NWR: Who knows anything about LinkedIn???

CowgirlK39

I am 25 years old and am technologically WAY behind. I just got a smartphone last month. I don't have a computer or the internet in my apartment. Yeah.... I'm out of date.

I joined LinkedIn after a friend told me about it, because I'm falling off my career path rather quickly, and want to get back on asap. I created an account and now have NO idea what to do with it. I first put down that I work for my FT job, but the stupid site right away began trying to connect me to stuff regarding that industry. I have no interest in staying in this field, but instead want to network with the farming/agriculture industry. So i have a few questions....

1) I took off that I work for this hellhole and changed it to say I work on the farm, yet it STILL tries to connect me to my FT job's industry. How do I make it direct me to agriculture places?

2) I do not have a picture up. Most people use their fancy, high class professional pics. But I'm not sure that will sit well with the ag industry. Should I still do a professional "pants suit" pic or should I do a more "formal" yet blue-collar looking pic (Im thinking a nice work shirt and make up/nice hair).

Help? Anyone?

doublenn

1) How do you mean it's trying to connect you to your FT's job industry? Like the advertisements on the side? The "Groups you may like" and "jobs you might be interested in"? I'd say start adding keywords to your profile, and start using LinkedIn's job search feature so it starts realizing what you're actually interested in. If you know a few people in the industry (in real life) that are on LinkedIn, you can "add" them.

In Edit profile, go down to the "Skills and Expertise" area, and fill it in with stuff you're interested in and that you're good at. This will start directing LinkedIn to point you in the direction of stuff you're interested in. Just ignore the stuff that doesn't interest you, and LinkedIn should "learn"

2) I have a picture of myself that is just cropped to my facebook. It's from a dance I attended. I have makeup, my hair looks pretty good, and it look like me. I think if you have a good picture of your face, looking professional, just post that.

CowgirlK39

Yeah, when I log in it tells me about industry summits that are for the industry I do not want to be in. Ok, I figured there had to be some way to get it to pick up on something else.

My brother, who is a big business man, suggested I get my hair and face looking all nice and "professional" and then put on a nice work shirt, all tucked in and clean, and get my fav cow to stand with me for a pic. Even if its just half my body and her head. I might try to do that, but if its not possible (she's been sick lately) I'll do what you said. Good idea. THANKS!

calindi

Hi!  I'm a recruiter, so LinkedIn is kind of my bread and butter.

First, LinkedIn isn't like Facebook.  It's to your advantage to connect with as many people as possible on there because it allows you to see more people that way (friends-of-friends).  Connect to lots and lots of people.  If their profile says "LION", all the better - that means they're a LinkedIn Open networker, meaning they'll connect with anyone to expand their network, which is what you want to do.

Second, join groups that interest you.  At the top, you'll see a little search box.  Change "People" to "Groups" and type in any word that interests you - when it searches, you'll see more drop down options on the left.  Put in a zip code to get more geographically specific to where you want to network.  Then join any and all boards that relate to the field you want to get into.  I'd even start a thread in one of them that's active to ask for suggestions on how to make the transition from your current field to the one you want.  Hopefully you'll be able to network from that!

I've got a ton more suggestions, but I don't want to be a blabber mouth.  PM me if you want more advice, or if you want to know my name so we can connect on LinkedIn.  I do client-to-employee role specific recruiting, so I'm not much help in terms of suggesting a job, but I'm happy to help with LinkedIn tips.

CowgirlK39

Calindi, you are a saint. I will try all those things this weekend when I go to my parents to abduct their computer. You will probably get a PM on here with more of my stupidity next week, haha.

calindi

As far as picture goes, you don't have to put up a super stuffy professional picture.  Just something clean cut and of your face.