Improving Your LinkedIn Effectiveness
Whether you’re a big social media user or not, there’s one thing we should be able to agree on- LinkedIn should be a tool that actively works for you, not just an app you check once a day. What does that mean? Similar to passive income, your LinkedIn profile should be bringing you opportunities and connections even when you're not on it. But how? Easy, check out these tips. Some are aesthetic, some are informative, but they should all help make your LinkedIn profile that much more effective!
Actually complete your profile!
This one sounds easy, but a surprising number of people are so close but don’t finish their profile. Platforms evolve and LinkedIn is no different. The days of no profile pictures and minimal information are no more. Find a business professional photo to use for your profile, some pointers for those who might need them:
Preferably a headshot. It can be candid but you should be looking at the camera.
If you’re a smiler, SMILE!
This should not be a group photo of you and your friends at a party, or graduation, or anywhere.
Be sure to crop out anything in the photo that could hurt your first impression, remember, this is what your future employer sees! So no beer bottles, no cigarettes, and no photo bombers!
The summary is another section that many leave blank because they either don’t find it important or they don’t know what to write. This goes back to the early days of LinkedIn where it was basically just an online version of your resume. While this is still a main function of your profile, there is so much more! The best way to look at your summary is to look at the dreaded first question of an interview, the ‘tell us about yourself’ prompt. Let them know a little bit about what you love about your job/industry, and then be sure to include a little bit about what you love outside of work! This is a great way to connect with people who otherwise wouldn’t have known you had common interests, or even make them see you as a real person and not just a picture on a screen!
Endorsements
Endorsements are a great way to showcase your skills to those visiting your page. These range from soft skills such as adaptability and presentation skills, to specific abilities such as cloud computing and data mining.
While you might have outlined these skills in your job descriptions or summary, getting an endorsement from a peer goes that much further! Some might feel awkward asking for endorsements, or just might not be sure on how to broach the subject, but a great gesture to start things is endorsing a coworker or former colleague's skills on their page! You help out a friend and make it that much easier to ask “Hey, I was on your page the other day and endorsed some skills I know you excel in. Would you mind taking a minute to check out my profile?”
Get Active!
Now that your profile is ready to go, let's get some eyes on it! Send out connections to those in the industry - even a simple message such as “Hey! I saw we are in the same industry and wanted to introduce myself. Are you interested in connecting?” Not everyone will say yes, but it’s a great start!
Now, your connections only benefit if you’re active on your page and timeline, otherwise, they see nothing new about you or the industry. Share a post that resonated with you, comment on one asking for opinions, send an article to your connection if you think they would find it interesting, or maybe it helps solve a problem they’ve been having!
The only thing a stagnant profile says is, “This person does not check LinkedIn, don’t bother!” Just imagine how many opportunities you might be missing out on simply because they don’t think you’ll respond!
So, how do you make your LinkedIn work for you? Complete the profile, spread some love with endorsements, and get active! We hope this helps those who need it, and as always, best of luck on the job search!