Student guide to Linked-in from an older geezer

So, it’s that time of year when exam results come in and student thoughts turn to futures and what can help those futures.?

If your results have been what you hoped, congratulations, if they haven’t then know that a world of opportunity has not suddenly disappeared from view.? The best qualification for virtually anything is perseverance and versatility in the face of setbacks.? That might sound hollow consolation for now, but know you have value.? How long others take to recognise it can be a more frustrating question, but you have value.

Whatever the case, and whether you are a student at school, just embarking on university, or partway through an undergraduate university, or other training scheme, you might be looking to Linked-in and wondering how you can best participate.?

To fill you in, I’ve been a scientist for 30 plus years, working in earth sciences – geology mainly, and I’ve been dabbling in Linked-in for about a decade now. What works for someone like me is not what will work for someone like you.? That said, I’d like to take the opportunity to share from an older professional perspective - of someone interested in how the student populace want to take part - keen to encourage it in a way that can help you.

So here goes.

1)????? ?It’s for your enjoyment not your pain.? Don’t see it as another performance stick to beat yourself over the head with.? It’s for you to use to learn and enjoy.? And you don’t have to use it.? If after a while persevering you find it’s not your thing, you join a throng of other people of all ages, for whom that is also true.? But to be honest, you don’t have to be vocal on it to just watch it.? Many people do just that.?? Don’t be fooled into thinking everyone is posting reams of profound new content every week.? The majority don’t.? Life is too short.? Use it, above all, in the way you enjoy.

2)????? Manage your expectations of yourself.? Nobody out there expects some earth-shattering new wisdom to come out of a student, so that’s not what you have to provide.? That by the way is not to suggest such things can’t happen.? If you discover an antigravity machine, cold fusion, or a wormhole to Eridani-7 please share it – but ease up on feeling you have to deliver something like that.

3)????? Take your time.? Give yourself a year simply to experiment, watch and listen with the platform. It really doesn’t matter if you only have two followers for months on end.? But play with the various buttons and search options and get to know what’s available.? Take the pressure off yourself to have hundreds of followers in the first few weeks.? It isn’t Twitter or Instagram (thank goodness) or about friends and popularity and banal chat.? For all the looseness and organic-ness of any social media platform, Linked-in has much more of a professional bent, and that means it moves at a slower, gradual pace. Better to have a few followers that move in the space you love than thousands with no focus.

4)????? Know what your goals are.? Ask yourself what it is you want to do with Linked-in in the first instance, and design what you do around that.?? If for example job placements or internships are in your mind, find out what companies do that for your subject, and follow them - and those in the relevant positions that work there - to learn about what they are up to.? Don’t though harangue.

5)????? Don’t ask directly for a job, ask for advice. ?If amongst those goals is finding work, don’t be too direct in how you seek that out from companies or individuals.? ?The message “can you please give me a job” is one I get a lot of and it is hardly ever possible for anyone to say "yes" to that.? Even if there are positions available there is almost always fairly strict protocols on how these things happen that mean people can rarely say yes directly - even if they wanted to do so with a complete stranger from Linked in – which let’s face it is unlikely anyway.? The thing is, most of us like to help people, but we also hate having to say "no".? It’s far better to say something like “I have a strong interest in this question …. Which I believe you/your company also has an interest in - ?do you have any advice for how I could further my interest in this subject and your company?”. A question like that automatically shows you understand the company or person a bit, have learnt?what they are about and are keen to engage more.? Without expecting a magic job to appear out of magic hat and forcing someone to say “No we can’t help”, instead, ?this way, you give them lots of opportunity to engage with you and get to know you better.? People love to give help where they can typically – make it easy for them to do so, not hard.?? Even if they can’t ultimately help you, they might meet someone down the line who can, and just maybe you might come to mind. If people say, "Sorry we can’t help you right now, but keep in touch", then don’t be cynical to start with and think they are fobbing you off – they may well be genuine.? Take them at their word and a few months down the line, politely ask again.? If they don’t reply, take it as a hint without taking it too personally.? The point is don’t be afraid to get in touch again if someone has overtly said you can.

6)????? Get to know the job search tools. You can signal that you are open to work to recruiters on Linked-in and by all means do that and check out the jobs posted regularly. Typically I do this to see who is hiring for what, than realistically expecting any of the Linked-in applications available to come to much - if it is on here there will be lots (i.e. ridiculous amounts) of competition. But you get a picture of who is hiring and for what, and that gives you a chance to build relationships and knowledge pre-emptively so that you are better placed to be aware of future positions before they ever reach the Linked-in advertising stage.? Personally I’m not so keen on the “open to work” badges that can be made to be visible on the our front page photo icons.? Not everyone needs to know you are currently looking.

7)????? It’s not in the first instance a CV.? Linked-in sort of is a CV in a sense that people can find out about you if they want to, and with time you can turn it into something that approximates that for those interested - but really it’s less that than a participation portal.? The first priority is to jump in the pool and splash around, not to be the most distinguished Olympic swimmer on the planet with a detailed string of medals. You have a subject or a whole list of them you are interested in, and this is a place to watch those and get to know of others who share the same interests. You can always add and jiggle the other stuff later. Jump in and splash first.

8)????? It’s not about a followers count.? If you hang in there, and are genuine with the interests you have, and the questions you share, followers will come.? Don’t make it the objective.? At your level of professional evolution, make it your objective more to listen.? To follow others rather than to be followed. Maybe the time will come when you do lead, but you don’t have to seek that out now.? Relax.

9)????? Where to start.? It can be daunting.? But just start by saying you are a full-time student on your blurb.? That will condition others’ expectations of you and will bring out the nurturing streak in those who are naturally disposed to being encouragers.? It might also at times lead to people being patronising of you, but learn not to take that too personally.? That never goes away whatever age we reach... One of the key things though in terms of starting, is just knowing the subjects, the organisations (companies, universities, research institutes) and people, that interest you, and seeing if they are present on Linked-in.? Use Google searches to find those names. If they are present on Linked-in, follow them.? Immediately your feed will be filled with things conditioned towards your own interest.? Read them, and questions will follow.? Don’t feel you have to have a stellar list of achievements to share before you do anything.? Hardly anyone looks at that bio-stuff anyway, unless they are specifically recruiters.?

10)?? Figure out all the types of searching.? As for any platform, knowing what you can search for is key.? You can search for content, for names, and do it by company or by city/region.? Without going into boring detail of how to do it here, go onto the site and play.

11)?? Experiment with groups.? Take a look at Linked-in "groups" too – these are specifically Linked-in thematic collectives where professionals of certain interest club together to share articles and posts.? Some are wide open to anyone, some have stricter & snootier group-owner review for entry.? It is what it is... They are a bit of a mixed fare, and to be honest, I find individual postings more interesting, but check them out.

12)?? It’s not [initially] about amount of content.? It is true that one of the best ways to generate followers is to generate content, but actually if your initial goal is to learn and experiment with the platform, you don’t have to do either.?? One of the leading reasons people stop following us on Linked-in is because we have too much banal or repetitive content.? So, in many ways less is more.? It can be better to have less content but to make it good content when we do it. ?But take your own style in such things and don't be afraid of doing so. If we are seasoned professionals, we try to make original content, but for students starting out, I think that is hard.? It’s more relevant for you I suspect just to pick on content of interest and ask genuine questions you have about it – see below. If you are going to post content – spell and grammar check it thoroughly, and read it a few times to check semantics (meaning) is what you intend. ?

13)?? Content can be a question.? We don’t have to have the answers.? One of the best ways to engage with others is to simply ask a genuine question.? That can be around an article from the internet or reposting another Linked-in post with a question.? That can very simply be – this has caught my eye, what do you think about this?? You don’t have to have lots of answers to show you are interested in a subject and share in a desire to learn more.? Don't be discouraged if there are not replies to such questions, or content more generally. Understand there are huge amounts of content out there and social media algorithms can be mysterious at the best of times. But hang in there, persist, and every so often things catch a social media tailwind. Slowly but surely in that way things build.

14)?? Content can be a repost.?? Simply by reposting content which you see on Linked-in that interests you, you draw others attention to your posts, and your interests, and occasionally people will comment on them, from whence further conversations and connections can arise.? Note that in reposting you have the option to “repost with your thoughts” which can combine both the repost, and an accompanying question as above, or comment.

15)?? Use pictures.? They help.? You can get a free subscription to lots of nice images from searchable online libraries like Unsplash and Pixabay, that provide images free from any copyright issues.? Use them to brighten up any content you use. ?If you happen to be good at artwork, digital or otherwise, likewise, show it off.? People like pictures and it’s known to increase footprint for posts.

16)?? Slow progress?? Don’t worry, life’s like that sometimes.? Take a break and come back when you feel like it.? Remember point 1.? It’s meant to be fun, not yet another excuse to be punchbag to the world.

17)?? Don’t be shy and don’t be disheartened.? If you do find people on Linked-in that are esteemed experienced professionals, don’t be shy about following them.? Few mind that.? If you feel that there are genuine reasons for inviting connection, and you are brave enough to ask for it, then by all means do so but don't do so too frivolously.? Perhaps this is your own lecturers, or other people you have met personally.? If you send an invitation, try to be specific about what subject it is you want to connect about.? Be aware though that if you connect, they will potentially see what you post in your content.? If you are posting ten times a day on your latest pop-idol, they may not stay connected for long.? It's not the end of the world if that happens, or a signal the relationship is over. They are just exercising their right over what they see on their own feed, like you do. But you can always follow them, and what they post.?? And if someone doesn’t connect on your invitation, don’t take it personally as a rejection.? Everyone has very different protocols for who they connect with, and some simply do it only with those they know.?? It is not necessarily a reflection on or rejection of you.? Building up a following and mutual discussion group takes months, years even, not days or weeks.? Be patient. Some days the numbers might go down as well as up. That's OK.

18)?? You don’t have to be someone else.? Be you.? That doesn’t mean say everything you are thinking.?? But in what you do say, be genuine.?? People forgive many things if they believe we speak honestly, with integrity, genuinely, as ourselves, and are listening to what others say.?? You don’t need to wear masks, but equally you don’t need to reveal everything to everyone.

19)?? Don’t be a pest.? If someone does connect with you, it is quite legitimate to send a message thanking them, or to ask a specific technical question relating to their work in more detail.? But don’t expect them to do your homework or essay for you, pester them with loads of messages, or barrage them with a whole lot of banal questions like hello, how are you.? Remember this is a professional forum where people are pursuing professional interests.? It’s not a dating site or a place for idle chatter.? And if someone does answer you, please listen to what they say ??.?

20)?? Be polite and have a certain humility of opinion.? To have opinions (within reason and legal constraints) is very allowed on linked in – it makes things interesting and it is a place to be genuinely ourselves – albeit carefully. It is best though, especially if we are at the very starts of our career journeys to have a humility of opinion about us.? Remember what we post here is visible to all.?? People are very forgiving of mistakes, so don’t be overly afraid of making those, we all make those, but what goes down less well, is arrogance, especially those without many decades of experience to back views up.? Similarly, don’t be too afraid of asking stupid questions.? If it’s question for you it is likely a question for others.? It is better to ask a stupid question than to stay stupid, and Linked-in is a public forum, not the inner circle of some professional society elite.? So, there is no presumption of past qualification. ?No matter what the pompous snooty types might say or want.

21)?? Comment is good but again, be reserved…If you are commenting on someone else’s post, especially at your own junior stage of professional life, do so carefully and resist the temptation to imply any views are idiotic.? I have seen people do so unbeknownst to them that the person they are accusing of being an idiot is a world recognised leader in a field.?? Not that this is any guarantee of not sometimes saying something wrong (we've all been there) but as a general rule the probabilities are stacked against someone very experienced being stupid. Always have an element of allowing that maybe, just maybe, someone might know something you don’t.? That doesn’t mean don’t contest or don’t question, or be a doormat with your own views, but don’t assume the other is an idiot for thinking differently to you.??Actually, they might be, but don’t presume or say it… In truth though I have found that there are very few that fit that description, and that if we take time to understand people’s views, usually there are reasons behind them, and it is in finding those that mutual new ground for progress often materialises.

22)?? Some words can get you blocked from the platform.? Be aware that sometimes, even by accident, using words or phrases that are particularly sensitive, or allude to violence in some way, might get you blocked by the platform.? I’d be flabbergasted if this was a big issue really for a student’s use, but if for example you are given to certain profanities in your every-day speech, don’t be tempted to use them on Linked-in or you might find your participation there a short one. ?If for whatever reason prohibition does happen to you, usually you can get in touch with Linked-in to explain, and with appropriate remorse reverse the issue, but best to avoid it in first place.

23)?? Have a thick skin for [rare] trolls and twats.? Chances are, if your initial goals on the platform are to listen and to ask questions, you won’t have any problem.? This kind of thing happens more with those who are long experienced, and very vocal.? Occasionally though, we get those responses from some who are out on a mission to prove that everyone on the planet is stupid except them, and they work to this end by implying we are stupid.? Don’t be too gutted if it happens sometimes.? And don’t feel you have to react.? You don’t.? And you can block – it’s not a sign of some failure to do so.? This is your platform participation for your enjoyment.? If you do choose to react, my rule in such instances is to talk objectively to the content and not the tone.? Don’t feel tempted to descend to the same level. Remember others are watching.?? If you can hold your politeness where others don’t, people will notice that far more than any smart reply.? And it can be surprising how the tone in others can change if they recognise we are genuinely looking to their content and listening to what they say.? Whatever the tone might have been originally. ?And if you are female, or of some minority of some description, be warned, as for any other social media platform, misogyny, racism, and all the other ‘isms, are alive and well.? That is what blocking is for.? With the option to report in the worst cases.

24)?? Be welcoming, but also discerning.? Treat as you would like to be treated.? If someone connects with you, give them a friendly personal welcome in reply.? But don’t connect with people without checking who they are a bit first.? If they are from North Korea and want to sell you some missiles, or are from some state in India wanting to sell you recycled tyres, it is okay to ignore the connection request.? Beware also that there are bots out there.?? Typically you can recognise them as having very few connections, pictures of some young woman, and a bland AI-style line of discussion.? Likewise, stopping connections is allowed if you find a need.?

25)?? Don’t feel you have to go pay-for premium.? I’ve stuck with the free version for the entire duration of my participation on Linked-in, and I’ve never really felt like I’m missing much.?? Coming with that is a degree of gratitude and a recognition that for all the shortcomings Linked-in might have, it has been provided to me as a free service.?? So keep the good folks at Linked-in on good terms.? They may not be perfect, but they are also not omnipotent, and you are getting much of this for free. ?Actually in my experience, it is best that there are certain things we don’t know about Linked-in, and that pay-for versions offer more information such things is not necessarily always a help.? I have no doubt some things may well be, but as a student, take it from me, you can survive happily with the free version.

26)?? If it seems too good to be true…? It is.? As for any other social media platform, so too for Linked-in.? Beware the golden opportunity that comes out of nowhere.?? The most common one is from some crook somewhere to co-opt the name of someone famous or renowned and directly message you offering some fantastic deal or job offer.? That’s not to say always ignore anything that seems good.? Sometimes one of the joys of Linked-in is that new leads for career progress do just come out of nowhere.?? But do your homework around the responses you get before you jump in.? Be wary.

27)?? Help others.? ?If there is one single thing that endears us to others, it is a sincere desire to help.? If you have found, or constructed things (e.g. excel spreadsheets) that helped you in your studies, share them (within copyright constraints - copying published books is a no go).?? If you share stuff that has helped you, you will find that slowly but surely you gain followers.? Seek out your peers who also have Linked-in accounts and share stuff with them you have found that genuinely helped or interested you.? Word gets around.? It’s slow at the start, but hang in there, the momentum grows. ?Although we might pin high hopes on connecting with the rich and famous – in all honesty, sometimes it can be the connections you make with others in your peer group that are the most valuable of all. Another piece of advice a professor once gave me - is tackle the big questions. The bigger the questions we are addressing in our own feeds, the higher the number of people that will have a stake.

28)?? Don’t get territorial or greedy.? If content goes on Linked-in, really it is public free for all.?? Don’t expect to keep copyright and make a fortune on anything you post here.?? If it is any good, chances are people will repost/recraft it and not always give you the credit for it.?? Make your mind up to not get too bothered about that.?? If you had the wherewithal and originality to come up with it in the first place, you can do it again in a way they can’t.?? Actually it's flattering to be used in this way and a sign you are doing something right. If it’s something you really want to keep for your own confidential monetary benefit, Linked-in is not the place to post it.

29)?? Remember there’s a world out there.?? Don’t limit yourself to your own country or language.? Explore the world, because you can.? Don’t be afraid of using Google Translate to help do so, as well as your own English – but explain that you are, just in case it gets it a bit wrong - and to avoid giving a wrong impression about your own language abilities.? Be sensitive to other cultures and sensitivities, and language abilities, but the ability to learn from around the world has never been so easy or instant.? Use it.

30)?? Don’t worry, and don't put all your eggs in this basket.? Nothing is forever, including Linked-in.?? If you make mistakes on Linked-in, usually you can delete or modify stuff and people will have forgotten about it almost instantly, long before we still cringe about it.? And as always for social media, the antidote to having put some daft stuff out there, is to grow wiser, and to make the next ones better.? And do remember that really, nothing is forever. Don't invest all your career ambitions on the basis that Linked-in will be around in perpetuity. Sometimes companies get taken over and change, or disappear into the mists of time, and Linked-in is in the end a company just like any other. Use it, but use it as something that might not be always around. If there is stuff you want to have more permanently, back it up somewhere else too.

Happy Linked-inning!

Best, Dave