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11/30/2017
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Harnessing the Power of LinkedIn in Your Job [re]Search
Dr. Helen Pho, Associate Director, Career Services
50% of networking is gathering information you can use
to identify and plan for career goals
50% is sharing information about yourself with others
to achieve your career goals
RESEARCHBRANDING
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What we’ll cover today…1. Identifying your career goals2. Branding basics: choosing a good photo and
URL3. Writing strong headlines and summaries4. Showing your accomplishments5. Seeking and giving recommendations6. Researching employers7. Researching your contacts + alumni8. Being active – professionally active9. Joining and participating in groups10. Researching jobs
Questions?
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#1Identifying your
career goals
Research starts with good questions
Things you already know from your own research:
• The type of question affects the research approach
• Specific questions lead to definitive answers
• Having well‐defined questions allows you to identify an endpoint to your research
• Career exploration can seem scary and overwhelming– Finding out a certain piece of information about a certainposition at a certain type of employer is manageable
• Networking in general terms can seem terrifying– Making a specific connection with a person who can answer some of your questions is easier
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Career exploration – background research
• The following information can help you start the process:– What careers do you know about?
– What careers have you heard of?
– What companies have you heard about?
– What companies interest you?
– What job titles have you heard about?
– What job titles interest you?
• Google every term you write down until you begin to re‐read some of the same information– Collect keywords (especially those you are unfamiliar with)
– Keywords are great for “literature reviews” and research
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Record your exploration
• A new Excel spreadsheet for every career field you are exploring (e.g., consulting, science writing, non‐profits, architecture)
• A separate column for:
– Employer name
– Department
– Job titles
– Skills requested/required (from job descriptions and LinkedIn profiles)
– Contacts
– Questions
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Career exploration – background research
• Create a database
• Perform your review:– Career Services reference library, online subscriptions, “resources by career field” webpages, VPhD, ImaginePhD, Science Careers, Nature Jobs, MLA website, and on, and on, and on
– Google things…
– You will encounter unknown terms/acronyms –understand these, and add them to the database
• Begin to use the new keywords you are finding to perform more targeted “literature reviews” and career research
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Online research into career fields
In‐person research into career fields
The types of career paths you are exploring can influence
how you brand yourself
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#2 Branding basics
“Personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room”
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“Personal branding builds up your reputation to the point where you have a presence even in your absence” So…, what
is a brand?
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PERSONAL BRAND = YOUR GOALS + VALUES + STRENGTHS
1. Your values – what is important to you
2. Your value to the people around you
Everyone has a brand, by design or default!
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PERSONAL BRAND = YOUR GOALS + VALUES + STRENGTHS
Positive, distinguishable, memorable impression of you…,
…and what makes you of potential value to the employer
Everyone has a brand, by design or default!
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Take some time to answer these questions:
• Thinking about your knowledge, what are you an expert in?• Thinking about your skills, what are you an expert in doing?• What makes you stand out from others like you?• What words do others use to describe you?• How do you make people feel?• What are your career goals?• How do you want to make a difference?• What would you like to achieve?• How can people/organizations benefit from working with you?
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Linkedin.com/in/helenphophd
Your LinkedIn URLA small part of your bigger brand…
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#3 Writing strong
headlines and
summaries
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•Avoid the default headline• Include your expertise and skills• Keep in mind your future career• Include what you actually do • Reference your achievements
Headline
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• Biomedical researcher with a knack for communicating complex ideas to a wide array of audiences
• Historian, writer, and social media manager who can craft web content that goes viral
• Using psychological and statistical research to enhance the gaming world
• Landscape architect skilled in 2D & 3D modeling, passionate about developing open and sustainable parks
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Summary• Tell your story!
• Skills, passions, experiences• Explain the “why”—why are you
interested in X? What motivates and inspires you?
• 3‐5 short paragraphs• Include brief bullet points• Inject some of your personality
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Branding statements
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I speak, write and coach on career planning and professional development for academics. As Founder of Beyond the Tenure Track, I offer group programs and one‐on‐one coaching to graduate students, postdocs and early stage faculty in exploring and transitioning to careers outside of traditional academic teaching and research. My clients have secured jobs in higher education administration, foundations/philanthropy, and social media research (yes, one of my clients got a job at Twitter—woot! woot!), to name a few.
Branding statements
I am a quantitative problem solver and charismatic communicator with an obsession for analyzing data. As a scientist I studied cellular entry of tumor viruses, viral oncogenes and pathogen discovery. I am dedicated to enhancing and transforming the training and education of undergraduate students, graduate students and postdocs to meet the demands of the workforce.
I design and implement career development programming that will help prepare scientists for rewarding careers. As both a scientist and administrator, I thrive in environments that provide opportunities to work in and lead teams, use my analytical skills to solve problems and manage complex projects.
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Technology today is making its way into our wildest dreams, and without notice these visions become reality. This is the pace of the world we live in and it is up to us as individuals to adapt and grow with it.
I am currently co‐founding oystir.com where we hope to change the future of the job market by connecting talent and employers based on skills.
I have worked at various companies both in the Computer Science and Biotech industries. I am quick to develop skills and can easily transition into a wide range of work environments.
While studying my Bachelor's at UCSD I worked in the University's technical services for three years, where I ran concerts, shows, and other major events. This was a particularly valuable experience because I spoke with clients on a daily basis and considerably expanded my interpersonal skills. As a result I am able to interact well with a multitude of people, and make quick, informed decisions when speaking with an individual.
Branding statements
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#4 Showing YourAccomplishments
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Your Profile
• Like your resume, but you can elaborate more and get personal
• Highlight your results and achievements (not just job duties)
• Quantify the impact of your work
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• Experiences in your profile should echo and illustrate themes from your summary
• Your descriptions should be skills focused• Your descriptions should be about you, and your accomplishments = “I” and “my”, not just the “project”
• Help the reader picture what you do• Make your descriptions part of a narrative that connects your different sections together
• Be multi‐modal (projects, presentations, recommendations, and more!)
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#5Seeking and GivingRecommendations
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The best form of branding is other people confirming your brand…
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The best way to get a recommendation…, perhaps giving one
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#6Researching employers
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1st degree/level connections
2nd degree/level connections
3rd degree/level connections
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What to do with your second degree connections
Ask your 1st degree contact if:
• they think this person would be good for you to connect with
• they are willing to share the email of this person• you can use their name when you reach out to
this contact• they would be willing to introduce you to this
person
What not to do
• Click the connect button associated with your 2nd
degree contact
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Take a closer look at employers that interest you• Follow employers• Absorb any information from their Careers page• Pay attention to their feed• Identify some possible connections at the organization
who might be able to offer you insights into:− their experience− the work− the culture− important skills/knowledge to have − the hiring process
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#7
Comparison branding
• What career fields have people from my institution pursued?
• What career fields have people with my academic background (degree type or discipline) pursued?
• What specific skills do they have?
• What do their profiles look like?
• What groups have they joined?
• Who are they following?
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Turning online into in‐person
• Grow your network to allow you:
– To answer specific questions about roles, departments, skills, employers…
– to broaden your knowledge of the industry or career field
– to demonstrate your interest and experience
– to grow your network more effectively/efficiently
– to identify specific job opportunities
– to find advocates for you in different organizations 51
Lowest hanging fruit
• 1st degree contacts you already have on LinkedIn
– You may be surprised by who the people you know know
– They may not be aware you are interested in people they know if you have not articulated your networking goals
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Ways to reach out to Jessica to connect with her contacts…
Outcomes of direct contact networking
• You now know who you are connected with
– Your 1st degree contacts
• You have identified some people you would like to be introduced to
– Your contacts can help you expand your networks significantly!!
– People can only help you if they know how
• People with 500+ contacts won’t remember half of them unless they have a reason to
– People change jobs, LinkedIn ensures you are not relying on your contacts to keep track of their contacts
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Penn Alumni LinkedIn group
• ~40,000 members from all Penn backgrounds and degrees who have actively decided to join this group
– Your school/department/group may have its own LinkedIn groups for you to join
– Join it…
• See if there is additional information about members of this group on QuakerNet – and vice versa
– QuakerNet and LinkedIn can be good companion tools, as each contains information that the other may lack
– http://myquakernet.com
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#8
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#9
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Be informed!
• Follow influencers, organizations, and people to enrich the information you receive that might be relevant to careers and employers that interest you
• This is perfect material for conversation starters and small talk
• Demonstrates current knowledge of field and trends in different industries – great for returning to the field or entering a new one
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Use LinkedIn as one of your many job search engines
• You can reach out to HR or recruiter staff at employers with questions or to follow‐up
• You can find similar jobs, and see what others have been looking at
• You can demonstrate interest in employers by “following”• You can see if you have connections with certain employers• Set up saved searches
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LinkedIn etiquette
• Turn off the “sharing profile edits” option
• Don’t “connect” with people you don’t know, or who don’t know you
– Perhaps wait until you have had >2 significant interactions
• You can ask people if it is OK to connect with them
– This can be another excuse to get in contact –networking is about building professional relationships over time
– Respect people’s time, expertise, and contacts
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LinkedIn etiquette
• Think about who you are connecting with –where are they in the work hierarchy
–More junior staff members will likely be more helpful and more willing to connect
• Don’t connect then forget – keep the conversation going
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samples
guides
online resources
critiquesRESOURCES Walk‐ins
30‐min appointments
Call 215 898 753084
CV
resume
cover letter
academic
advising
consulting
Wetfeet
Vault
Versatile PhD
InterviewStream
Mock interviews
MyIDP/ImaginePhD
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