The old days of searching want ads and going door-to-door looking for new career opportunities are over. Now, networking is the key to landing that coveted position. One of the easiest ways to enhance your networking potential and build your personal brand is through LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an online professional network that allows you to stay in contact with colleagues and classmates, opening up a world of potential opportunities. To begin creating and utilizing your profile, use the following three tips.
1. The first step is creating a profile on LinkedIn, and selecting your profile picture. Ideally the picture should be a professional headshot, but if you do not have one you can use a professional picture that contains only you. Your profile should read like your resume, with the focus being career and education history, not personal interests. Be sure your summary consists of only a short description of your professional experience and skills.
2. Once your profile has been established, you can begin looking for contacts to connect with. Your employment and education history will automatically generate contacts for connections, but you may want to upload your email address book to be sure you did not miss any vital connections. If you send a connection request to someone that you do not know very well, be sure to include a short, personalized message stating how they know you to increase the chances of an accepted request. Connections are important since this is how you network on LinkedIn.They may have information on job opportunities in their companies or have valuable contacts in their network they can introduce you to. Connections can also vouch for skills you have listed on your profile by endorsing them. The more endorsements you have on a particular skill, the more strength you are perceived to have in that skill. Recommendations are also a valuable tool connections can leave on your profile, since they are the LinkedIn version of referrals. Be sure to reciprocate any endorsements and referrals.
3. Be sure to join groups that are relevant to your business and target markets. Try to only join three to five groups. To effectively increase your LinkedIn visibility, you should strive to review and participate in group discussions at least once per week. In addition, share relevant, resourceful, and rich content with each group that can help other members, post comments, and answer questions.
These tips will help get you started in the right direction with your LinkedIn profile, but be sure to Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more tips and information!
