Using LinkedIn Effectively
/For a jobseeker or job changer, LinkedIn can offer a valuable tool to get to know the world of work and to learn about opportunities and networks that are more in reach than you might think.
But first, how did LinkedIn start and what is its purpose?
LinkedIn launched in 2003 and is the largest career development social network in the world with 774 million members across more than 200 countries. As of 2015, most of the company’s revenue came from selling access to information about its members to recruiters and sales professionals.
LinkedIn offers useful resources to job seekers: providing information, acting as a noticeboard to highlight your unique value, giving you access to organisations and job sectors at the push of a ‘Follow’ button and making your information public to recruiters who may be looking for what you have to offer. It gives you quite a bit of control over your jobseeking.
Individuals use LinkedIn for professional networking, connecting and job searching. Companies use it for recruiting and for sharing company information with prospective employees.
Steps to a strong Profile
Choose a Professional Photo – the right clothes, a clear background and good lighting are important
Write a strong Profile Summary – Make the most of the character limit in this section. Use short, compact sentences, avoid jargon, write in the first person and use keywords.
Improve your Profile – This is your bulletin board that contains your work experience, education, skills, endorsements and recommendations from others in your network. Include relevant keywords that you think search engines and hiring managers might look for.
Make connections - Let LinkedIn make suggestions to you from your address book and from your pool of contacts. Most people will be happy to get a LinkedIn request and grow their network: after all, that is why they are there! Think about people you’d like to reconnect with professionally or people (including public figures) you are curious about.
Your skills list is important – it shows employers and recruiters at a glance what you are able and qualified to do. If you endorse other people’s skills, it helps you to reconnect with them and invites them to visit your page and endorse yours.
Grow your network - Start to like and respond to the content that other people post. Pay attention to the 2nd and 3rd numbers on people’s names on your Newsfeed. These are people you may already know or may be one degree of separation from.
Use LinkedIn Recommendations and Endorsements – These will never hurt your profile. One of the best ways is to endorse others in your contacts as this helps you to get noticed.
Change your LinkedIn URL to something simple related to your name and add it to your CV.
Post some content – perhaps some articles that you read and would like to share. Photos are popular. Don’t be afraid to show your personality but keep your content clean, professional, relevant and work appropriate.
Use LinkedIn to job search – follow your occupation or career themes as hashtags that are relevant to your industry, your country, your location. Use the search function and the buttons at the top of the search page to look for Jobs. Think about organisations that would give you an insight into what you are aiming for.
Use LinkedIn to learn about organisations - Look up organisations you are interested in and follow their pages or suggested follows. If you are active on other social networks, compare their pages on those networks to LinkedIn. Assess which networks they are more likely to use for job postings. If you are preparing for an interview, LinkedIn can be a great resource to you when you’re researching the organisation.
Tweak your Profile – Set a reminder in your diary to update your LinkedIn profile every 3-6 months until it becomes a habit. Update with key projects, successes, some activity on your Newsfeed or anything that feels more relevant now than it did 6 months ago.
Although it can have its fair share of targeted marketers and cold call messages, LinkedIn has managed to preserve its core function and professionalism with less scope for fake profiles or trolling than other platforms. Which means that, while not perfect, LinkedIn can feel like a more focused and safer space than some other social media platforms.
If you start using LinkedIn along the lines of what is suggested here, your page will naturally become active and alive and - most importantly - useful to you. Why not try it and see how it goes!
Some Useful Resources
How to Use LinkedIn Effectively (thebalancecareers.com)
