LinkedIn Resources for Faculty and Staff
Why LinkedIn?
With more than 700,000 professionals, 20,000+ faculty at AAU private universities, 2,000+ Notre Dame alums serving as professors, and 1,000+ Notre Dame faculty online, LinkedIn can be one of the most convenient networking tools for faculty across many disciplines. 3
Getting Started
Creating a LinkedIn profile is simple. All you need to get started are three things:
- headshot (note: your photo will not be all that large on the screen -- you can get away with taking a selfie and cropping the size)
- list of your professional experience
- No need to worry about describing your role or accomplishments. Just a simple list of your current and past roles will suffice.
- list of your educational degrees (note: you don't have to include the years you earned each degree, although, it does help others network with you)
While this is the bare minimum, there is much opportunity for growth to build out your profile. Scroll down to read more about enhancing your profile.
Understanding Connections
LinkedIn uses a series of three degrees to organize your connections. LinkedIn describes these as:
1st-degree connections
People you're directly connected to because you've accepted their invitation to connect, or they've accepted your invitation. You'll see a 1st degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can contact them by sending a message on LinkedIn.
2nd-degree connections
People who are connected to your 1st-degree connections. You'll see a 2nd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can send them an invitation by clicking the Connect button on their profile page.
3rd-degree connections
People who are connected to your 2nd-degree connections. You'll see a 3rd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. If their full first and last names are displayed, you can send them an invitation by clicking Connect. If only the first letter of their last name is displayed, clicking Connect isn't an option.
3 Ways to Search for People
After creating your profile, you can be begin connecting. Finding possible connections is easy.
- Search bar at the top of the page
- Alumni search (note: this one gives lots of false positives, but the search results are great)
- Advanced search (use the green icons on the navigation bar to refine your search)
Helpful Pre-Populated Searches
The following links provide quick search results to search for particular faculty (note: contains many emeritus faculty and adjunct)
- Professors at Notre Dame
- Professors who are Notre Dame alumni
- Professors at AAU private universities
note: you can use any of these search results to further refine -- just click on the green menu items on the navigation bar to change filter settings. If you find a search you wish to use in the future, you can save your search results by copying the URL after you execute the search.
Enhancing Your Profile
In only 30 minutes you can enhance your profile with these quick steps.
- Customize your URL
- Add a header image
- Update your tagline to be interesting
- Add a brief paragraph describing your research interests or experience
- Provide more information about past positions you have held
- Showcase your work by adding media (PDF, videos, presentations, etc.)
Interacting with Others
- The purpose of LinkedIn is to build connections and network with others.
- Here are 3 ways to connect with someone:
- Send a connection request (simply click on the "connect" icon)
- "Reacting" (like button, etc.) or commenting on someone else's post (note: all of these actions will appear in your "feed")
- Posting a message and tagging an individual or organizations (type @ and then the name of the person or organization -- a menu of options will appear for you to select the correct one).
Making a Connection
Any connection you make must be "accepted" by the recipient. For many connections, just clicking on the "connect" icon will suffice. Adding a tailored, personal note will typically increase the likelihood of making a connection; however, notes can also make a recipient hesitant to accept, as they may feel obligated to reply with a comment. As such, keep your messages brief. Here are a few examples:
- For someone you know, but have not connected with in a while: Hope all is well with you, (name). Just updating my connections on LinkedIn and came across your profile. Regards, (your name)
- With someone you hold in high regard: Hello, (name). I'm expanding my network of colleagues and noticed your profile on LinkedIn. No response required -- I look forward to connecting in the future. Regards, (your name).
- Action-based: Hello, (name). I'm a (title or role) and I (give a brief reason why you are connecting). Thanks, (your name).
Here's a tip -- keep a collection of these messages handy (in an email, OneNote, a Google Doc, etc.) so you can easily copy and paste your connection messages.
Want Feedback?
As a service to our faculty partners, you are welcome to complete this brief form and a staff member from the Center for Career Development will conduct a quick review of your profile and provide a few tips.