Leveraging, Learning, and Connecting with LinkedIn
On Friday, June 25, NWNY held a two-part company session with our devoted partner, LinkedIn, helping community members learn how to build their best profile and develop meaningful professional relationships through this essential job search and networking tool
Opening NWNY’s second quarterly session with LinkedIn this year, community members shared why this opportunity piqued their interest and what they hoped to gain by participating in this informative yet interactive company session. Meryem Uzumcu, NWNY’s Program Associate for Partnerships, and I noted participants’ questions as Annie Stankevich, Head of Enterprise Sales, East, at LinkedIn, joined our ice-breaker conversation. Immediately, Annie acknowledged the value of participants’ questions with her signature bubbly demeanor and can-do attitude. Before starting her engaging presentation, Annie outlined our goals in understanding “the world’s largest professional network” while also encouraging participants to ask as many questions as possible throughout her presentation. With Annie’s help, we learned how to build our LinkedIn profiles and professional networks, leverage our presence to secure meaningful opportunities, and utilize LinkedIn’s job search tools.
Emphasizing how essential it is to have a LinkedIn account as we pursue our professional goals, Annie shared her favorite stat with us: “9 out of 10 employers use LinkedIn during the hiring process.” Annie then continued: “Your LinkedIn profile [speaks] to all potential employers whereas your resume should really be tailored to whatever job you’re applying to. Your LinkedIn profile goes into a lot more detail [about] your projects, interests, and certifications…Depending on who you talk to, your resume should really only be one page, it should be super high-level.” During LEAD, NWNY’s flagship workforce development program, we devote two workshops to the importance of tailoring our resumes and ensuring that they are a strong 1-pager following U.S. resume standards. Participants’ heads nodded in agreement as Annie went on, sharing the uniqueness of our LinkedIn profiles compared to our resumes: “Your profile also allows other professionals to interact with you […], so it’s living and breathing, it’s very much like your own professional website. Lastly, it contains recommendations and endorsements for your skills.”
One participant then inquired, “How would you ask for a recommendation? It makes me nervous. What are the best practices for making this kind of request?” Breaking down her personal approach, Annie started off: “I would never recommend sending a blind recommendation request through LinkedIn without first talking to that reference.” She then went on to explain how after reaching out to her desired reference, she guides them on what skills and accomplishments she wants to be highlighted through their recommendation, and even offers to “ghostwrite” if the reference is comfortable with or prefers this option. Another participant asked for more clarification concerning the sometimes daunting About section: “Is the About Me like my elevator pitch?” Annie exclaimed in response, “Yes, exactly!” This connection was helpful for many of our community members in removing the anxiety attached to writing about themselves. It was a reminder to rifle through their LEAD toolbox, having developed and practiced their own elevator pitch during our workshops centered on networking and public speaking.
Turning to how to grow our connections and build our professional networks from the ground up, one participant asked, “As new immigrants, how do we build our contacts, our connections? Because we are from different countries, the connections we already have might not be useful.” Sympathetic to this participant’s experience, Annie reminded her that every connection matters, no matter the distance. “The majority of [LinkedIn’s] members are actually in Asian Pacific countries and the European Union. [It] really is a global network.” She then explained how participants can build new connections now that they are in the United States and expand beyond their home base. Additionally, she explained the importance of setting up informational career chats with new connections as a means of exploring a field of interest or particular role, gaining career advice, as well as finding channels of collaboration. Annie strongly encouraged participants to take advantage of this practice to “get into the mindset of interviewing,” and even shared a templated message that participants can use as they seek to coordinate their own informational career chats.
Fifteen LinkedIn professionals joined us for the second part of this dynamic company session. Before helping our participants with their LinkedIn profiles, building some from scratch, LinkedIn professionals chatted with one another and excitedly acknowledged Annie, showing our participants, in real-time, how networking first begins with your colleagues.
Echoing each other’s excitement to participate, volunteers and participants, paired based on fields of interest to expertise, were then sent off to breakout rooms. Returning from these one-hour breakout sessions, one participant intimated that she didn’t have a LinkedIn, and now, with the help of her paired volunteer’s expertise, she has a profile to continue working on at home following the direction and encouragement of her partner. One volunteer shared how he planned to join us for our next session, feeling inspired by his interaction with his partner. Another volunteer chimed in, sharing this was his third time participating and how he too plans to continue volunteering, realizing the impact volunteers have through imparting their insider tips and knowledge. We, too, wholeheartedly look forward to next time. With each quarterly session, we strengthen our partnership with LinkedIn, which is pivotal in serving our community’s needs while also enhancing our efforts to create accessibility to meaningful employment for immigrant women in New York City.
