Hello. I'm Pam Davis Acey and Associate Director of Career Management for the SC Johnson College of Business Career Management Center. I worked primarily with students and the Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Today, I'm going to walk you through some strategies for optimizing your LinkedIn profile for your career development while here at Cornell. Similar to your other career-related branding materials such as a resume or cover letter. Your LinkedIn profile is one of the easiest ways for a recruiter or hiring manager to assess if the skills and experiences you possess or what they're looking for. Before we get too far into it, some interesting facts to share with you. We know that 95% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source their candidates for jobs and a similar percentage of hiring managers will actually vet their applicants by their LinkedIn profiles at some point during their selection process. We also know that one connection on LinkedIn can result in an average of 400 or more possible new connections and provide access to over 500 possible job opportunities. One interesting fact to note, there are close to 427 thousand profiles linked to Cornell University. Now that we know some statistics about how recruiters and decision-makers are using this vast platform with close to 810 million users around the globe to find potential hires. And we see the value of building connections with other professionals. Let's discuss some strategies that will help you be more visible and make some important connections for you. Today, I'm going to touch on just six elements of your LinkedIn profile and that can help you start getting your personal brand in front of those hiring managers looking for top talent and grow your network with some meaningful professional connections. Let's start with your headline your headline is right below your profile picture and most employers will start their search there. Your headline is the easiest way for you to communicate what you are doing with potential employers. Think about the roles that you're pursuing or any specialized skills that you have. As you can see in these examples, terminology like payment technology or industry segments like FinTech or UX UI are ways to signal to potential connections what area you hope to work in. Be strategic about using those industry-related words in your headline to increase you're showing up in searches by recruiters and networks. Next, make it easy for employers and professional connections to find you, customize your LinkedIn URL. Consider using your name or your personal elements of your personal brand, since this link will be public and it will be included on your resume and potential job applications and the example here you see our Dean Cynthia Saunders Cheatham has opted to use her full name as customized link. Also, you consider putting the customized link in your signature block in an e-mail or even including it on your business card. You can start customizing your URL by clicking on the ME icon at the top of your profile. Next, tell your story in a summary what we would call the About section. This section follows after your profile picture and it's where first impressions are made with about 2600 characters you're able to introduce your brand or your professional story providing information about your motivations and passions, accomplishments and aspirations. This is the section where you can also mention some of your current academic pursuits in any of your intended per post graduation plans. Always strive to be impactful, descriptive, and concise when you can. Next, highlight your experiences similar to the work you may have already done on your resume you want to write about experiences demonstrating the breadth and depth of your skills and accomplishments Unlike a resume, Linkedin profiles don't have a page restraint and you definitely have room to share the myriad of experiences that you have if you like if you aren't comfortable listing the bullets from your resume let's say consider writing one to two sentences that highlight those measurable outcomes for each of those experiences remembering stats are your friends similar to your resume, numbers are always a great way to show impact. Also, do your research and track the typical words or phrases that you're seeing in the job postings you're interested in and make sure that those words are in your profile. Next, showcase your skills this section is actually near the bottom of your LinkedIn profile you'll be able to identify a myriad of your hard or technical and soft skills, a unique feature to this section actually is that your network can also endorse you for some key skills. This is certainly going to help build your professional reputation and credibility, Linkedin actually reports that profiles with at least five skills listed receive more profile views than those with less than five. Also remember, sharing is caring if a connection endorses you share the wealth and endorse them back. Finally, let employers know you're interested if you're on LinkedIn to recruit let them know, let your network know. Now, this section used to be called career interests and LinkedIn and the fall of 2021 streamlined it to allow users to signal to employers and professional connections really easily that they're open to work. Let LinkedIn's algorithm personalized job recommendations and make suggestions for new connections based on your profile. Lastly, some resources for you, a few resources to help you keep building that best Linkedin profile. Linkedin guys in LinkedIn Learning, or two great online resources for content about your profile networking in a job search. Also, keep tabs on how your profile is faring from a marketing standpoint the social selling index will score your profile and provide suggestions on how to further optimize your personal brand on your profile if you need a professional picture for your profile, we have the profile picture kiosk located in Nolan hall. We also have a Big Red Threads Clothing Closet for individuals that are looking for professional clothing according to a 2021 Pew Research Center study, users are on LinkedIn for no more than seventeen minutes a month, that's it, just Seventeen minutes set aside that time now in your schedule to be on that platform regularly, LinkedIn still remains an important career tool for emerging professionals. Now that you've optimized your LinkedIn profile you're ready for LinkedIn 2.0 be sure to schedule an appointment with a career coach to learn more about strategies that will help drive more views to your profile leading to more meaningful connections and job opportunities. Your career team is so excited to welcome you to campus and to work with you during your time here at Cornell, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you.