Resources available through LinkedIn and other Social Media to develop a professional profile

1. LinkedIn as a Professional
Development Tool
Anne M. Pascucci

2. LinkedIn to MeLinkedIn to Me
• Started out just catching up with people, sort of like Collaborate
on NCURA - wanted a way to locate folks easily and
professionally
• Not Facebook – Professional not Personal – Still don’t have a
handle on Facebook
• Grew into a way to expand my thinking and connections by
joining groups
• I am LinkedIn with Astronauts and Under-Secretary's, Program
Officers, Foundation Directors etc.

3. Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development
• I love to make connections…professional, friends,
acquaintances…ideas, themes, interests
• When I find a nugget of shared interests, I will connect people
and hope that the Golden Rule holds true
• People looking for jobs, wisdom, ideas, references,
organizations…
• I am always happy to share, recommend when appropriate, and
introduce

4. Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development
• Your profile is your professional on-line face and resume
• My profile at the time of creation of this presentation is 20 pages
long with 1136 connections
• My profile includes written references from 49 individual people
including faculty I have worked with, peers at NCURA, board
members I have served with on NGO boards and a multitude of
others that I have interacted with professionally
• Written references add depth and a breadth to your resume that
you couldn’t include in an on-line application
• In addition to written references, recommendations based on
specific topics

6. Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development
The Profile includes:
Statement about yourself
Professional experience (resume)
Volunteer experience
Projects/publications
Professional organizations
Written, approved references and
recommendations

9. Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development
• The connections that you make as a professional are part of what
you carry as your “bag of tricks”
• Program Officers, Governmental Officials, Foundation
Representatives, Press, Organizations related to research
conducted
• Your projects can be viewed by prospective employers
• The references that you obtain remain on your profile
• When seeking a new position, I always included a link to my
profile in the cover letter
• All of the elements of your profile are available at your discretion
as are your updates

10. Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development
• As with the profile connections, you can also print your profile to
a PDF, as can prospective employers and headhunters
• Just as important as it is to keep your profile alive and up to date,
you can extend your willingness to provide reference for your
peers
• Be considerate on LinkedIn-if someone you don’t know or your
concerned about asks, just ask them or ignore them
• I’m pretty sure I’m on some watch list here!

11. Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development
• Remain aware that while you are looking at other peoples
profiles, they are looking at yours
• A good indicator of someone looking at a new position is adding
a lot of connections especially in one region
• That could mean that a peer is moving on and you might reach
out to get ahead of the curve
• Positions are posted on LinkedIn and ScoopIt you just have to
keep an eye out for them
• Oh-BTW, I don’t pay for my account….yet!