LinkedIn Resource Guide

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that provides you with valuable opportunities to connect with potential employers, expand your professional network, and explore job openings in various industries. Think: Networking! Discover people in fields of interest and connect with them. Connect with alums and other professionals. Have coffee chats, informational interviews, and learn about fields and opportunities! LinkedIn also offers a platform to showcase your skills and experience, apply for positions directly, and stay informed about industry trends and job market insights. 

  • The world’s largest professional social network – 660 million users in 200+ countries
  • LinkedIn is a comprehensive platform that includes job and internship listings, status updates, and 67,000+ Dartmouth Alumni.
  • Your profile is your online resume/business card

Step 1: Create your LinkedIn profile

Start by creating your account. Both basic (free) accounts and premium subscriptions are available, and both can be tried for free for one month. Starting out, the basic account is perfectly fine. 

The principle for creating your profile is to begin with the essential building blocks. As you learn more, you can expand, refine, and optimize your profile. The following ten essential items are a great place to start.

Your LinkedIn page is a marketing document that communicates your value to potential employers and also reflects your professionalism. As such, the images and messaging should be appropriate and “on-brand” with your professional identity. While it’s certainly okay (even encouraged) to reflect your personality, the tone and content should be professional. Schedule an appointment with a CPD coach if you have any questions.

  1. Headline: The headline is the text that appears just below your name. Craft a distinctive and personalized headline rather than just stating your current role or field of study. It should be striking and genuinely represent you, using a professional tone. It’s important to identify the primary benefit you have to offer a prospective employer. 

Examples:

  • Honors English Literature Student | Writer, Editor, and Aspiring Publishing Professional
  • Chemical & Biochemical Engineer | Skilled in Wastewater Treatment | Interest in Research & Development
  • Words & Pictures. Content. Online & Off.
  • Technical Recruiter at the Walt Disney Company.  Imagine the Possibilities.
  • Secure Sponsor Support and Fan Attention for Professional Cycling Teams
  1. Profile Photo: Use a high-quality photo with a clean background that clearly highlights your face. Remember, profiles with pictures attract more views. Need a good photo? Contact the CPD to schedule a photo shoot in our mini studio. Not sure what to wear? Consult with the CPD before you make the journey down main street to our office.
  1. Background Photo: Use a relevant background photo that complements your personal brand and sparks interest in your profile. Use something that reflects your story. Still not sure? You can certainly use a background photo of the Dartmouth campus.
  1. Summary: Use this section to share your personal story, key values, passions, skills, strengths, and goals. Let your personality shine through while maintaining a professional tone. If you are currently employed (in a job or internship), your summary should also include a brief description of the company where you work. Research and use industry keywords so that you will be found in searches. Avoid buzzwords or jargony catch phrases that everyone else uses, such as: “Highly motivated results-oriented analyst with a proven track record”. 

Examples:

A) I have always been interested in studying other cultures and understanding why people think the way they do. I am majoring in Government and minoring in Mandarin Chinese. Being able to speak to others in Mandarin has been enriching. On the football field, I’ve played in offensive, defensive and special team roles. Just as I’ve enjoyed playing in all aspects of a football game, I hope to be able to work in a professional role that allows me to expand my horizons and achieve goals.

B) Innovator, problem solver, and aerospace enthusiast. I’m excited about studying and developing the intersection of technology and humanity in the 21st century, including topics such as Machine Learning, Embedded Systems and Autonomous Vehicles (including Electric and Driverless Vehicles, and UAVs/Drones). I have experience in computer science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering principles through leadership in competitive engineering project teams, research positions, and internship opportunities. I am currently working towards a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering Sciences.

To see some random fun projects I’ve worked on, as well as some of the projects I’ve completed for my CS and Engineering classes at Dartmouth, check out my github profile at https://github.com/wuwendell/

In my free time, you can find me on a bike trail, practicing piano, flying a model aircraft, or cooking something new!

Note: Authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. (U.S. Citizenship).

C) I caught fire coding. I always thought my dream was to be a proofreader for a little indie publishing company, sipping my cafe con leche and reading the opening lines to the next best-selling vampire novel. It seemed like an appropriate dream given my BA in English. I gravitated toward proofreading and quality control positions and even started my own proofreading business. I yearned to learn more, yearned to learn something different.

And that’s when it happened; the spark I was missing ignited the instant I clicked play on my first Python tutorial video. I love applying responsive design principles and watching my web pages shrink into mobile screens and still look amazing. It’s oddly satisfying. I think in a way I’m kind of like those web pages; I’m moldable, but I still keep my creative flare intact.

My specialties include quickly learning new skills and programming languages, problem solving, domain driven design, responsive design principles, website optimization, and the Model View View Model (MVVM) and Model View Controller (MVC) methods of organizing code. So far I have C#, .Net Framework, SQL, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, Angular, and Git/GitHub under my belt. 

  1. Open To: Edit your job preferences to indicate that you are currently seeking an internship or a job. Choose: Job titles, location types (on-site, hybrid, remote), employment types (internship, full-time, etc.), start date, and visibility.
  1. Experience: List all relevant work experiences, internships, and key projects. Don’t be afraid to detail what you’ve learned and accomplished in these roles. If you’ve recently met with a CPD coach to update your resume (hint, hint), you can cut/paste your bullets from your resume into your LinkedIn experience section.
  1. Education: Include your school, degree(s), major, and any relevant activities or organizations you were part of. 
  1. Skills: Highlight key skills that are relevant to your field of study or career goals. Ask for endorsements from professors, peers, and professionals in your network (alums) to add credibility. One good way to obtain endorsements is to provide some for other people, provided that you are in a good position to evaluate. What comes around goes around.  
  1. Accomplishments: List notable achievements, honors, and awards. This section can also include publications, languages, projects, and volunteer work.
  1. Interests: Follow organizations, influencers, and companies that resonate with your career interests. Engaging with their content shows that you’re active and updated in your areas of interest.

Sample Profiles

Kyle Bretherton ’20

Joshua Greene ’23

Ashwini Narayanan ’22

Wending Wu ’23

Additional Tips

  • Emulate profiles in your industry of interest.
  • Complete your entire profile: Members with complete profiles are 40x more likely to receive opportunities.
  • Think about your top five strengths and highlight them in your profile so that the right people find you.
  • Customize your URL to get rid of those extraneous letters and numbers.
  • In your privacy settings, turn off activity broadcasts and change “select who can see your activity feed” to “only you”.
  • When exploring employee profiles in your potential future company, change your viewing settings to “anonymous” in “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”.
  • Don’t reach out to contacts until your profile has been double-checked and proofread.

Step 2: Start Networking!

When exploring employee profiles in a potential future company, change your viewing settings to “anonymous” in “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”.

Alumni Networking: Identify Alums of Interest

There are several ways to find Dartmouth alumni on LinkedIn. First, you can visit the Dartmouth College page and click on the Alumni tab, revealing over 68,000 alums! Second, you can go to the Dartmouth Alumni Group, which reveals alumni who have elected to be part of a networking group. From each of these pages, the method for searching out individuals is similar.

  1. Go to the Dartmouth page and click on the Alumni tab.

2. Enter a  job title, career field, keyword, or company name. Change the “end year” appropriately to limit results to graduated working professionals (alums).

4. Filter by geography and where they work.

5. Send a message. Below is an example of what to write when connecting. You do need to be concise, as you have limited space.

Dear First Name,

I saw your profile on LinkedIn. It’s exciting to see a fellow Dartmouth person in this career space. I am a Computer Science major at Dartmouth College exploring careers in data analytics and would like to learn more about your job and career path. I hope we can connect and have a follow up conversation at your convenience. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

First Name Last Name

It is best to keep your request informational. Do not ask them to help land you a job in your outreach message! Instead, ask them for advice about best preparing yourself to enter this career, or to brainstorm career strategies, share their story with you, etc.

Other Networking: Searching for People within a Company

There may be times when you wish to connect with an individual within a specific company of interest for an informational interview, or perhaps, to connect with a recruiter.

1. When exploring employee profiles in a potential future company, change your viewing settings to “anonymous” in “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”.

2. Go to the page for the company of interest and click on the People tab.

3. Enter the job title, role, keyword, or school for the person you are seeking. The results can be further filtered by the employee’s geographic area and school.

4. Check out profiles that appear. Look for interesting summaries and experience sections that may give you insight about career paths and trajectories.   

5. Use a similar outreach message as you would alumni networking (above) to seek an informational interview with a non-alum. It is best to keep your request informational. Do not ask them to help land you a job in your outreach message! Instead ask them for advice about best preparing yourself to enter this career, or to brainstorm career strategies, tell you their story, etc.

6. If searching for a recruiter, search for titles such as: recruiter, campus recruiter, talent, talent acquisition, human resources. Outreach messages to recruiters can be more direct, and include a request such as: I am hoping to connect to learn more about internship/job opportunities at (company name).

Example:

Hello X,

We haven’t met, but I found your profile on LinkedIn. I am [describe yourself in 1-2 sentences, and say what you are hoping to get out of the conversation.]

I’m looking for [advice about applying to your company/to hear more about an open role/to hear how you got to where you are/to ask how you picked your major/to ask about a specific project you did.] Would you have a few minutes to speak with me?

I’m available any time except Wednesday mornings, and I’d be happy to meet in person or schedule a phone or video call.

For more great networking resources, check out the CPD networking guide, CPDs Networking Outreach Templates and/or schedule an appointment with a CPD coach.