LinkedIn Tipsheet

The Basics:
 Upload a professional photo (i.e. you facing camera in business attire, no people cropped out).
 Create a headline or title, for example “J.D. Candidate at Loyola Law School” or “Law Clerk for
Law Offices of John W. Smith”.
 Customize the URL specific to your LinkedIn page. Select “Manage Public Profile Settings” under
the “Edit Profile” button. Then click on the link for “Customize your public profile URL” on the
right side of the page. Revise the link so that it reads: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname.
Add this to the signature line of your email.
 The summary is your elevator pitch. Use keywords, legal industry terms and active language to
increase the Search Engine Optimization.
 Describe your education and employment history in detail. Do not mention current or former
clients without their consent. Include professional skills in your “specialties”.
 Add activities to personalize your profile, such as hiking or singing, as well as participation in
journals, clubs and student organizations.
 Add links to your website, blog or twitter that you want as part of your professional brand.

Beefing Up Your Profile:

 Join groups such as Loyola Connect, Bar Associations, Undergraduate Alumni Group, etc. Look
at profiles of colleagues, supervisors and those with your dream job to get ideas of which groups
to join that are relevant to your professional interests.
 A recommendation on your profile helps make it 100% complete; it gets you listed in LinkedIn’s
“service provider” directory; and improves your professional brand. Only ask for
recommendations from people who know you well in the capacity you are seeking a
recommendation.

Building Your Network:

 Send invitations to high school, college, law school classmates, former colleagues, family,
friends, and family friends, old professors, and anyone in your email contacts list.
 Connect forward by inviting people you meet at events, conferences and trainings to connect
with you, and review their contact list to see if there is anyone with whom you would like to
meet for an informational meeting. Be sure to ask your contact if you may mention their name
in an introductory email to the person with whom you are seeking an informational meeting.
 DO NOT use LinkedIn’s generic language in invitations to connect. Make the subject line and
message personal and remind the individual how you know them.
 Find and follow companies that you are interested in working for; ask for introductions through
your network to get connected.
 Find Loyola Law School alumni via the “Network” then “Find Alumni” tab.
Branding Yourself:
 Brand yourself with a strong public profile and status updates; by creating groups; giving and
getting recommendations; posting events; or bringing connections together.
 Share updates with your network, such as interesting articles, videos related to your brand.
 Use groups to make connections, find job listings, establish thought leadership and keep your
pulse on hot industry issues.

Best Practices for Job Hunting:

 Find jobs by keyword, title, company, postal code, function, industry, years of experience and
date posted using advanced search.
 If someone you know is connected to someone who works where you are seeking a job, you can
contact the person that you know and ask if they can put you in touch or put in a good word.
 Use LinkedIn to get the inside scoop on potential bosses, colleagues and interviewers by looking
up their profiles. Do a “Company Search” to find out who formerly worked at the employer and
then contact them through LinkedIn.