Andy O’Hearn to help PSGCNJ members with LinkedIn issues
By Arlene O’Reilly 
LinkedIn has been touted as a great social media network for professionals – everyone says so. Let’s suppose, like many others, you’ve already created a profile. As it stands, is your profile actually eliciting the results you really want, i.e., can recruiters find you and are they contacting you?
Even if recruiters are contacting you via your profile, like many others, you may be confused by all the changes LinkedIn keeps making to its web site. Well, don’t give up, you can get answers to your questions, and you can get them in person from one of our own PSGCNJ members.
Andy O’Hearn, a LinkedIn expert, will talk about How to Resolve Those LinkedIn Issues during our general meeting Monday, February 24th. Prior to his presentation, Andy asked members to email him their LinkedIn questions. He will focus on answering those questions and others from the audience.
If you are relatively new to this social media website, you may feel stuck, not knowing how to create a profile, other than just replicating your résumé. Andy’s session will cover topics that interest beginners and intermediate users alike.
Even experienced “super-connectors” may have questions and are likely scratching their heads over the many recent changes to LinkedIn. Andy will also show them how they can work with LinkedIn as it continues to evolve. He’ll show advanced users where to focus their time/energy and explain how they can test different approaches to increase their visibility and relevance.
Here’s an interesting tidbit about LinkedIn – did you know that 277 million LinkedIn users, including your former bosses, colleagues, neighbors, family, and friends can view your profile online? In fact, when you Google your name, there is a strong possibility LinkedIn shows up as your website, so, you should try to make the most of this professional resource.
If you want to learn how to create a profile or discover a few new LinkedIn tricks, come to our general meeting Monday, February 24th, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The First United Methodist Church located at 48 West High Street in Somerville.
Please do not park in the handicapped spaces in either the church parking lot or driveway unless you have a wheelchair symbol placard or license plate. Metered and unmetered parking spaces are available on West High Street. Additional unmetered parking is also available on several side streets near the church.
All meetings are free and open to the public. If you cannot attend this meeting, please visit our website www.psgcnj.org for details about upcoming events.
About Andy O’Hearn
Andy O’Hearn is a writer, editor, and researcher who joined LinkedIn on November 13, 2005, 16 months before joining Facebook, just after re-entering the job market himself. His 21-year career in communications and public relations included director-level positions with several industry-leading international companies.
He holds both bachelors’ and masters’ degrees in communications, and studied crisis communications and media training under one of the leading pioneers in the field, Larry Smith. PR Week named Smith one of 22 top crisis counselors in the nation.
Since 1995, Andy helped develop websites, intranets, and video platforms. His master’s thesis was about e-healthcare and website usability. He has completed postgraduate coursework in law, library and information science, digital marketing, and digital analytics fundamentals.
Andy’s 7,630-plus LinkedIn connections, plus his 724 Facebook friends and 385 Twitter followers, give him a current Klout score of 49 – but, as he’ll tell you, it’s not about connections, it’s about relationships. (Klout ranks an individual’s influence in online social networks on a scale of 1 to 100. The more influence one has, the higher one’s Klout score.)