Audience Take-aways From LinkedIn Training
A quick, very informal evaluation of my Online Professional Networking class. Several weeks back I held my last online professional networking class, which focused on using LinkedIn. And due to the bank acquisition and upcoming lay-offs, it had a very strong focus on using LinkedIn as a tool for employment networking.
With less than two weeks left in this bank’s existence, there is no viable need for a course evaluation. However, for the sake of knowing what skills are being applied (level 3 – Behavior) I can peruse the profiles of my attendees, many of whom are connections, and see what learned skills they applied. The class did teach many skills I will not be able to view via their profiles such as writing an effective introduction, searching for business or employment opportunities, actively participating in groups, using LinkedIn as a CRM tool etc. I can see if they are joining groups, completing their profile, using applications, recommendations, status statements, etc. This will be far from a true level 3 evaluation, but it may be helpful to anyone providing a similar training.
The random sampling of 10 attendees are all in the U.S. banking industry and vary in education from high school diploma to advance college degrees. It is also important to note that the vast majority are returning to the job market and attended the class due to this fact.
The number of the 10 sample participants using these features are in parentheses.
- Joined groups (8)
- Completed all sections of their profile (6)
- Utilize LinkedIn status statement (4)
- Customized their profile URL (4)
- Received recommendations (4)
- Used applications (1)
I strongly advocated joining groups in the training. And of the 8 who joined groups, 7 joined multiple groups. So, it is great to see they took my advice. It is also nice to see that people are taking the time to complete their entire profile.
If time permitted I would have liked to compare these numbers to a control group. And evaluate all aspects of the course, not just what can be measured from looking at an audience’s profiles. Perhaps I will be facilitating some version of this class in the future and then evaluate the class in a more formal manner.
Well, this is my very informal evaluation. Hopeful it provides some insight for any LinkedIn trainers out there.
FYI: In addition to the classroom training, I did create some Captivate sims of my LinkedIn tips. Feel free to give them a try and please feel free to share the link with any LinkedIn users, they are absolutely free. http://www.minutebio.com/LI/PowerTips.htm
What are They Talking About? (LinkedIn e-Learning Groups)
I belong to numerous groups on LinkedIn, some I am active in, some less so. With all the buzz on social media and informal learning, I thought I would take a closer look at my groups and identify the types of discussions that are generating the most activity. This is with the intent of gauging how people are using these groups and perhaps what information is being shared.
Here are the LinkedIn e-learning/ISD groups in which I belong. The number of members are in parentheses.
- e-Learning Guild (5,611)
- eLearn (3,416)
- e-Learning Network (3,178)
- ISD & e-Learning Professionals’ Group (2,870)
- Instructional Design and e-Learning (310)
- Advice on Learning Management Systems (LMS)
- Advice / recommendations for e-Learning development tools
- e-Learning design / ISD approaches
- e-Learning / ID career advice
- Career / vendor opportunities
LinkedIn Power Tips – Sims
I just completed my LinkedIn Power Tips page. The page contains interactive simulations for completing the following tasks.
- Using LinkedIn as a customer relationship management (CRM) tool
- Customizing your public profile URL
- Filtering connections
- Checking invitations sent
All the sims were created with Adobe Captivate and include audio. These are “try me” sims, so you will have to make the correct clicks and/or text entries to complete the sims. Don’t worry, the instructions are very clear.
Here is the Link, http://www.minutebio.com/LI/PowerTips.htm.
Online Professional Networking / Linked In Class So Far
- Many were not aware of the “groups” feature in Linked In.
- They were impressed with the number and diversity of groups.
- They were impressed with the amount and quality of the information available in group discussions.
Events
- Participants were very interested in using this feature for finding development opportunities.
- They were impressed with the extent to which they could easily search and find events based on keywords.
Who to connect with and how to find connections
- I tied this to having a completed profile. This will allow you to easily search for past colleagues and fellow alumni. This also allows Linked In to suggest possible connections using keywords in your profile.
- Join groups – keeping an eye out for people who have common professional interests or can assist you with reaching your professional goals and/or you can assist them.
- Participants also wanted coaching on how to introduce themselves to a potential connection. I focused on the fact that they should connect with people they know or people in which they have a common and logical connection. Always personalize the introduction and request to connect, including how you know them or found them and your reason for connecting with them.
