MEMORANDUM
To: Members of “Smells Like Team Spirit”, ENGL 301 writing team
From: Jenny Zhu, ENGL 301 Student, JZ
Date: October 7, 2019
Subject: ENGL 301 Jenny Zhu – Research Findings on Best Practices for LinkedIn
As a part of Lesson 2:2, I have researched on best practices for professional networking on LinkedIn. Here are 10 particularly insightful tips:
- Professional Profile Picture: Choose a recent head and shoulder shot featuring a non-distracting background in which you are smiling.
- Outstanding summary: Showcase your significant career accomplishments, values and passions, and recommendations in a concise summary. A picture complements this section well.
- Accurate location: Update your location to that of your desired work area, but also mention where you currently reside.
- Recommendations Requests: Ask for recommendations from your former supervisors, professors, coaches, etc. Give a few too, for an increased chance of getting recommended yourself.
- Activity broadcasts: Turn off this feature when job hunting, especially when you are still employed.
- Sufficient Connections: Aim for at least 50 connections to show your future employer that you are sociable and comfortable using technology to network, but don’t add people you don’t know.
- Contact information: Include a way you can be reached (email, twitter, etc.) rather than expecting people to connect with you solely on LinkedIn.
- Writing Style: Write in first person to minimize the distance between you and your reader .
- Clever keywords: repeat keywords you would like to be known for in the Experience section.
- Professional vs. Personal: A good balance between these would be 70-80% professional and 20-30$ personal information.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can be optimized for your personal use. I hope my findings will help with crafting and polishing your profiles. Good luck and looking forward to reading your tips.
Works cited:
The 31 best LinkedIn profile tips for job seekers. Retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-31-best-linkedin-profile-tips-for-job-seekers
Arruda, W. (2017). LinkedIn 101: How to craft A stellar profile. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2017/01/15/linkedin-101-how-to-craft-a-stellar-profile/#39eeb9125379
Doyle, A. (2019). How to make a better LinkedIn profile. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-to-make-a-better-linkedin-profile-2062332
Greene, J. (2018). LinkedIn profile tips: 18 research-backed ways to stand out professionally. Retrieved from https://zapier.com/blog/linkedin-profile-tips/
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