Last Friday Mr. McGowan and Ms. Vetrano came into my Business class and helped us with the basics of setting up Linkedin accounts.  For anyone who does not know, Linkedin is a professional social networking site that can be used to keep in touch with business connections and make new connections.  It can also be used as a sort of online resume and a way to search and apply for jobs!

Though I had heard a lot about the benefits of Linkedin, this class session was really useful in helping me understand how to develop my own account! Here are some of the basics I thought others might find useful:

• Your profile picture should be of you only, in an appropriate pose or situation that could be related to the business you are involved in. A simple background is a good idea.  Though profile pics are optional, they are highly recommended; 38% of businesses won’t look at a profile if there is no photo posted.
• Your heading is your title and is listed directly underneath your name on your profile.  Linkedin will automatically set this to say your last or current job, but it is a good idea to add keywords that describe you or your position to help catch the eye of potential business partners, employers, and connections.
• Directly below your profile picture you will see the web URL for your page; if you edit this you can change it to something simple to remember so you can easily tell people how they can find your page!
• Your Linkedin profile should be consistent with your resume.
• When listing your job descriptions for work experience, try to stick to one format (sentence, bullets, or paragraph) and verb tense for all of them to make it easy to read and understand.
• When you add someone new, it is a great idea to personalize the message they will receive with your request; it can help them understand how you know them, why you want to add them, and makes them feel like you’ve put in extra time and effort.
• Current GCC students may want to consider joining the GCC Alumni page; it is a great way to get to know past GCC Students and find out where they have gone on after graduation!

I would encourage anyone looking to keep up with their business connections to get started on their Linkedin profile; though it is a free program, when used correctly and remembering these tips, it can be a priceless tool for businesspeople and professionals!