You now have a solid LinkedIn profile, but you don’t quite know what to do with it.

After all, it’s difficult for scientists to self-promote. To many, it just feels unnatural. Plus, your contacts are out of date, and LinkedIn functionalities like Endorsements seem to be not quite right you as an academic.

Given that, how exactly are you supposed to use LinkedIn appropriately to connect with other scientists and find job opportunities?

You’re in luck. On top of the tips we compiled for our last post, we’ve found the best strategies for using LinkedIn to network in academia.

In this post, we’ll tell you the keys to networking for academics on LinkedIn: how to find and sustain a professional relationship with colleagues and experts in your field, get others to Endorse and Recommend you in the right ways, and connect LinkedIn to the rest of your professional life.

1. Get connected to your existing web of co-workers and advisors

It’s surprisingly easy to find people you already know and add them to your network on LinkedIn.

Use the Add Connections tab in the top right corner of your profile to connect LinkedIn to your email account.

LinkedIn then suggests Connections based on your contacts. A rule to follow for LinkedIn, as opposed to Twitter and Facebook, is that you should only select Connections you actually know and feel comfortable asking to keep in touch (former collaborators, co-workers, and friends are good choices).

When Connecting, it’s a nice touch to send a message saying hello. Networking is all about building meaningful relationships, not how many people you have in your virtual Rolodex.

2. Request introductions to new contacts

If you want a good way to meet potential collaborators or get an “in” for a job, Connecting with strangers can be useful.

But how do you get around the awkwardness of asking strangers to Connect? The answer: ask a current contact for an introduction.

Here’s an example of how that would work: I’m not currently Connected to genomics researcher Mike Eisen on LinkedIn, but let’s say I want to collaborate with him to do some research on a great idea I have.

The first thing I need to do to connect with him is find a contact that we have in common. So, I visit Mike’s profile. On the left-hand side is a “How You’re Connected” graphic. I can scroll through the list of contacts we have in common to find a suitable middleman–Mendeley’s William Gunn.

Next, I would click on the “Ask William about Mike” link. In the dialog box that appears, I’d write my request for an introduction and send it to William. The request should follow three key rules:

Be specific

William might take 10 minutes out of his day to write a recommendation for me, so I shouldn’t waste his time. That means telling him exactly why I want to meet Mike: what Mike does that interests me (he’s a genomics researcher), and what I’m looking to get out of an introduction (an opportunity to tell him about my great research idea: widgets for genomics researchers).

Include a “pitch” as to why an introduction would be valuable

Likewise, I should make it clear what Mike would get out of meeting me. What do I bring to the table? In this case, it’d be the chance to learn about a well-received new widget, and a future NSF grant opportunity.

Show appreciation, and also provide William with an “easy out”

William’s time is valuable, so I should make it clear that I’m thankful that he’s considering writing an Introduction. A good way to do that in addition to saying thanks is to give him a way to beg off without feeling too guilty.

Two additional rules for special scenarios are: 1) If we didn’t know each other well, I’d want to remind William how we met, and 2) If William does introduce Mike and I, I should follow up with an update and thanks.

Using these rules, here’s how my request for an Introduction reads:

Hi William,

I’m writing to ask if you’d be kind enough to introduce me to Mike (if, of course, you feel you know him well enough to do so). As you know, I’ve been toying with a new idea for widgets for genetics researchers. The prototype has been very well received by our initial user group; I think it has the potential to be a success, with the right stewardship.

It’s for that reason I want to connect with Mike. Being a well-known genomicist, Mike might be interested in the widget and, eventually, collaborating with me to go after a round of NSF funding. I hear there’s an upcoming “Dear Colleagues” letter that may be specifically related to genetics research widget design.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read this and considering my request. Feel free to decline if you don’t have the bandwidth to make the Introduction right now, I completely understand.

Best,
Stacy

One final note: keep your requests for introductions to “2nd degree connections”–that is, friends of friends–because your chances of getting a meaningful introduction to a stranger through a friend of a friend of a friend depends on too many variables to be successful.

3. “Cold call” people you want to get to know

This strategy is one of the most risky, but can also be rewarding if it helps you move beyond your existing network and break into new areas–especially important for those seeking jobs.

You can use LinkedIn messaging to send a short note to introduce yourself to and ask advice of individuals who have a job similar to the one you’re aiming for, or to get in touch with recruiters (if you’re looking for a job in industry). You might also consider writing messages to people you don’t know that have viewed your profile, if you think it’d have a payoff (i.e. a connection or, better yet, a lead on a job).

4. Boost your discoverability with the help of your network

Let’s be clear: Endorsements can be totally useless when not done right. In the past, I’ve been endorsed for “Library”. And I’ve seen Endorsements on others’ profiles for even more mundane things.

But Endorsements can be useful for academics, if done with care. The more people Endorse you for a skill or knowledge area (like “Grant writing”), the more you are associated with that skill by LinkedIn and search engines–thereby upping your appearance in search results, surfacing you to potential collaborators or future employers.

Here’s how to keep from getting Endorsed for something too vague to be useful. You can control what others are able to Endorse you for by editing the Skills & Endorsements section of your profile. Delete any skills that don’t apply or aren’t relevant. You can also reorder how those skills appear on your profile–helpful for breaking out of a loop where you are most often endorsed for the skills you’re most endorsed for.

 If you choose to Endorse others, be sure to only do so for people you know, and for skills you actually think they possess. Otherwise, it comes off as spammy.

5. Land at least one Recommendation

Recommendations can help you network passively using your profile. Having at least one Recommendation on your profile makes it clear what type of an employee or collaborator you are, which builds trust in your personal brand.

Asking others to write Recommendations for you doesn’t have to be awkward. Offer to write a Recommendation for them, and let them know you’d welcome a Recommendation in return. Just be sure to make it clear that reciprocation is by no means required.

When writing a Recommendation, make it clear how you know him or her. Did you serve as co-chairs for a professional society? Did she supervise you at your last job? Give specifics about what makes him or her a solid co-worker, and let the reader know what types of jobs you think she or he could excel at.

6. Let others know you’re here and ready to dance

Now it’s time to connect your LinkedIn presence to the rest of your professional life.

Make new LinkedIn Connections in your offline life by advertising that you are on the network. One way to do that is to create a memorable LinkedIn URL and include that URL on your business card. You can also put your custom URL or a LinkedIn badge prominently on your professional website or blog.

LinkedIn should be just one piece of your online identity. Academia.edu, Mendeley, and Impactstory all have functionalities that LinkedIn lacks; use those sites to host your publications, find new collaborators, and track impact metrics for your work.

7. Boost the signals and cut the noise from LinkedIn Notifications

LinkedIn’s Notification emails can be both a blessing and a curse.

Notifications about your Connections–which include information about their new jobs, promotions, and requests for Recommendations–can be a nice way to stay abreast of what your colleagues are up to, and a reminder to check-in with former coworkers to say hello.

However, all the Notifications can sometimes be too much. (Do you really need to know about your LinkedIn Connections’ work anniversaries?) You can reduce the “noise” if you are sure to only connect with people you know, and review your Communications settings to make sure you’re getting the types of email you’d prefer to see.

You’ll also want to pay close attention to what sort of Notifications you’re sending out. Job seekers especially should make sure their “Activity broadcasts” are set up correctly (go to Privacy & Settings > “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts”), so current employers don’t get emails letting them know you’re on the job hunt.

Are you ready to rumble?

By now, you’ve reconnected with coworkers and friends to build a meaningful network. And you’ve learned how to hack some of LinkedIn’s more annoying features–Endorsements and Notifications chief among them–to build your brand as a scientist, making new contacts and uncovering professional opportunities along the way.

Do you have other tips for networking using LinkedIn? Want to share a story about a time you triumphed–or failed–to make new Connections or get a Recommendation on the site? Leave them in the comments section below!

Like 1.9 million other academics, you’ve got a LinkedIn profile. Along with the rest of us, you set it up to improve your visibility and to network with other researchers.

Well, we’ve got some bad news for you: your LinkedIn profile probably isn’t doing either of those things right now. Or at least, not very well.

The problem is that LinkedIn is built for businesspeople, not scientists; it’s tough to translate the traditional scholarly CV into the business-friendly format imposed by LinkedIn. So most scientists’ profiles are dull and lack focus on their most important accomplishments, and their networking attempts are limited to “friending” co-workers.

We’re going to fix that by giving you seven easy hacks to turn LinkedIn into a powerful tool for scholarly visibility and networking.  Today, we’ll help you supercharge your profile; then in our next post, we’ll show you how to leverage that profile to built a powerful professional network.

1: Bust down barriers to finding your profile

What good is a killer LinkedIn profile if no one can find it, or if your profile is so locked down they can only see your name?

 Your first job is to check your “public profile” settings (go to Privacy & Settings > Edit your public profile) to make sure people can see what you want them to.

What might others want to see? Your past experience, summary, and education, for starters; also include your best awards, patents, and publications. But don’t worry if you haven’t got the right content in place yet; we’ll fix that soon.

Next, double-check your settings by signing out of LinkedIn completely and searching for yourself on both LinkedIn and Google.

Are you findable now? Great, let’s move on.

2: Make your Headline into an ‘elevator pitch’

LinkedIn includes a short text blurb next to each person’s name in search results. They call this your “Headline,” and just like a newspaper headline, it’s meant to stimulate enough interest to make the reader want more.

Here are some keys to writing a great LinkedIn headline:

1. Describe yourself with the right words: Brainstorm a few keywords that are relevant to the field you’re targeting. Spend a few minutes searching for others in your field, and borrowing from keywords found in their profiles and Headlines. For instance, check out Arianna C’s Headline: “Conceptual Modelling, Facilitation, Research Management, Research Networking and Matching”. Right away, the viewer knows what Arianna is an expert at. Your headline should do the same.

2. Be succinct: Never use two words when one will do. (Hard for academics, I know. 🙂 ) Barbara K., who works in biotech, has a great Headline that follows this rule: “Microbiologist with R & D experience.”

3. Show your expert status: What makes you the chemical engineer/genomics researcher/neuroscientist? Do you put in the most hours, score the biggest grants, or get the best instructor evaluations from students? This is your value proposition–what makes you great. Those with less experience like recent graduates can supplement this section by showing their passion for a topic. (I.e., “Computer scientist with a passion for undergraduate education.”)

4. Use a tried and true formula to writing your headline: 3 keywords + 1 value proposition = Headline success, according to career coach Diana YK Chan. So what does that look like? Taking the keywords from (1) and value proposition from (3) above, we can create a Headline that reads, “Computer scientist with a passion for undergraduate education and experience in conceptual modelling and research management.” Cool, huh?

Well-written headlines are also key to making you more findable online–important for those of us who need to disambiguation from similarly-named researchers beyond ORCID.

3: Make yourself approachable with a photo

The next step to making yourself memorable to get a good photo on your profile. Here are three tips to remember:

• Don’t tilt your head. Lots of folks, especially women, do this in photos to look more friendly, but it ends up making you look unassertive instead. Be confident.

• Turn your shoulders; the straight-on post yells “mugshot.”

• Try posting an action shot, emphasizing for the viewer what you’re good at–for instance:

  public speaking,

  

  field work,

  

  and coding.

4: Hook ‘em with your Summary section

Now it’s time to encourage viewers of your profile to learn about you in more detail. That’s where the Summary section comes in.

Your Summary is an opportunity to provide a 50,000 foot view into your career and studies to date. Don’t just use this section to repeat information found elsewhere on your profile. Instead, write a short narrative of your professional life and career aspirations, using some of the keywords left over from writing your Headline. Here are three tips to help:

Be specific

Don’t use technical jargon, but do provide concrete details about your research and why it matters. Make yourself a person, not just another name in a discipline. Anthropologist Jason Baird Jackson does a great job of this:

“I have collaborated with Native American communities in Oklahoma since 1993, when I began a lifelong personal and research relationship with the Euchee/Yuchi people.”

Be up-front about what you want

Don’t beat around the bush when it comes to your professional goals. If you’ve done your job right, future employers, reviewers, students, and collaborators are probably reading your profile. Great. Now, what do you want to do with them? Let them know what you’re after, like scientist CW Hooker does in his Summary:

“I am always interested in discussing collaborations and future opportunities.”

Prove your value

Finally, use your Summary section to describe what you’ve done and why it matters. Elizabeth Iorns, breast cancer researcher and entrepreneur, explains to profile viewers that,

“Based on her own experiences as a young investigator seeking expert collaborations, Dr. Iorns co-founded Science Exchange. In 2012, after recognizing the need to create a positive incentive system that rewards independent validation of results, Dr. Iorns created the Reproducibility Initiative.”

 Right there is proof that she gets stuff done: she’s created solutions in response to service gaps for scientists. Impressive!

5: Give the scoop on your best work

If you’re a recent graduate or junior academic, it can be tempting to put all of your work experience on your LinkedIn profile.

Don’t do it!

Putting all of your positions on your profile can trivialize the more important work that you’ve done and make you look scattered.

Remember, your LinkedIn profile fills different role than your CV–it’s more of a trailer than a feature film. So include only the jobs that are relevant to your career goals. Mention a few specifics about your most important responsibilities and what you learned at those jobs, and save the gory details about your day-to-day work for your full CV.

A good rule for more senior researchers to talk mostly about your last 10-15 years of experience. Listing all of your past institutions will make for a monster profile that will turn readers off with too much detail.

After all, why would someone care if you were a lab assistant for Dr. Obscure at Wichita State University in 1985, when the more compelling story is that you’ve had your own lab since 2006?

6: Brag about your best awards and publications

Keeping it short and sweet also extends to discussing awards and publications on your LinkedIn profile. Highlight your best publications (especially those where you’re a lead author) and most prestigious awards (i.e., skip the $500 undergraduate scholarship from your local Elks club).

If you’re seeking an industry job, keep in mind that publications and awards don’t mean nearly as much outside of academia. In fact, you might want to leave those sections off of your LinkedIn profile altogether, replacing them with patents you’ve filed or projects you’ve led.

7. Add some eye-catching content

If LinkedIn were designed for scientists, it’d be much easier to import information from our CVs. Too bad it’s not. Nonetheless, with a little ingenuity you can make the site great for showcasing what scientists have a lot of: posters, slide decks, and figures for manuscripts.

If you’ve ever given a talk at a conference, or submitted a figure with a manuscript for publication, you can upload it here, giving viewers a better taste of your work. Add links, photos, slideshows, and videos directly to your profile using the Upload icon on your profile’s Summary and Experience sections. Consider also adding a link to your Impactstory profile, so you can show readers your larger body of work and its popular and scholarly impact.

Want some inspiration? Neuroscientist Bradley Voytek has added a Wow Factor to his profile with a link to a TEDx talk he gave on his research. Pharmacology professor Ramy Aziz showcases his best conference talks using links to Slideshare slide decks. And Github repositories make an appearance alongside slide decks on PhD student Cristhian Parra’s profile (pictured above).

You too can upload links to your best–and most visually stimulating–work for a slick-looking profile that sets you apart from others.

If you’ve followed our steps to hacking LinkedIn’s limitations for scientists, that drab old profile is spiffed up and ready to share. Now you’re poised to make lasting connections with your colleagues via LinkedIn, and hook potential collaborators.

But! You haven’t even scratched the surface of LinkedIn’s value until you use it to network. We’ll show you how to do that in the second part of our series. Stay tuned!

Do you have tips for crafting great LinkedIn profiles, or what you–as an employer–look for in a LinkedIn profile? Leave them in the comments below!