- connecting our global business alumni network
30 June 2023
How LinkedIn can help you build relationships to achieve your goals
An early adopter, UniSA alumna and founder of Newcomers Network, Sue Ellson was quick to recognise the benefits of LinkedIn. Wherever you are in your career, it’s important to manage your profile to the best advantage, so Sue shares some tips on getting the most out of the platform.
Sue Ellson
Founder of Newcomers Network
Bachelor of Business (Administrative Management)
LinkedIn has more than 930 million members worldwide in more than 200 countries. Launched in 2003 (and acquired by Microsoft in 2016), it is the world’s largest professional network.
“It is essentially a huge database that you can use to network, research, publish, engage, learn, endorse, recommend, and so much more,” says independent LinkedIn specialist Sue Ellson. “I have found that LinkedIn offers the best long-term value of all social media because it is based on building relationships in a network and those relationships can help you reach your goals.
“It is also a friendly and professional platform that has maintained steady growth, regular innovation and strict controls to prevent nuisance behaviour.”
Sue’s Top 10 Tips:
1) Modify your URL to your own name to look better wherever you use it and optimise yourself in online search results.
2) Remember that 65 per cent of the view time on your profile will be spent looking at your photograph – put the top of your head at the top of the circle, put your eyes on the one-third line and wear a high-neck garment to frame your face and don’t forget to smile!
3) Fill in as many sections as possible – the more you complete, the more appearances you will have in search results (aim for 50+ appearances per 7 days).
4) Include the keywords you want to be associated with as often as possible throughout your profile, especially in the Headline; underneath your name, job titles, and Education section.
5) List all of the Subjects you have completed in your Education section (also great keywords) and also Topics, if these will help you be found.
6) Be willing to endorse people for their Skills and write Recommendations (and ask for them).
7) Use the mobile app version to add a voice pronunciation next to your name.
8) Use the Scan Code feature via the Search Box in the mobile app version to connect with everyone you meet from now on.
9) Remember it is a form of social media, so engage first (React and Comment on items in the Newsfeed) and publish second (Posts, Articles, Newsletters).
10) Be clear on your purpose and focus on the options aligned with what you want to achieve in life (consult an expert if you want the best ways to do this).
Any questions are welcome via sueellson@sueellson.com
Bringing people together
While completing a Bachelor of Business (Administrative Management) by correspondence as a mature-age student aged 26, Sue Ellson discovered the importance of networking and connectedness, particularly when relocating.
“My final subject was a one-semester research project. With my UniSA lecturer’s approval, I surveyed 96 people who had moved to Melbourne about what would be most helpful to them. While most said a telephone advice service – which had been tried and failed – the second most popular option was a website.”
Sue’s research contributed to a high distinction in the subject, and her overall studies, earned her a place on the Dean’s and Pro Vice Chancellor’s Merit Lists and membership of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
With lived experience of the difficulties associated with relocating from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1994 and as a result of her UniSA research completed in 1999, Sue launched NewcomersNetwork.com in 2001.
“It took a long time to find new, compatible friends, and if it was difficult for me to do this – as an Australian who can speak English – it must also be difficult for other people.”
“Newcomers Network was set up as an independent social enterprise. My research found that some associated the term ‘not for profit’ with charity, and newcomers would not pay for this information even though they needed it. It could not be funded by government as people from some countries are suspicious of anything to do with government, and I wanted to be an independent publisher providing whatever information was helpful to newcomers from any source.
“I personally completed a larger international research project of 541 people in 2004, instigated other initiatives for international students, Australian Citizenship and Multicultural Awareness and provided monthly events for newcomers for 20 years and 14 Christmas Day Picnic Lunches until the pandemic struck. Now it is an online only resource.”
Quick to recognise the benefits of online networking and social media, Sue joined LinkedIn in 2003 (she’s member number 77,832) and began consulting on the platform in 2008. “LinkedIn does not pay me to sing its praises. I have now written and published five books, including two on LinkedIn and the others on Careers and Business, Hyper Local Marketing and Gigsters – people who look for work rather than a job. I believe that with the changes in technology, we will need to be found online for our skills or value we provide and work on a ‘gig-to-gig’ basis in the future.”
“There are many people who want flexibility and lifestyle. While I wrote that book before the pandemic, it was based on my experience of not having a ‘real job’ since leaving Adelaide in 1994 and now, it is probably even more relevant than it was then.”
“My goal is to keep changing the world for the better for as long as I live.”
