15 February 2023
The last few years have been strange. I’m writing this in 2023 and the post covid world is nearly back to normal. We have two new industry collaborative projects on the programme this semester and lots of companies are approaching us with teaching and research opportunities.
This has got me thinking about LinkedIn and its potential for engaging current, past and future students, industry and other academics through online networks. LinkedIn can seem a bit ‘old school’ and irrelevant compared to instagram and other visual social media platforms for designers… However its capabilities for acting as an online CV and contact book for those embarking on professional design careers is still very valuable. Each year lots of students add me as they graduate but I don’t have much of a personal strategy for using the network or posting content except occasional job specifications. I’ll write a student guide soon with principles for LinkedIn profiles but in this post I want to explore some principles that I will try to follow in 2023 for higher quality engagement on LinkedIn for academics. Hopefully this post will be useful to academics like myself who are tentatively using LinkedIn and wishing to engage further with it.
Some excellent information on this topic has already posted like this excellent blog post by Sue Ellison on Linkedin pulse with lots of tips and tricks. The principles below are a personal reflection on what changes I can make to my practice and have an emphasis on designers and design researchers.
I’m very guilty of consuming information on social media and rarely posting. Busyness, perfectionism, distractions etc all factor into this but going forwards I’m going to schedule two 30 minute chunks of time on my calendar on Wednesdays and Fridays to log in and aim to make a post once per week. This blog entry is my first attempt at committing to this schedule.
I also intend to use these posts to ask questions and gradually build up better engagement with further interaction with posts and comments.
I’m working on being specific on my profile page with what type of content I will be posting and the type of people I’m looking to connect with. How can people work with you? How can different audiences collaborate with you on projects? What type of content would you like to see?
Check your profile settings to ensure your profile can be viewed publicly and check if the ‘public url’ can be shortened or made human readable. My page link is https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinskelly/
I have added my profile page to my email footer as I’m writing this guide and attempting to follow these principles! Has it been a while since you updated your own profile page? Why do you not log in right now and update your biography on your University profile webpage, any personal websites and your LinkedIn profile. Remember a little update when you have a moment is better than it being perfect. Schedule a yearly calendar reminder at a suitable time of the academic year to update your CV, University webpages and any personal websites with new publications and projects.
As a programme director I often share job opportunities at certain times of year. This year I’m going to encourage our third year students to make a profile, and encourage them to connect with me and stay in touch with the programme as they graduate and leave the programme.
One thing that still surprises me is the feeling that a portfolio of projects is never finished. I last updated my website and online presence three years ago and have completed a lot of work since. I intend to build a better practice of adding projects and updates gradually rather than waiting until I have enough time to complete a mass upload and I intend to treat LinkedIn the same this year.
Ellison, Sue. LinkedIn for Academics, Professors, Adjuncts, Lecturers, Instructors, School Teachers, Educators, Tutors, Researchers, Deans and Vice Chancellors 2020. Accessed 15 Feb 2023.
Bonilla, Phebe. How to optimise your LinkedIn profile as an academic 2021. Accessed 15 Feb 2023.
Target Jobs. How to use LinkedIn to get a job Accessed 15 Feb 2023.