Getting and Staying Linked In

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 3 or 4 years, you have probably at the least created a LinkedIn profile, and at most used it to connect to networking contacts. Or perhaps you've chosen to avoid all those emails requesting connections with you and are feeling satisfied with your digital footprint without adding one more social media account to your repertoire.

As a career services professional, whether I'm searching for a new job or not, I use LinkedIn every single day. I use it for personal reasons, to assist students, to learn about companies, the list goes on and on. Inevitably, LinkedIn naysayers will tell me that "normal" people don't need to use LinkedIn regularly. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Now, I'm going to assume that you've already used or at least attempted to use LinkedIn for a career-related venture- job or company searching, networking, or adding your resume information to your profile. So what's a student affairs professional (or other professional, for that matter) to do with LinkedIn while employed and not searching? Here are 5 meaningful ways you can keep engaging on LinkedIn long after your job search is over:   

Be a voice in your profession: One of the best features of LinkedIn are the groups. There are literally millions of groups to join, and for higher ed professionals, you can find very broad (think ACPA and NASPA) to very specific (Big Ten Career Services Network) groups to join. Join groups that matter to you and that play to your strengths, then use their discussion boards to be a voice for the profession. Post topics for discussion related to current events in your functional area, and facilitate dialogue with group members. Offer expertise or detail the success you've had executing a new program. Share and listen. Think of all the great things you've learned from student affairs colleagues through #sachat. LinkedIn groups provide another medium for you to be a vocal leader in your profession and create new professional contacts to carry throughout your career. 

Maintain relationships: The vast majority of people hate networking. Why? Because no one likes to put other people on the spot when conducting the job search, especially friends and colleagues. But networking doesn't have to be that way. Networking sucks because people do not maintain the relationships in their network. The best way to avoid the awkward nature of networking when in the job search is to assure that you nurture and grow contacts outside of it. Use LinkedIn to stay connected to former supervisors, professors, students you've mentored. LinkedIn will notify you in your newsfeed when your contacts change jobs, enter new education information, or post tweets and discussion topics. As quickly and as easily as sending a tweet to a professional, or "like"ing what they post on Facebook, you can comment on your professional contact's LinkedIn updates, or send them InMail to congratulate them on their new position. Simple actions like this help you remain a familiar name in  your colleagues' seas of contacts, so when you do need to ask for help or a recommendation, it doesn't feel so out of the blue to either party. 

Mentor current and former students: My personal preference when students want to connect to me on social media is to direct them to LinkedIn. Under Contacts, I create tags like "MSU students" or "William and Mary Career Ambassadors," to organize students I've known and worked with into meaningful categories. As they graduate, I encourage them to keep in touch with me via LinkedIn and email. Once they connect with me, I can work on the previous point but also give them access to my professional network. If they are looking for jobs or graduate schools, I can introduce them through LinkedIn to my connections who can be sources of informational interviews or advice in their field or at a particular organization. In turn, students become professional contacts as well that I can introduce to future undergrads with whom I work. 

A touch of control over Google: If you Google Ashleigh Heck, the very first entry you'll find is my public LinkedIn profile. If people want to find me, they'll first find my carefully edited professional information. 'Nuff said. 

Just because you're not searching now... Things change in an instant. Your partner may find a job in a new state, your interests change, your department may restructure. The job search can catch us off guard. Just as it's good practice to keep your resume up to date as you add new responsibilities and roles to your professional experience, staying engaged and up to date on LinkedIn assures that you are ready whenever the job search kicks into gear.

Staying up to date and involved means new opportunities can find you. There's a box on the right side of your LinkedIn homepage that says "Who's Viewed Your Profile." Click on it. It's great validation of the fact that even when you're not searching, if you're a LinkedIn user, others are getting YOU in their search results. The term "Twitter Zombie" is translatable here. Don't have a dead profile- you never know who's looking at it! 

For more information about getting started and maximizing your LinkedIn use, visit the LinkedIn Learning Center. Leave questions and comments too- I look forward to a great conversation!