Researchers & professors: if LinkedIn still brings up images of corporate-style schmoozing in your mind, it's time to let them go: more and more academics are joining the platform and using it to enrich their network and open up new opportunities for collaboration and paid work.
Are academic conferences the only place you're meeting professionals outside your university? It's time to fix that. The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can bump into incredible people you'd never otherwise get the chance to meet.
If you're starting from zero connections on LinkedIn, it's OK. With these 5 tasks, you'll be on your way to a great network in a couple of months.
1. Fix Your Headline
The biggest mistake I see in academics' LinkedIn profiles is a headline that does nothing to serve them. Think of your headline as a phrase that people would Google if they were looking for someone with your expertise.
This means that the headline 'Associate Professor at X State University' will leave you out of search queries because people don't use that phrase when they're looking to connect or hire. Try emphasizing your specific area of expertise, like 'Data Informatics' or 'Special Education Expert'.
If you're also open for additional opportunities like consulting, be sure to put that word in your headline so that interested people can find your profile.
2. Fix Your Picture
Too many professors either have a bad profile picture, or worse yet, no picture at all. Having no picture or a bad one is like walking into a networking event with a paper bag over your head.
Your picture should be clear and the shot should be framed to have some space all the way around your head. And SMILE!
If a professional photo isn't in your budget now, it's OK. Have a friend use a phone with a decent camera to get a clear shot of your face and shoulders.
3. Fix Your 'About' Section
If someone ends up on your page, it's because you have a good picture and headline. If they leave without connecting or reaching out, it's usually because your 'About' section is either blank or it's not informative.
You have plenty of space to write about yourself here, but keep in mind that people skim when they read it, so unless creative writing is essential to your career goals, just get to the point. This means describing your expertise in basic language, what you have accomplished in your career, and the types of work you're available for.
It does help to have a bit of personality in there too: In my profile, I share my story of how I started my business and why I love what I do. This helps people get to know me a bit before connecting or following.
4. Make New Connections (But Not Too Quickly)
We all start at zero, and if this is you now, don't stress about it. You can get to the magical number of 500 connections very quickly by blasting out connection requests to large numbers of people every day, but I don't recommend this approach. Your feed will be filled with irrelevant junk if you have too many lower quality connections, which will make it impossible to start having meaningful conversations.
Instead, be intentional about the people you connect with. Look at their profile and make sure they are active by looking at their recent posts. If their posts are relevant and interesting to you, go for a connection request.
When you reach out to connect with others, include a simple note about why you want to connect. Here's an example of one I wrote recently:
Dear Kevin, I saw your recent post about balancing work and family through a mutual connection and I'd love to connect. I've been thinking a lot about the same things as a parent and business owner. Regards, Ginger
No big deal. Just be specific about what drew you to them.
5. Engage
Steps 1-4 are completely wasted if you don't actively engage on the platform by commenting on others' posts, writing posts of your own, and having conversations in the DMs.
This step doesn't need to be a huge time suck: 15 minutes a day will do. If you're brand new to the platform and you're having trouble knowing how to get started with engagement, I recommend the following procedure:
Each weekday, set a timer for 20 minutes. Then:
For the first 10 minutes, read through your feed and leave comments on interesting posts that you have something to say about (comments like "I agree!" will not cut it). If you get into a conversation with someone in the comments, reach out to them for a connection.
For the next 5 minutes, write a post of your own. Expect little to no engagement with your posts at the beginning.
For the last 5 minutes, send 1 or 2 direct messages to people you'd like to learn from, perhaps through an informational interview.
I recommend staying away from the platform on weekends if your schedule allows it, as it can really start to take you away from your other critical tasks.
OK: you've got a plan--now it's time to implement it.
You can get steps 1-3 out of the way in under an hour. Don't stress yet about the number of connections--this will happen mostly organically, but you do need to engage regularly, so make sure to clear 20 minutes a day in your schedule for that part.
In a couple of months, you will find LinkedIn to be much easier, and most important, that your life is enriched by the new people in your life.
Ginger Lockhart, PhD is a former tenured professor and creator of QuantFish, a statistics education platform, and QuantFish R&D, a research and consultancy service. She does this alongside her husband and three young kids from a little farm in the West Virginia countryside.
Follow along here for guidance on starting your life as an independent academic. Continue the conversation on LinkedIn.
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