How to make the most of your LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a fantastic networking platform connecting business professionals and B2B business. It’s a really useful tool particularly for recruiters when seeking potential candidates and vice versa. LinkedIn is most likely to be the biggest aspect of your professional presence online- so you want to make it count! Your profile needs to be as full and appealing as possible and you should use it as a tool to interact with professionals and potential employers within your field.
Here are some hints and tips to help you make your LinkedIn profile the best it can be!
Picture
You should have a picture of your face on your profile! It makes you far more trustworthy and it can help contacts and connections to find you and confirm they have the right person!
List your skills
Be sure to list your featured skills and collect endorsements from your connection who can confirm your experience in these areas. This will make your profile more robust and reliable when seen by potential recruiters or employers or people looking to use your services or business.
Get recommendations
Similarly to the above you can collect recommendations on LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to ask peers or clients to contribute to your recommendations section.
Key words but avoid buzzwords
Your profile should include words that are key to your sector and your expertise but you should avoid the commonly overused buzzwords. These are mostly soft skill descriptors like passionate, motivated or focused- you shouldn’t put anything you cant back up using your profile!
Make sure your profile is complete- and keep it up to date
The elusive algorithm favours those with full and active profiles. You are going to be more visible to other people online if your profile is complete and engaging.
Interact
The purpose of LinkedIn is networking so …network! Join groups relevant to your sector or for things that interest you. Send requests to people you know or want to know. Interact with peoples posts, liking and sharing but more importantly commenting adds visibility for you but also solidifies your standing in your online community.
Post!!
Post your own thoughts, start conversations and share interesting articles you read regarding your sector, current affairs, business or the workplace in general along with a few words about what you thought!
Open to work banner
LinkedIn has a nifty new addition where you can add a banner to your profile picture to show that you are either hiring or open to work. This will increase the likelihood of recruiters contacting you if they are sure you are looking for opportunities.
Check out this article posted by Cultivated Culture who have some great pictures on how to vamp up your LinkedIn profile, especially your profile and cover photo!