Define. Market. Connect. Build.

What’s the Big Idea? Creating a successful online image is an opportunity to describe who you are, including professional strengths, interests, abilities and experience, to potential employers. Students should continually develop their online image to stand out in a competitive job market!

Learning Objectives Identify and uniquely portray strengths, interests, attributes and accomplishments Share relevant content and refine profile to continuously enhance your online presence Become familiar with the features of LinkedIn and other social media platforms Make meaningful connections and build relationships with faculty, staff, peers and professionals

Why Does Online Image Matter? Ever wonder how recruiters seek out qualified candidates?  Social media provides a great opportunity for recruiters to see how potential candidates portray themselves to others! What is the platform utilized most by recruiters?  You got it – LinkedIn. Sourced from the 2016 Jobvite Survey

Why Does Online Image Matter? What do recruiters think about photos of alcohol and drug consumption on social media?  Stick to sharing posts about other interests to make the best impression. What about spelling errors?  A quick spell-check may help you land a job!

Why Does Online Image Matter? When your online information is… EASY to find POSITIVE and PROFESSIONAL Shows STRENGTHS and INTERESTS …potential employers are more confident in your abilities. SHOW instead of just TELL. A polished image shows initiative and motivation. Information they can access is key, and you can control what information they find in many ways. Show off who you are and what you can do, and make it easy for an employer to set you apart from other applicants.

Online Image Action Steps Like and Follow brands, organizations, companies, interesting people and job sites Share & Retweet career and industry-related information Engage professionals and join conversations Post smart and adjust settings Highlight interests and accomplishments

Keywords Activity Objectives: Next Steps: Discover what knowledge, skills and abilities are preferred by employers in an industry that interests you by researching existing job descriptions Incorporate relevant information into your LinkedIn Summary Tailor online content to a targeted employer, industry or position using key words found in job descriptions Next Steps: Take out your laptop, tablet or phone Follow the instructions on the Keywords Activity Sheet

You can use LinkedIn to… CONNECT with Professionals EXPLORE opportunities RESEARCH companies and orgs EXERCISE online etiquette BUILD online presence

LinkedIn for You

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4. You will upload your resume, which auto-fills many of these sections. However, there is a lot you can add to boost your profile that shows off work you do in classes (group projects, etc), specific skills, honors, and volunteer work. Make sure you add those that pertain to you, as they do get noticed along with your work experience. Projects you worked on in class? Are you bi-lingual? Do you give your time to a particular organization or cause? These are ways you can make connections with employers a different way (i.e. if they share an interest in a cause, etc.) 41% of LinkedIn Recruiters say they consider volunteering experience ON PAR with full time paid work experience and 20% say they hired someone BECAUSE of volunteer experience. UPAID MATTERS.

5. Start by connecting with people you already know 5. Start by connecting with people you already know. You can put in your email address to import your address book, or you can find connections by going through the People You May Know feature. Once that gets going, go ahead and ask for some Recommendations and Skill Endorsements from those who know you as a student and professionally. The best way to do this is by giving THEM recommendations and endorsements, so they are more inclined to take time for you. You can also request faculty, advisors, supervisors, and peers to give you a recommendation online by sending a email outlining what the experience at their business/department/class meant to you and what you got out of it, and asking if they can take time to write a short recommendation for you (provide link to your page.) Flattery will get you everywhere!

research people and companies 6 research people and companies 7 6. LinkedIn is an excellent research tool to find out what people are doing in your field (answering the question, “What can I do with my major?) and to discover job areas you may not have known existed before. You can get started by going to the Search Bar at the top of LinkedIn and put in companies, people, or jobs and go from there. You can also filter your results to have a more advanced search, so you can filter by location, MU alumni, keywords, etc. 7. Also, there is another way to search what alums are doing, which is to search “University of Missouri” in the search bar of LinkedIn, and bring up MU as a company. Once that is up, you can select “See Alumni” to get to a separate screen where you can target alums working in certain geographic areas, companies, or industry areas. This is a great way to connect with alums, who are eager to provide information and guidance to other Tigers! find alumni

8 Reaching out 8. Make connections and reach out! When you first connect with a new contact, it is IMPERATIVE that you state who you are and the reason why you are connecting with them. Otherwise, you are a random person that they will most likely not accept your invitation. Let them know you are interested in learning more about what they do, and how they might be able to help you. Once you are connected, reach out to them individually about setting up some time to speak either via phone or Skype to do an informational interview. Or you can just see if it would be alright to send them some questions via email or LinkedIn about their job, industry, or career path. Informational interviews are one of the most effective networking and job search tools out there…it’s who you know! Take the time and effort to find out more and it will pay off for you!

9 jobs 10 9. Jobs: there are thousands of job postings here as well, take advantage! 10. Groups: one great way to learn more about certain industries, trends, topics, and to meet others in similar areas of interest are the Groups function. That way you can learn what others are talking about, you can get involved in the conversation, and you can make connections with others who are working or interested in what you want to do. groups

LinkedIn Summary Activity Objectives: Create the start of a great LinkedIn Summary Describe who you are, what you are seeking, and how your skills and experiences may be useful to employers. LinkedIn Summary Tips: Make it interesting, but not “cute” Be relevant and consistent when using first person or third person voice Write it in the form of a paragraph, bullet points, or a mixture of both!

LinkedIn Summary Outline A LinkedIn Summary Should Include: 3-5 keywords, strengths and talents Something you’ve accomplished or contributed Your main career goal or an experience/position you are seeking

Putting It All Together “I’m an involved, positive community member who hopes to use my motivation and resourcefulness to coach children in sports, healthy living, and achieving goals.”

By creating an online image you will… Learn about professions, networking ideas and company information, and you will help others learn about you. Connect with others online and open doors that may not have been there before. Market yourself and what sets you apart from other candidates Build upon your current online presence, always looking for ways to enhance and refine. LinkedIn provides the common ground between students and professionals to make connections

Online Image Action Steps Like & Follow brands, organizations, companies, interesting people and job sites Share & Retweet career and industry-related information Engage professionals and join conversations Post smart and adjust settings Highlight interests and accomplishments Much of this presentation focuses on LinkedIn, but this slide is a review that covers action steps for all social media platforms.

Lower Level, Student Success Center career@missouri.edu www.career.missouri.edu (573) 882-6801