LinkedIn: Social Media Dos & Don'ts
By WiNUP Mid-Atlantic Chapter
LinkedIn is a social media platform that can be used to maintain a polished and professional online presence. It can also be used to help you manage and maintain your professional network.
Networking
When you think about networking, you might think of a typical networking event, where you try to make conversation with a room full of people you don’t know. In reality, networking happens all the time!
The connections you make at the Evoluer House, part-time and summer jobs, volunteering, internships, job fairs and more can grow your professional network.
You never know when someone you worked or volunteered with can help you get your foot in the door at your dream job down the road.
LinkedIn is one tool in your networking toolkit. If you choose to use LinkedIn, here are a few dos and don’ts to keep in mind to make your profile shine.
The Dos:
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Connect with peers and adults you know.
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Highlight projects, skills, and work experiences that match your career goals.
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Use a headshot of just you with a plain, neutral background (no cropping group photos, and definitely don’t use a photo from a day or evening out).
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Ask adults who know your work to write recommendations and endorsements for you.
The Don’t Even Think About Its:
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Don’t skip the spelling and grammar check. This goes for resumes as well. Make sure you proofread!
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Don’t send connection requests to others with the generic, default message. Look for things in common and make sure to personalize the message.
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Don’t keep the default headline and summary. Write something personal that describes who you are and your career goals.
Always:
As with all social media sites, always make safety and privacy a priority if you choose to use LinkedIn. You should not accept every connection request you receive, and make sure each one you do accept is valid and beneficial to you in some way. There are bots and scammers on LinkedIn too. Err on the side of caution and decline the request if you are unsure. By that same token, if you have a connection and someone is making you uncomfortable in the messaging feature or their comments on your posts, don’t hesitate to break the connection.
Check out the WiNUP Mid-Atlantic Chapter’s LinkedIn page here.