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Courtney Sanders, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing at Governors State University, would not be in her current position without the professional networking site . An active social networker, Sanders received a message through the online professional networking site in 2011 that resulted in a new job and a $50,000 raise in salary. “And I wasn’t even looking,” she said.

In a session at the ��ɫֱ�� Annual Meeting, Sanders told a packed audience how to effectively use LinkedIn in higher education. Linkedin has 250 million members—a dramatic increase from its 4500 members when it launched in 2003. While many attendees had Linkedin accounts, a show of hands throughout the session’s Q&As showed that many were not taking full advantage of the resource. Here are tips Sanders offered for improving LinkedIn profiles:

• Be complete as possible, and include: your industry and location; an up-to-date current position (with a description); two past positions; your education; your skills (a minimum of 3); a profile photo; and at least 50 connections.
• Make sure profile is 100% complete.
• Make sure there is relevancy.

“This is your 'Welcome',” Sanders said.

She added her top ten profile mistakes:

• no photo or bad photo
• lack of employment data
• minimal or no summary
• failure to customize profile URL
• no website listed
• not using status updates regularly
• no answers or asked questions
• no recommendation (given or received)
• not having at least 200 connections
• don’t belong to any groups

Other aspects of LinkedIn depend on the user’s goal, Sanders said. For example, an open networker will accept anyone who requests, while a closed networker only accepts invites from people he or she knows.

“It depends on how you’re using LinkedIn,” she said. “But the more people you are connected to, the better your profile looks.”

Sanders recommends including information, such as awards and scholarships from several years back.  “List everything,” she said, noting that an affiliation with the Girl Scouts in high school might connect you with a professional contact with same affiliation in the future. It might be the one thing that ties you to that person, Sanders said.

She added that those in higher education might also consider using the CardMunch application, which converts business cards into users’ contact lists. Sander’s other recommendations include posting updates regularly and consistently, using detail and keywords in profiles, following companies, and being courteous by  not using automatic messages but instead writing notes about how you know a person and why you want to connect.

Joining LinkedIn groups—but no more than 50 at a time—is also key. Users should think carefully and strategically, she said about what types of groups would benefit them.  It’s easy, she said, to start a group, but “don’t ever moderate a group by yourself; get other people to help.”

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