting.” Now of course this may not be possible for everyone. However it does
demonstrate the need to integrate your online and offline networking. For your local LinkedIn group(s),
if there isn’t already a regular offline networking event for group members, consider organizing an
evening meet-up at a library or a power lunch at a favorite deli. Add your profile address to your busi-
ness card so those you meet in the course of doing business or at networking events can connect with
you online. Find ways to introduce your connections who are not on LinkedIn to those who are.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 15 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 GROUPS
Groups are accessed by clicking the Groups link in
the static menu. There are hundreds of thousands of
Groups. It can be a little intimidating to know where
to begin. If you belong to a professional organization,
start by seeing if they have a group. Next, look for
groups in your geographic area. Are there software
programs you use frequently such as Microsoft Of-
fice? There are many official groups for those as well.
Don’t discount groups with small membership numbers as bigger doesn’t always mean better. You are
limited to joining 50 groups. Focus on finding “good” groups rather than joining a ton of them.

Post an introduction in groups where that is appropriate (sometimes you might see an “introductions”
thread) and participate in the discussions. Don’t respond just to respond though. Frequently posting
links to your blog and other self-promotional posts aren’t considered good etiquette in most groups.

When you join a group you have a few options such as receiving an email digest or new email for each
new post and whether to allow group members to email you. I recommend you use an email digest to
keep up on group activity and to keep the option to allow group members to contact you. Some group
managers require an approval process before giving new members access to groups. It can take days,
weeks, or even months if the group manager does not log in to their account often. Chances are if
more than a week goes by without your request being processed, then the group is probably not very
active. You’ll have to decide if you want to keep waiting or to withdraw the request and move on. Note
that you can change your digest options at any time either through Settings or by clicking on the
“More...” menu link specific to each group and then clicking on “My Settings.”

Note that most groups have “Jobs” and “Promotions” tabs. The Jobs tab is self-explanatory. The Pro-
motions tab causes some confusion. The best rule of thumb is to use it to “promote” your blog, web-
site, or events rather than posting it in the regular Discussion area. If you have any questions about
what is acceptable, look to see if there are any group rules posted and/or contact the group manager
to ask (to find the group managers click on “More…” and “Group Profile”). Either way, you don’t want to
overuse this feature. Many LinkedIn users consider the posting of blogs to be “spam”, so be very care-
ful how you use this feature and either include comments of your own and/or a part of the blog post if
it’s from your own personal blog.

One “quirk” with LinkedIn and Groups: whenever you make a connection, you are automati-
cally set up to “follow” that person’s activity. If you share a group, in the Updates box off to
the right, instead of seeing group activity, you will just see activity from the member(s) you
are “following.” To turn this off, go to “My Groups” under the Group option. Click on the
“Following” tab. On the left you will see a “manage” box with two op-
tions. Choose the “People…” option and mark “ Stop following” for each.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 16 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

You can also choose to “follow” group members even if you are not connected to them. To do this, you
will see a “follow” link underneath their photo in posts. Members will not be notified of this but will see
your name if they look to see who their “followers” are.

You can also choose to “follow” discussions of interest. If you start a discussion or respond to a discus-
sion, you will “follow” it automatically. Underneath the first post of a discussion you will see a series of
buttons. There is one with a star named “Follow.”

Tip: You can send a free LinkedIn email to most members you share a group with. It’s helpful
to join a few large groups to give you greater access to people you may not know, but might
want to get in touch with down the road. When you click on their profile, you will see a “Send
Message” link which allow you to contact them.

To leave a group, first go to the “My Groups” page. Click on the group you want to leave and this will
take you the main discussion board. Click on the “More” menu option for the group and choose “My
Settings.” At the bottom of the screen will be a button to leave the group.

Mind Your Manners

Most people have participated in some kind of Internet forum be-
fore. Those forums typically allow users to choose an "anonymous"
user name which we have all seen lead to abuse in various ways.
People feel empowered to act like bullies or say things they might
not normally say in person. LinkedIn groups do not provide such
"anonymity." Thus, you need be particularly careful about what you
say and how you say it. As with any written communication, your
tone and intent is not always obvious to the reader. There are users
I would never consider working with professionally based on posts
they have made. The same is true in the “Answers” section. Addi-
tionally, you must also keep in mind that whether you intend to or
not, your behavior on LinkedIn reflects on your employer.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 17 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

Common Groups Questions
How Long Does It Take For My Request to Join a Group Be Accepted?
It depends. Some groups are set up to automatically allow every request. Other groups require approv-
al. The manager(s) of the group must log into LinkedIn and check the pending requests. They may do
this every day, every week, or only sporadically. Like outstanding invitations, you have to decide how
long you want to wait. You can send the group manager a message and sometimes this will speed the
approval process up. Chances are however, the longer it takes for the approval process, the less active
the group is likely to be.

Does LinkedIn allow HTML?

No, LinkedIn does not allow HTML.

How do I attach photos or documents to a post?

You can’t. However, you can create add an application to your profile and host files there or direct
them to a link on the Internet where the files can be found. Then direct group members to go there.

How Can I Find Group Members By [Country, Employer, etc.]?

Click on the Advanced Search link from the Members page of the group. Technically in order to filter by
specific group, you need to have a paid account, but if you click on the advanced search link from the
members page, initial results will be members of that group. Then you can scroll down to the filters
that are available to you. The results will end up showing you ALL of your group members. Then put the
group name in the search box and keep the filters box checked. You can also type in the country in the
search box from the Members page, but with a free account you are limited in the number of results.
Using the Advanced Search above will return more results - though perhaps not perfect.

Sharing documents
If you want to share documents you either need to host them on a website or add the Box.Net applica-
tion to your profile, upload the documents, and direct people to your profile to download them.

Add Links to Discussions

Make sure that you hit the "attach" button after you paste (or type) the link into the box. Then you will
need to hit "share" to post it to the group.

How do I delete my discussion?

Find the topic you started. Click on it to open the thread. Select Delete from the "More..." menu.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 18 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 ANSWERS
There is a section called Answers, which can be found under the
“More…” option on the menu. Look for “open” questions and re-
spond to those you can meaningfully contribute to. You can ask 10
questions per month (each of which stays “open” for 7 days by de-
fault), but can respond to an unlimited number of questions. Doz-
ens of new questions are posted every day. You can even add an
RSS feed by question category. This is a great way to build your rep-
utation (by helping others and contributing quality answers), in-
crease your visibility on LinkedIn, and meet potential new contacts.

Tip: If your response is marked as a “Best Answer” it will be listed on your profile and give you
greater credibility when answering questions in that topic area. Do note that the user who
asks the question must rate the answer (using their own criteria.) Many users do not do this.

How do you know when you have received a “Best Answer”? The “asker” has the
option to send you an email notification. Some do this. Otherwise in the Answers
section, click on the My Q&A tab, then click on the “My Answers” tab. You will
see a large green-bordered box. Your best answer ratings will also show up
underneath your name when you post a response in the Answers section.

When you ask a question, it is good etiquette to rate the answers when the ques-
tion closes. You will not receive an email notification, so you must go to the “My
Q&A” tab of the Answers section. It is also a good rule of thumb to close “how-to”
questions as soon as they have been satisfactorily answered. It’s also good
etiquette to respond to each answer, even if it’s just with a simple “thank you.”

One item that catches people’s eye is the “This Week’s Top Experts” listing. This
is a bit of a misnomer because it is not related to the “Expert” rating you are
awarded when your response is selected as the “Best Answer.” It is based solely
on the quantity of questions answered, rather than the quality of questions an-
swered. I disagree with this system of recognition. Focus on quality not quantity.

Tip: One shortcut used by frequent responders is to create a document or file with an-
swers to frequently asked questions. I find plusses and minuses to this tactic. On the plus
side, if it is easily accessible and organized, it can be a time saver and provide concise,
accurate responses. On the minus side, it can also become obvious very quickly when
someone is pasting the same answer over and over. Sometimes the formatting is off when
pasted. And if there is extraneous information in your answer it either may not be applicable to the
question or it can become tiresome for others to read repeatedly. I have found personally that it often
takes as much time to find the document, open it, find the appropriate answer, copy it, then paste it as
it does to just type the answer each time. Another note: LinkedIn does not provide a mechanism to
save your answers or to search them, so if you have one that you especially like or received a good
response, you might consider copying and pasting those to a file if you want to reference it later.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 19 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 APPLICATIONS
LinkedIn offers nearly 20 applications—with more being added regularly. You can access them one of
two ways: first mouse over “More” in the static menu and select Applications or in the edit profile
mode you will see an option to add applications. You can share your reading list using an Amazon.Com
application. You can share your Tweets or blog posts (provided those are more professional than per-
sonal). Want to upload documents or presentations? Have events you want to list? You can do all of
those things and more with the various applications.

One application I find particularly useful is Box.Net. Box.Net is

a free personal virtual storage site. This allows users to up-
load any types of file (provided they meet the size guidelines).
Although any user can print your LinkedIn profile in a resume
format, it may not look the way you would want it to and it will
be longer than your typical resume. Use Box.Net to upload
your resume (I recommend removing any contact information
you wouldn’t want everyone to have access to). Have projects
or a photography portfolio you want to share? Use Box.Net.
Have files you want to share with group members or others?
Use Box. Net. Even better, you are provided a direct link to your folder and each individual file so you
can share them even more easily. Not only can you conveniently provide resume information and a
demonstration of your skills, but you can share presentations and white papers which will help add
value to your presence on LinkedIn. It also gives people another reason to visit your profile.

BUILD YOUR REPUTATION

While its placement is near the end, it’s certainly not an afterthought. In short: be a “giver” not a
“taker.” Add value to LinkedIn by providing information, helping others, and fostering thoughtful dis-
cussion. Frequent promotional announcements or requests for job leads aren’t relationship builders.
This is true of any type of networking. Be an individual that others enjoy interacting with.
In Answers, answer more questions than you ask. Answer questions accurately and courteously.
Don’t regurgitate the same information as another responder simply to get your name out there
and don’t use it as an opportunity to advertise yourself unless it is absolutely germane to the post.
You will see several different tactics to answering questions, and not all of them will build your rep-
utation as someone who is a reliable resource. Put yourself in the place of the asker first.
In Groups, while you may find your daily blog posts vastly interesting and think your business is the
bee’s knees, others don’t want to see a new post from you every day promoting such. Instead,
become an active member and respond thoughtfully to other posts. Share useful info related to the
group topic. Members who want to know more about you will click on your profile.
Send genuine invitation requests and interact with your connections. Don’t be viewed as a “name
collector.” Find out how you can help others in your network and follow through.
Use applications such as Box.Net and Slideshare to provide informational material you have creat-
ed. Build your expertise. Use the Events application and your Network Update to invite others to
events of interest.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 20 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

 OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS
How do I add LinkedIn to my email signature?
There are several ways you can add your LinkedIn address to your email signature:

1. At its most basic, just copy and paste your personalized link from your profile into your email
program’s signature field. Example:
Sincerely,
Kim Callahan, CPS
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyacallahan

2. Make it spiffier by adding a LinkedIn graphic if your email supports an HTML signature. To do this,
you can visit the Logo and Branding Guidelines page at http://developer.linkedin.com/docs/DOC-
1101 which will display several different LinkedIn logos. Choose the appropriate size, copy it, and
then paste it into your email signature field. In some programs you may even be able to make the
logo itself a clickable link.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyacallahan

3. Visit LinkedIn's Customized Email Signature page for Outlook and Thunderbird at
http://www.linkedin.com/signature?display= There are several designs to choose from.

How can I add a LinkedIn button to my website?

The first location is from the “Promote Profile” area. This will provide you with ready-made buttons and
code for you to copy & paste. http://www.linkedin.com/profile?promoteProfile A similar button is avail-
able for companies on your company profile page.

The second location is a page where you can obtain a LinkedIn logo.
http://developer.linkedin.com/docs/DOC-1101

What are the benefits to a paid membership?

Additional Inmails which allow you to send emails to people you don't know; advanced search features;
more search results; and seeing last names of third degree connections. You really have to decide if
these features are worth it. The vast majority of LinkedIn members use the free basic membership ac-
count. In the lower right hand corner of the LinkedIn screen you will see a link that says “Upgrade My
Account.” You can view a comparison of the different premium account options there or via this link:
https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/71/kw/premium%20account/related/1

How do I create a page for my company?

There are two ways you can do this. The first is that in the process of adding the job to your profile,
LinkedIn will ask if you want to create a page when it doesn’t recognize the company. The other meth-
od is to visit the Companies section and create a new page that way.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 21 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS

How can I control who edits my company page?
By default, any individual with a confirmed email address at your company’s domain may edit the
page. However, you can now limit editing to certain LinkedIn members without the need to purchase
an upgraded account. You will see an option to limit editing to designated users only.

How do I add employees to my company page?

You can’t. Employees must add themselves by editing their profile. They will need find that job listing
on their profile, choose the edit link associated with it, and then choose the change company link. They
will need to clear the company field and begin typing the company name. As they do this, a pop-list of
companies appears. When they see the correct company in the list, they need to select it. Then save
changes! Once this is done, a “page” icon will appear next to the company on their profile and they
should now be appearing on the company’s page.

How do I remove someone from my company’s page who no longer works here or has never worked here?
You can’t. The first step is to see if you can contact the individual and request they update their profile
so that they are no longer listed as a current employee. In the case of someone who has never worked
for the company and will not respond to requests to update their profile, then your only other option is
to contact LinkedIn’s Customer Service. In addition to contacting them directly, you can also click on
the person’s profile and look for an exclamation point icon next to the employment listing. Click on that
and you are given an option to report the inaccuracy.

How do connect my LinkedIn Profile to my Facebook page?

Use the LinkedIn app on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/linkedinprofile/?ref=ts You can
then use one of your three website links on LinkedIn to link to your Facebook page. Please keep
in mind however that LinkedIn is a professional networking website. So if you are going to direct peo-
ple to your Facebook page, make sure it’s something you don’t mind potential employers seeing.

Removing deceased persons from LinkedIn

If the person is deceased, you have verification of their death, and know what email address they used
to register, you may submit a request for removal. While some argue it is unnecessarily “difficult”, it
should be so that ill-intentioned people are not able to erroneously report another member as de-
ceased out of spite. The Verification of Death form and instructions can be found at the following link.
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2842

Where can I find LinkedIn demographic information?

One location is http://advertising.linkedin.com/audience/

What is OpenLink?
Premium account holders can choose to allow any LinkedIn member to send them a message for free.
To enable this, go to Settings and change the options to allow OpenLink Messages. You can also use
advanced search features to search for other OpenLink members.

What is Profile Organizer?

Premium members can "save" the profiles of members for later reference. Think of it as a
"bookmarking" system. Premium Members can also create folders in which to organize the saved pro-
files and also make notes on each profile.

What if I get something that is SPAM?

When you open the message in your LinkedIn Inbox. You will see a button to mark the message as
SPAM. If the person is a contact, disconnect. If a group member, report to the owner/manager.

LinkedIn Guide for Beginners 22 Kimberly A. Callahan, CPS