Simplified may be an
overstatement but don't get frustrated. Anything new requires use to master;
there's a learning curve. This document will help you find your way around the
new profile look. The intent is to help you learn "how to" use it.
It's not intended as an opinion of whether the new version is better than the
old.
The following are the
basics of navigation as viewed on a computer. Navigating LinkedIn on a mobile
device is not covered.
To view your profile, first
open LinkedIn and locate your picture on the upper right hand part of the task
bar. Click on your picture or the drop down arrow and select "View
profile".
The page you open is
divided into two side-by-side areas. The left hand area is the Profile. The
right hand side contains the Tools (that's my term for it) which are used to
create new sections and perform other useful functions.
When you first join
LinkedIn, you are asked a series of questions that begin to fill out sections
of your profile. Any questions you skip don't fill sections, so incompletely
filled sections appear in Tools so that you can edit them later if you wish.
Whatever you enter in Tools will populate your profile. Once a section is
listed in the profile, further editing can be accomplished by clicking with the
pencil icon on that section of your Profile.
About The Tools area:
Information that can be
accessed in Tools appears differently depending upon whether the page is being
viewed by you or by a visitor. It is also different if the visitor is a 1st
degree connection or a 2nd or 3rd degree connection. When viewing your own
LinkedIn home page you have the option to edit your profile using the Tools
side of the page.
On the other hand, when a
visitor views your page the editing tools are replaced by very limited details
about you. For instance, when viewed by a 1st degree connection visitor, your
contact information is visible. But if the visitor is not a 1st degree
connection, the contact information is hidden.
Editing information in
Tools is accomplished by clicking on down arrows or small question marks. There
are many primary and secondary options for editing sections of the profile so
you should click on all of them.
The Tools are organized
as follows: "Change your picture" is first
"Add a new
profile" follows. Clicking the down arrow exposes 3 sub-options:
"Background", "Skills", and "Experience".
* Clicking the Background or Skills
down arrows exposes further sub-options: "Work experience",
"Education", and "Volunteer experience". Clicking the plus signs exposes forms to fill
out for each.
* Under Skills you have the ability to
add skills you would like to be recommended for.
* Clicking on Experience exposes: "Publications",
"Certifications", "Courses", "Projects",
"Honors and Awards", "Patents", "Test Scores",
"Languages", and "Organizations". Visit each section.
Below the "Add a new
profile" section you will find two useful options "Edit your public
profile" and "Add profile in another language". It is advisable
to click on "Edit your public profile" to view your profile as
visitors see it. If you wish to enable reading your profile in another language
you can do so in "Add profile in another language".
Next, those proverbial
advertisements. That's not different from the old version. But don't stop
navigating at the advertisement. After it you will find "See
connections" and "Contact and Personal Info". Be sure to visit
the latter and make certain it is correct. If you want to be found and receive
calls or email, this information is essential.
About the Profile side of the page:
Your profile begins with
your picture as before although now it is circular and centered at the top. To
the right of your picture are a pencil icon and 3 dots.
When you click on the
pencil icon of any section you can make changes. Depending upon how you set up
your privacy settings your changes will be broadcast to your connections or not.
Privacy and other settings are accessible from the dropdown icon under your
picture on the home page.
The three dots:
On your own profile
clicking the three dots gives you options to "Share profile" or
"Save to PDF". It's wise to save to PDF whenever you update your
profile. If anything goes awry you will have a copy to make recovery easier.
The following table
indicates what options are available when you view your own profile or the
profiles of others:
|
The populated sections of
your profile will appear in the following order:
- Header with your picture, tag line and summary
- Who's viewed your profile
- Strengthen your profile
- Your articles and activity
- Experience
- Education
- Featured Skills and Endorsements
- Recommendations
- Following (Influencers, Companies, Groups, Schools)
How to work around old LinkedIn features that no longer
available:
Professional Interests: There is no section to enter
Professional Interests into. The work around is to go to "Add volunteer
experience" in the tools area. You do not actually have to be a volunteer
to fill out the form.
Advanced Search: The Advanced search button is gone.
However, you can still conduct searches and filtering is extensive. Simply type
in key words into the "Search" space at the top left area of your
Profile. Boolean algebra can be used as well. You can search for People, Jobs,
Companies, Groups, and Posts. Once you enter some keywords a screen will open with
further filtering options: Top, People, Jobs, Posts, Companies, Groups, and
Schools.
For example, enter [plant
manager] without the brackets. You are brought to a page listing plant
managers. If you select People, Jobs, or
Posts, you will be presented with a large list of filters on the right hand
side of the page which can be applied to refine the search. At the bottom you
can create a search alert.
How to join a LinkedIn
group: Just to the
right of your small picture on the main screen Groups is a 3x3 dot icon with
the word "Work" under it. Clicking
on the down arrow opens a "view more" list of options. Click on "Groups",
then click on "Discover". Alternatively you can use the search space
at the top left area of your Profile.
Posting on Group
Discussions:
To post an article to a
group:
Sign in to LinkedIn if you
are not already signed in.
Click on the
"Me" down arrow under your picture.
Click on "View
profile".
Scroll down your profile
until you reach the "Following" section (the last section of your
profile).
Click on any group.
Click on the Gear located
in the reddish-brown area next to "Search" and select the group you
wish to post to.
There are probably many
more 'tricks' that can be used to navigate. If you know of any please post them
here.
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