A presentation about "Level Up Your LinkedIn" at the Monfort College of Business UNCO for Career Week 2024.

1. LEVEL UP YOUR
LINKEDIN
By
Denny McCorkle
Professor of Marketing
MCB, University of Northern Colorado
Slides at: QR Code>LI Profile>Featured section

3. How many have a
LinkedIn account?
How many are active
on LinkedIn?
QUESTIONS

4. BENEFITS OF LINKEDIN
TO STUDENTS.
Personal branding hub - resume plus
Social connections - with professionals, career
stakeholders, alumni & potential employers
Personal learning network - from professionals
and influencers
Job search - (active) and social recruiting
(passive – works while you sleep)
Social networking - to keep your name and
profile top-of-mind

6. HIRING AND SCREENING
CANDIDATES ON SOCIAL
MEDIA
 70% of managers said they had succeeded in hiring candidates
through social media.
 A survey conducted in 2020 of 1005 hiring decision-makers by
the Harris poll found that 67% of employers use social media
sites to research potential job candidates.
 The Harris poll found that 21% of hiring decision-makers or 1 in
said they are not likely to consider a candidate without a social
media presence.
 A survey conducted by CareerBuilder found that 54% of
employers ruled out a candidate due to finding something on
their social media profile that they disagreed with.
 https://www.apollotechnical.com/social-media-recruiting-statistics/

8. “Your personal brand
is defined by your
social profiles and
social shares.”
~ @DennyMcCorkle

9. Andertoons: Internet Cartoon #7313

10. 1. Profile Photo
2. Banner Header
3. Headline
4. About
5. Featured
6. Education
7. Experience
8. Targeted Connections
9. Social Activities
NINE WAYS TO LEVEL UP
YOUR LINKEDIN

11. Banner
Header
Headline
Profile
Photo
Location
Contact info
Profile
Name
# of Connections
Recent
Experience
Recent
Education

12. Your face is your brand
logo.
#1 PROFILE PHOTO

14. Photo Level Up Guidelines for Profile
Photo:
1. Headshot (think passport photo).
2. Dress for the job you want.
3. Smile like you mean it.
4. Good lighting.
5. Consistency across all social.
6. Include your resume name in the
file name (SEO).
7. Test with Snappr Photo Analyzer
and PhotoFeeler

15. #2 BANNER
HEADER
A Billboard for your
Personal Brand.

16. Banner
Header
Level Up Guidelines for Banner
Header:
1. Consider: (a) favorite quote, (b) 3
words that best describe you, (c)
workplace or event photo, (d) hobby, (d)
favorite place
2. Coordinate your branding colors
3. See Canva for templates

17. Your Headline is your
virtual handshake and
introduction.
#3 HEADLINE

18. Headline Level Up Guidelines for Headline:
1. Don’t default.
2. Provide student status (include
emphasis/major and UNCO).
3. Clearly state career-focus.
4. Think about how you want to be found
(keywords).
5. Add some personality, special
interests/hobbies, (emojis?).
6. Use similar headline on other social
(SEO).

19. Your LI About is your personal
brand story.
#4 ABOUT

21. About
Level Up Guidelines for About:
1. Explain from your headline.
2. Tell your brand story in first person.
3. Explain your career focus.
4. Describe it with passion.
5. Use short paragraphs and spacing.
6. End with call to action and your social
email.

22. #5 FEATURED
Here is where you offer proof or
support for your About section.

23. FEAT
URED Level Up Guidelines for Featured:
1. Feature a LI post, LI article,
Certificate, Project, Event Photos,
Elevator pitch video
2. Create a cover to fit the space (use
Canva)
3. Add a description (using keywords
for your career focus)

24. #6 EDUCATION
This is more than your
major/concentration.

25. EDUCA
TION
Think beyond your current degree, including
 double majors,
 minors,
 study abroad,
 formal training programs or apprenticeships,
 major professional development programs or
conferences.
Note: professional certifications have their own section.

27. LI SECTIONS TO
SUPPORT EDUCATION
Level Up Guidelines for Education:
1. MCB – AACSB Accredited and Baldrige Award Winner (halo
effect).
2. Supporting sections:
Awards
Projects….including passion projects
Courses
Certifications
Organizations
Skills & Endorsements
Recommendations
Following (Top Voices, Companies, Groups, Schools).
3. Rich Media Attachments (upload or web link).

28. #7 EXPERIENCE
This is more than your
part or full time jobs.

29. EXPERI
ENCE
Think beyond paid employment, including
 internships,
 paid and unpaid summer work,
 part-time work,
 side gigs/entrepreneur experiences,
 military, and
 student-athlete.
Note 1: volunteer work has its own section.
Note 2: you can include work gaps, too.

31. LI SECTIONS TO SUPPORT
EXPERIENCE
Level Up Guidelines for Experience:
1. Include:
Internships
Part-time and summer
2. Supporting sections:
Volunteering & Causes
Projects
Skills & Endorsements
Recommendations
3. Translate features to benefits using CARS:
Context,
Activities,
Results,
Skills and learning
4. Rich Media Attachments (upload or web link).

32. #8 TARGETED
CONNECTIONS

34. Current Contacts (from email
contacts)
Current & Past Work
Experiences
Current & Past Education
Experiences
Friends & Family Referrals.
Alumni Networking
Career-Focused Groups (on LI)
Local Career-Focused Search
Career & Industry Influencers
Career & Industry Conference
Attendees
Targeted Potential Employers or
Companies
Other Social Media Connections.
Those Inviting You to Connect
Who’s Viewed Your Profile
Clients
Competitors
TARGETS TO CONNECT
WITH ON LINKEDIN
LinkedIn to Real Life (Part 1: Making Connections)

35. Level Up Guidelines for Targeted
Connections:
1. Those you know.
2. Those you meet.
3. Those you want to know and
learn from (may need to Follow
rather than Connect).

36. #9 SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

38. CONTENT MARKETING
80/20 rule of social
activities.

39. 4 CS OF SOCIAL
ACTIVITIES ON LI
Consumption Learning
Curation Learning
Conversations Thinking
Creation Doing

40. Where can you regularly and easily find
career-focused content to learn from?
LinkedIn – Feed (connect/follow), Groups,
content search, or hashtag search.
X/Twitter – Feed (follow), X/Twitter Lists,
X/Twitter Threads, keyword/hashtag
searches.
Flipboard – subscribe to topics.
Feedly – collect RSS subscriptions by topic.
CONSUMPTION

41. LEARNING

42. THINKING

43. DOING

44. Level Up Guidelines for Social
Activities:
1. Need to optimize profile and target
connections before social activity.
2. One content social share with added
comment per week.
3. Add new connections and join the
conversations several times a week.
4. Remember to add value…80/20 rule.

45. Are there any volunteers
for a LinkedIn Profile
Audit?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennymccorkle
QUESTION

46. LinkedIn is much more than an online resume
and social network.
It is a place where all the recruiters go to find
talent.
It is a place where potential employers confirm
the content of your job application/resume.
It is a must use platform for personal branding,
social networking, and career development.
CONCLUSIONS

49. Connect with Denny at:
 Blog: DigitalSelfMarketingAdvantage.com
 Syndicated/Featured at: Social Media Today,
Business2Community
 LinkedIn: Denny McCorkle
 Twitter: @DennyMcCorkle
 TikTok: @DennyMcCorkle
 Email 1: Denny.McCorkle@unco.edu
 Email 2: DennyMcCorkle@gmail.com
Slides at: QR Code>LI Profile>Featured section
🔹 Teaching Personal Branding & "Level Up Your
LinkedIn" for Young Careerists 🔹 Digital & Social
Media Marketing Professor 🔹
🎸 #RockNRollYourCareer 🎶 on TikTok 🔹