Have you heard about LinkedIn's Alumni Tool?

The LinkedIn Alumni Tool is a hidden gem on the world’s No.1 professional social networking site.  Currently, over 81,000 UK students and alumni have a LinkedIn profile, and this number is rapidly growing. Whether you’re job searching, looking to expand your network, relocating or exploring career paths, I suspect you will find the LinkedIn Alumni Tool to be an invaluable resource.  Through this website, you can research UK (or any institution for that matter) alumni who are on LinkedIn, personalizing your search based on preferred geographic location, industry, company, college major and skill set. 

If you’ve never visited this site before, www.linkedin.com/alumni, take a few minutes to check it out. If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn account, consider creating one so that you can reap the benefits of this feature.

When you initially access the site, be sure to expand the “Attended” dates to broaden your search. Personally, I have my dates set as broad as allowed to ensure that all of my fellow Wildcats on LinkedIn are captured in my search. (Note: You can also change schools if you have additional alma maters or want to research professionals who graduated from a grad program or institution you are considering to attend.)

Let’s say you are planning to relocate to Chicago, you are in the marketing field and you are in the process of researching viable companies in the Chicago area.  You will want to select “Greater Chicago Area” from the “Where they live” column. Then select “Marketing” from the “What they do” column.  Just by two clicks of your mouse, you will see that there are 105 UK alumni on LinkedIn who live in the Chicago area and are in the marketing industry. If you look under the “Where they work column" you can view a list of companies where these alumni work. Better yet, their LinkedIn profiles are generated for you and voilà! Not only will you gain insight on possible companies to consider, but you also have a list of Wildcats to network with!

Your UK alumni network is an exceptionally valuable resource of professionals. The LinkedIn Alumni Tool helps you learn ways to strategically tap into that network and connect with Wildcats across the globe. 

- Posted by Kelly Allgeier

Social Media Refresher

What should our online profiles look like?

Your online profile(s) should look like a positive and professional representation of who you are.

If you have multiple social media footprints (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.), you want to be sure that they all tell the same story. Be consistent in your profiles to make it easy for your audience to quickly recognize your brand. 

According to Jobvite’s 2013 Social Recruiting Survey, 94 percent of recruiters use or plan to use social media in their recruitment efforts. Don’t put anything on social media that you wouldn’t want your boss, colleagues, clients and customers to see. LinkedIn is the No. 1 professional social networking site in the world. 

Think of your online profiles as a free self-marketing campaign. They are a representation of you and, in turn, a representation of how you would represent your company/employer.

What are some social media Do's and Don'ts?

Do keep it clean and professional.                   
Do showcase your good communication skills.       
Do clearly communicate your professional brand.       
Do regularly check your privacy settings.            
Do know the appropriate social media etiquette.  

Don’t neglect your account or let it misrepresent you.           

Don’t use social media as a platform for "venting." 
Don’t ignore the significance of your virtual identity.
Don’t give your employer a reason to fire you. 
                                                                                                                          

What are our professional networks saying about us online? 

This depends on how seriously we take our professional networks. It is important to know that employers and recruiters are using social media to research job candidates. Typically, people only include items on a resume that they want the employer to know about. By typing your name in a search engine, employers have an opportunity to learn even more about you…positive or negative. Be conscious to create a personal brand tailored toward your target industry.

What should we be mindful of when we use our social media accounts?

Be mindful of your potential audience. Google yourself and see what you find. “Recruiters are placing increasing importance on candidate social profiles and 42 percent have reconsidered a candidate based on content viewed in a social profile, leading to both positive and negative reassessments.” - Jobvite’s 2013 Social Recruiting Survey. 

Use social media to your advantage!

LinkedIn Alumni Event

Are You LinkedIn? A Crash Course in Social Networking

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 5:30 p.m.
Hilton Suites, Lexington Green

Have you ever wondered how LinkedIn might go beyond reconnecting you with former friends and actually serve as a mechanism to advance your career? Then join fellow University of Kentucky alumni for an informative session, Are You LinkedIn? Crash Course in Social Networking, where you will learn:

-What it is and how it can help in a job search
-How recruiters are using social networking
-How social networking assists with professional development
-Why joining LinkedIn groups and participating in Q&As are important
-How to create a LinkedIn profile that gets results

Presenters include Tammie Geis, senior recruiting manager for ACS, and Molley Rickets, a Luckett & Farley recruitment professional. Admission is free for UK Alumni Association members and $5 for nonmembers. Space is limited, so register today.

Job Search Strategies

-Trying to find your supervisor from a job ten years ago where you made an outstanding contribution?
-Wish you could find a contact at XYZ company before you submit a resume and cover letter?
-Wanting to learn more about the career background of the person who will be interviewing you next week?

These are some of the reasons alumni are choosing to utilize social networking job search tools like LinkedIn.com. Although you can’t count on simply filling out a profile and waiting for employers to find you, tools such as LinkedIn can help aid your job search in the above ways. Also join the “Official University of Kentucky Alumni Group” LinkedIn group.

Caroline’s Favorite Job Search Resources

LinkedIn.com a social networking tool that helps job seekers find former colleagues, research employers, obtain references, and search for leads. Join the University of Kentucky Official Alumni Group to network with other graduates and share leads.

Simplyhired.com or Indeed.com job boards with 100’s of crawlers. Fill in “keywords or what” and “where” and let the internet do your work in seconds.

Expert Resume book series by Wendy Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark gives examples of current trends in resume writing complete with excellent examples.

LinkedIn and the Job Search

Here's a great article on using LinkedIn for your job search. http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/02/10-ways-to-use.html