Leverage LinkedIn for Professional Success
4 Ways to Accelerate Career Growth with LinkedIn
As a Certified Professional Résumé Writer and College/Career Strategist, I think LinkedIn is THE tool for job seekers and those who take a proactive approach to their career growth. While Facebook is also a good connection tool, LinkedIn is designed for networking, which makes it easier to avoid unproductive distractions. I personally love LinkedIn and use it almost every day.
What is the best way to use LinkedIn as a career advancement and networking tool? I’ve put together 4 ways to leverage LinkedIn for your own continued success:
LinkedIn for Marketing: Articulate Your Brand
Your LinkedIn Profile is how you’ll make your first impression, so plan it as if it’s going to be a Times Square billboard. That means you’ll need:
A Professional Headshot - Skip the selfies and splurge on a professional photo session. Make sure you’re smiling and dressed professionally.
An Engaging Headline - You are more than your job title. Come up with a headline that conveys your best professional quality.
A Personalized Profile - Create an impression that tells people who you are and what you value. Use the profile section to share your values, contributions, goals, and strengths.
For more help creating a profile that gets you noticed, read my LinkedIn Blog from earlier this year.
2. LinkedIn for Networking: Expand Your Connections
Once you set up your profile, you may be wondering what to do next. Making connections is how you grow your network on LinkedIn. Once you’re connected to and following other accounts, you’ll be able to start interacting on your newsfeed. Here’s how to grow that network:
Request Connections - start searching the names of people you know and send connection requests. Don’t worry about including a note with anyone you know personally. Once you begin connecting to people you don’t know yet, include a short message about why you’d like to connect and that you look forward to networking with them.
Join Groups - Search for groups in your industry, local area, and other fields of interest. Also look for alumni groups for your college or high school. Once you’re in a group, review the list of members, and request to connect with people you’d like to meet.
Interact in the Newsfeed - Like other social media platforms, you can share and comment on posts in your feed. Interaction in the comments is a great way to gain visibility and make new connections. Make sure your comments are thoughtful and invite more conversation.
Use the Follow Feature - LinkedIn allows you to follow companies and individuals so that you see their posts in your feed. Sometimes this is a good way to interact with a well-known figure, or a way to check someone out before you send a connection request. When you look at a profile, scroll to their Activity section and click on See All Activity to get a feel for how they use LinkedIn.
Accept Connections - Since you’re not using LinkedIn to share personal information, it’s okay to let down your guard a bit about accepting connection requests. If you realize a connection that’s not a good fit (their posts make you uncomfortable, they are blowing up your inbox with sales pitches, etc.), simply unconnect and move on.
The most important part of networking on LinkedIn is making sure you spend time there! Commit to a 15 minute session on LinkedIn 2-3 days a week, and interact with your newsfeed to get the most out of the platform.
3. LinkedIn for Job Search: Discover Your Opportunities
As LinkedIn gets to know you, it will curate job suggestions that match your profile. But don’t be passive about the process. There are many great companies posting job offers to LinkedIn, and a lot of opportunities popping up right in your newsfeed! To narrow down your job search, try these ideas:
Leverage your Network - Your profile has a checkbox that tells your connections you’re looking for work opportunities. You can also post what you’re looking for in your newsfeed, and you can make it part of your about section. Reach out to connections who work in your industry or at companies that interest you to set up informational interviews. Be sure to ask if there’s anything you can do for them in return.
Participate in Groups - Join job seeker groups in your industry to learn about opportunities.
Access the Job Search Tool & Alerts - This robust feature is better than most job search tools, so use it often and set alerts to get job post updates.
Follow Company Pages - Visit the activity feed of companies you follow from time to time to see if they are posting new opportunities. When applying for a position, use the company page to see if you can find out a name to reference in your cover letter.
While looking for your own next opportunity, don’t forget to be a resource, too. Share job opportunities in your newsfeed, make connections between contacts, and keep an eye out for ways to help your network.
4. LinkedIn for Interview Prep: Do Your Homework
Use LinkedIn to find out more about a company’s values and style than you can learn on their website. Prepare for your interview with these tools:
Watch Company Pages - I know I keep bringing this up, but a company that uses LinkedIn is serving everything right to you on a silver platter. Learn about their people, their culture, their news, and their values.
Engage Your Network - Who do you know that can share insight into the company or position? Someone who has worked there can tell you about the company, but someone with the same role elsewhere can tell you what the day to day job might entail.
Know Your Interviewers - Look into the profiles of people who work at the company to get a sense of company culture and staff turnover. If you can find the profile of the person who will interview you, get a sense of that person’s style.
Once you have a sense of who the company is, remember to consider if you can see yourself being part of that team.
As you can see, LinkedIn is kind of a gold mine when it comes to career advancement tools. Don’t feel as though you have to master it all at once. As I said earlier, spend a few minutes several days a week warming up to the platform and getting comfortable with it. You’ll begin seeing results quickly in new connections and opportunities. Oh, and if you haven’t connected with me yet, what are you waiting for?!