Paul,
You're so right. Many individuals still don't understand how to use such tools. They think using them equates to building a profile and simply having a presence so you are correct. Some basic guidelines to help you with LinkedIn are as follows:
1. Build a 100% complete profile and create a vanity URL for your profile. To create a vanity URL, instructions are in my blog post: http://bit.ly/u7iH0k
2. Use a professional-looking head shot photo consistent across all social media platforms you use (This is brand consistency)
3. Optimize key words in your profile that align with target industry/job since profiles become searchable by recruiters. Optimized key words lead to increased likelihood of being found by your target audience.
4. Use the three listed URLs LinkedIn allows to link to other online collateral that can persuade an employer to be interested. This may be your personal blog, an online portfolio, an online infographic resume, your VisualCV profile, etc.
5. Request meaningful endorsements for past positions - At least 2 endorsements for each past position is a good goal for students.
6. Use the LinkedIn Apps to differentiate and optimize your profile - Many people ignore the apps LinkedIn offers which can be found in the top navigation bar under the tab "More." Specifically, the WordPress app is great to insert a personal WordPress blog into one's profile and Slide Share is a great app to incorporate a relevant PowerPoint or video presentation (or even a video resume). Box.net is great for including files in your profile that might be samples of work to share as a LinkedIn portfolio or even a PDF version of one's resume.
7. Identify relevant targeted groups to join and engage in discussion
8. Etiquette rules - Always be professional, polite, helpful, courteous, and thoughtful. Show your expertise when appropriate in answering questions and providing your own insight and thank others for their contributions
9. Leverage LinkedIn Answers to take advantage of the expertise of others on LinkedIn by getting answers to your questions. Other professionals on LinkedIn offer their insight using this app. Moreover, answer questions to demonstrate your expertise in a topic and build connections.
10. Once you have a complete profile, include your LinkedIn Vanity URL on printed marketing collateral such as a business card and of course, the resume. Consider a QR Code on a business card that allows someone with a smart phone to go directly to your LinkedIn profile.
These are some basic suggestions I want to share since you have brought up the topic of LinkedIn specifically and I believe others can benefit from the listed tips. Thank you for bringing up the topic and feel free to take advantage of the forums to post questions to the group.
I encourage interaction with me but also with other forum members. This is, of course, at your own discretion but I believe it maximizes learning.
Take care!
Robert Starks Jr.
Yes, our staff definitely needs to be able to teach our students how to use and maximize the benefits of LinkedIn, otherwise they will just create profiles and never go back and use them.
alexander,
I think after going through the entire course, you may have a better idea as to why you may want a separate Career Services Facebook presence. It depends on what your goals are. I would say in general, if you wish to engage and interact with your students, having a Facebook page is important since data tells us that the attention of this audience is on the internet, and more importantly, the majority of their time is on social media. Facebook is the largest and most engaging platform so I believe it is strategic for Career Services to have more than a presence, but a strategy to reach constituents in a meaningful way that aligns with their goals.
Robert Starks Jr.
our school does have a facebook account but not much info about placement. Do you think it would be a good idea to have a separate one for "career services"?
Paul,
You will find the document at the end of the course helpful to you in starting a Facebook page. In fact, there are many other tools listed near the end of the course. LinkedIn has become the standard for professional networks but make sure to review some of the tools available that allow students to have a professional presence on Facebook as well such as BeKnown and BranchOut. I encourage you when teaching students how to use a platform like LinkedIn, that you make them aware that what you are teaching them truly goes beyond LinkedIn and it is merely a tool being used to demonstrate how to begin professionally branding themselves online. Students will have to learn a new set of skills such as bio writing, key word optimization for their online profiles, and online etiquette just to name a few, simple examples. Career Advisors must become experts in all these emerging areas. Tool such as Visualcv.com, re.vu, and a list of others you will find near the end of the course are merely a small fraction of the personal branding tools that exist but many more will continue to emerge.
Robert Starks Jr.
Angela,
Many career services professionals take the approach of helping to educate their students beyond self-marketing and help them understand their industries more as a strategy to have student become more career-ready. Youtube may or may not have the type of learning content you are seeking specific to medical billing and coding, but it definitely has many videos relevant to career advice. Additionally, SlideShare is a great resource to share learning content with your students. One SlideShare account relevant to Medical Billing and Coding that might have information your students would find valuable is at http://www.slideshare.net/bobkruse/how-medical-billing-and-coding-services-help-healthcare-practices. Additionally, I encourage you to review the Job Search 3.0 video I placed in the Lounge which is embedded from SlideShare as you may find it relevant to career advising. It can be found here: http://www.careercollegelounge.com/pg/blog/rstarks/read/32706/job-search-30.
Robert Starks Jr.
Our department is just starting to use LinkedIn and it's mainly to connect and build relationships with employers. But moving forward, we are planning to help all of our students create LinkedIn profiles and teach them how to use LinkedIn as a tool. Our school has a facebook page which is mainly used by the admissions department. We are considering having a separate facebook page for the career services department.
Scoping Youtube for interesting videos is a good idea; I hadn't thought of that. We currently use individual accounts with LinkedIn. As for programs, my school offers Billing & Coding online.
Angela,
Facebook and LinkedIn are the platforms used most often by career services followed by Twitter. Managing multiple accounts can be a challenge. I am wondering if you have plans to use any other platforms even if just for curating information to share with your students. For instance, do you use Youtube to find interesting videos to post on your Facebook channel? Do you look for any great presentations on Slideshare to share with your students on Facebook? Do you have a LinkedIn group or career services page or are you just using individual accounts? What programs does your school offer Angela?
Thanks.
Robert Starks Jr.
We use Facebook, to locate students and find out general information (such as employment) and we also use LinkedIn to build relationships with employers, as well as being informed of available job opportunities.
Glenn,
Here are some resources relevant to culinary you may find helpful: http://mashable.com/2009/07/30/social-media-foodies/. I think number 9 on the list is a particularly valuable resource because it is a wiki-based site allowing people to contribute and share everything from recipes to ideas. Bakespace.com is another great online social network for "foodies." Other notable social tools to explore that may be relevant for you depending on your goals are www.cooklet.com, www.mopac.com, www.foodpals.com, and www.wearechefs.com. This is why research is such a huge part of the strategy development process. Finding relevant audiences can be challenging since there are so many emerging tools and platforms. If you want to do more exploring, a useful tool is www.similarsitesearch.com which does a pretty good job of telling you of other websites similar to the ones you like.
I hope that helps. Thanks for your great contributions to the forums Glenn!
Robert Starks Jr.
We utilize Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Facebook because we can fi9nd and interact with students and the general population, Twitter because it is linked to our Facebook account and Linkedin for the professional contacts and networking.
