How are millennials and Gen Z using LinkedIn? Most likely like anyone else – as job seekers, business owners, veterans, students, or employed individuals.

Millennials were born 1980 – 2000, while Gen Z, or the Net Gen, were born after 1997 (Brown, 2011; Social Security Administration, n.d.).

They are connecting with their colleagues, friends, and alumni. They are reaching out to others for internships, which they may get leads on by engaging in informational interviews.

As digital natives, born before 1981 and after the information age, they have grown up with technology.

However, just because they find it intuitive to fill in the blanks on their LinkedIn profile, does not mean that all of them are aware of strategies to optimize their profiles. That awareness, however, applies to all ages.

So what are some dos and don’ts for LinkedIn profiles, especially considering there are upcoming graduations coming up right around the corner? Here are ten tips below.

DON’TS

• Try to be cool and use Unicode in your name, headline, or much anywhere else on LinkedIn because it may not be readable
• Write paragraphs; instead make content more skimmable and scannable
• Forget to leave white space in between bullet points for easier readability
• Stuff with hashtags or not use any; 3 to 9 hashtags is the appropriate amount
• Post Youtube videos if you can post a native video, as LinkedIn wants to keep folks on their platform longer and not send them off to watch a video elsewhere

DOs

• Utilize keywords where keywords matter, like your headline, About section, embellished job titles, Skills & Endorsements, Projects, and Publications
• Include a headshot on your profile
• Create a custom banner using Canva or create a word cloud
• Include your email and phone number in the Contact Info section and the bottom of the about section to make sure people can contact you
• Customize your URL

Although there does not appear to be more current research on LinkedIn than this article from 2016, there are still some interesting statistics and research on how and why millennials are using LinkedIn.

Need to attend LinkedIn workshops to learn more? You can sign up for the third Saturday of the month for a free three-hour workshop on Zoom, which is Saturday, March 20th. You can also listen to several speakers present on LinkedIn: a strategy for keywords on Monday, March 22nd,  another guest speaker on Thursday, March 25th, and research-based strategies on March 29th.

Don’t miss our other upcoming events. Come learn and network with us!

• 3/20 Sat – LinkedIn Part 1 of 3
• 3/20 Sat – Implementing Search Engine Optimization ‘The How’ Part I
• 3/22 Mon – How to Use LinkedIn Career Explorer to Boost Your Job Search
• 3/22 Mon – Bookkeeping Tips Every Small Business Needs – Get Your Business Started Off Right
• 3/23  Tues – Tips & Tricks to Build Your Online Coaching Business
• 3/23 Tues – BENG Plymouth, PA Chapter Meeting
• 3/24 Weed – PowerThinking Resiliency Building Call-In
• 3/24 Thurs – BENG Lancaster, PA Chapter Meeting
• 3/25 Thurs – How to Move from Feeling Stuck to Experiencing Holistic Success
• 3/25 Thurs – Personal Branding + LinkedIn + Networking = Success
• 3/25 Thurs –  BENG Media, PA Chapter Meeting
• 3/29 Mon – Career Success Group
• 3/29 Mon – Strategic Research-based Approaches to LinkedIn

Need to accelerate your job search or manage your career? Explore our Kickstarter offerings.

Missed the previous article on “Captain Obvious on Networking on LinkedIn”? Click here.

References

Brown, T. (2011). Are you a digital native or a digital immigrant? Being client centred in a digital era. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(7), 313. https://doi.org/10.4276/030802211X13099513660992

Social Security. (n.d.). Social Security Administration (SSA) annual data for generational data for SSA employees. https://www.ssa.gov/open/data/EOY-Generational-Data.html