Are you on LinkedIn? You should be. Set aside some time to fill out a profile and get a headshot to include on your page. You want to make sure you have a good headshot, one that looks professional if you want to be considered to be a professional in your community.

Aren’t sure how to make LinkedIn work for you? There are plenty of how-to guides out there. Or, talk to the Career Services Office at your law school, even if you are an alum. Career services people are often well versed in developing a stellar LinkedIn profile, so why not let them help you! 

Now, how do you network using LinkedIn?

Individual Connections

Once you are on LinkedIn you want to connect with other people. You can search for friends and co-workers. You want to build out your network based on individuals you know. Then, as you meet new people, you want to connect with them on LinkedIn as well. Make sure you send a personal note with your request such as this: “Ms. Burgess, I heard you speak at the Catapult conference and I would like to connect with you on LinkedIn.” Since I know where you met me, I am more likely to accept your request.

Groups

I am still on the fence about the effectiveness of LinkedIn groups, but many people think they are great. So you should go ahead and give them a try. It is important that you find relevant groups that might be the best for you to join.  Groups come in many shapes or forms, but they allow you to engage and have conversations with like- minded individuals who are also engaged in the group. (If you want to learn more, this is an excellent how-to to check out.) Besides groups that are on topics that may interest you, you may want to check out alumni groups from your college and/or law school.

Recommendations

Although this is a newer feature of LinkedIn, you may want to explore soliciting recommendations from past employers for your profile. If you “request recommendations,” then an email asking employers to submit a brief text to be included on your profile will be sent. (Here are some additional tips for generating great LinkedIn recommendations.)

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And check out these other helpful posts:

• Legal Networking 101: How Do You Know What to Talk About While Networking 
• Legal Networking 101: A New Definition of Networking
• Legal Networking 101: Don’t Be an A**hole
• Legal Networking 101: Networking Today Isn’t Like the Networking of Yesterday

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