There's no doubting that LinkedIn is one of the most powerful ways to network out there. Luckily, in our BSE class last year, we were forced to hop on that train in order to put ourselves out there. LinkedIn is recruiters' top social network of choice for hiring, so it is important to make sure your profile is in top shape for anyone who may view your page.
In the BSE program, we are given lots of advice on how we can market ourselves to possible employers or business connections. I was given advice my of our readings as well as from Dr. Wellman, Professor Miller, and guest speaker Ira Koretsky. Since making my LinkedIn about a year ago for the first-year scholars class, I hadn't really used it much until now. After hearing Koretsky talk about how important this social media platform is, I started to check it more regularly and update my accomplishments.
The first step I took to improve my profile was updating my experiences. Since making my LinkedIn a year ago, I had worked at two more jobs. The first one was my volunteer job as a mentor and tutor for local elementary school students in the community. The second job was my UMD work study job as an office assistant for the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, where I learned basic secretary roles and office tasks to support the more senior-level staff in the office. I think both of these experiences will reflect well on who I am as a person and employee, because they show I care about the community, but also am a diligent worker in an office setting. I should have put them on my profile much sooner, but it's better late than never.
Another step I took to improve my LinkedIn profile and appear more competitive was add to my list of skills. Posting a set of skills and having people endorse them is a great way to show people what you're good at and how many other people think so as well. Some of the skills I added were Microsoft Work, PowerPoint, Customer Service, Social Media, Teamwork, Time Management, and Problem Solving to name a few. Adding these skills on my profile gave me a confidence boost because when all of those attributes about myself are laid out in front of me, I realize that I actually do have a lot to offer, and I hope others can see this as well. I also wrote a brief summary about myself, which I think gives my profile more personality as opposed to just a list of interests and accomplishments. I also added a list of the courses I have taken at UMD so far, to show people that I have a diverse knowledge in many different areas.
The last and most important task I did to improve my LinkedIn Profile was make connections with people. When I logged onto my account for the first time in several months, I had dozens of connection requests left unanswered. I wasn't expecting this, and it only proved to me how many people are utilizing this form of business-centered social media. At this moment I realized I needed to get serious about LinkedIn. First, I accepted everyone who requested to connect with me. Next, I went to my suggestions page and connected with everyone that I knew. After that, I tried to find people who went to UMD and also shared my major, and requested to connect with them in order to prepare for possible networking later on. As I learned from Ira Koretsky, every invitation I sent had a personal message instead of the generic one that says, "I would like to connect with you". Many of my requests were accepted within hours, showing me how often others check their profile and how often I should be as well.
Overall I am extremely proud of myself for improving my LinkedIn profile to being updated and more professional. I can tell that the changes I made to my profile will make a big difference, and already have. On the side of my profile when I log in there is a section that says my rank for profile views has improved by 27% in the past 7 days. I am also glad that BSE has sort of forced all of its students to utilize this website because even if it doesn't seem too important right now, it will be in the future and it's a great idea to build connections as early as possible. I'm glad that I removed things from my profile that are outdated, because it makes me look like I'm not living in the past and focusing on more current and relevant experiences. It also showed me how much I have to improve on, because I was much more involved in high school than I am in college currently. There are still plenty of things I can work on improving for my profile, like getting a more professional photo and including a descriptive summary. Being on LinkedIn shows me how many other people there are in the world who are in my same boat. I can learn from the profiles of my peers, and also help myself stand out more against my competition.
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