Online networking through LinkedIn is massive, says BDO internal talent acquisition manager Phillipa Dale who has worked in recruitment since 2004, moving to BDO early 2019. As someone who receives torrents of invitations to connect on LinkedIn, she is well placed to share advice and insights on how to use LinkedIn appropriately as part of your job search. Here are 6 tips from Philippa.

1: Be professional at all times

Check all brand touch points – Facebook, voice mail, email address - as well as your LinkedIn profile. They all have an impact. Do a Google search on yourself and make sure the information out there about you reflects well from a professional perspective.

Go by this rule: “Would you want your grandma, previous school principal or your potential boss to see this information?”

2: Network appropriately online

There is a fine line between networking and stalking. Don’t harass people. I get a lot of people wanting to connect with me. It’s a competitive job market - so tell me why you want to connect with me?

Sending an email or message without any explanation is not good networking.  Make sure you’ve thought about who you’re trying to connect with, why you’re connecting with them and why they would want to connect with you.

Don’t send the same email or message to 20 people. Make an effort to personalise so I can see you are genuinely interested in me or the organisation and that you are not sending out the same general message to lots of people.

3: Learn about organisations

Businesses often use LinkedIn to promote their own brand. Follow groups and companies and keep up to date with what they’re doing. You can find out a lot about an organisation and employees through LinkedIn. Businesses also use LinkedIn for recruitment purposes so make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and you are active on it.

4: Ask for introductions

New Zealanders are great at helping each other out. If you use LinkedIn genuinely and make the effort, many people will respond to your requests for connections/advice.

Connect in with families, friends and professional groups – tell them you’re looking for help and ask their advice. For example, I’ve applied for xx role, what is the best way to go about this? Can you tell me more about xxxx.

But don’t spam people for information you could find with a bit of research.

5: Be more than a keyboard warrior

A keyboard warrior is someone constantly emailing and expecting a response, rather than picking up the phone when the option is there to do so. Don’t just rely on online applications or social media channels. I enjoy talking to people who make an effort to call me.

6: Make it honest and relevant

Make sure your profile and info is succinct, relevant and factual. I like people who are polite, get to the point and make it relevant to myself. Think about the person you’re approaching and ask yourself, ‘what is in it for them’? This is important whether when connecting on LinkedIn or connecting in other ways.

We have lot of checks in place to check out your career and qualifications so be honest, says Phillipa. “One graduate applied who had a criminal conviction for misuse of inappropriate commentary and imagery on Instagram. These things are checked in the recruitment process.”

Need help to create or improve your LinkedIn profile?

Employability Lab runs regular workshops. Go to Elabonline, and search for workshops, then LinkedIn. Not used Elabonline before? It is easy.  Just put in your student number and ID and click 'current student' (if you are an AUT student) and 'graduate' (if you are an AUT graduate),

Even as a graduate?

Yep, you can access our Employability and Career Services for two years after graduation. We look forward to seeing on campus or online.