LinkedIn has quickly become the professional networking and productivity tool of choice for individuals in all stages of their career. Whether it’s searching for a job, connecting with friends, colleagues or potential clients, or sharing expertise with the LinkedIn community, professionals can use LinkedIn to efficiently advance their career or business in a number of ways. With over 30 million members representing 150 different industries (including an executive level presence of every fortune 500 company), LinkedIn should be atop your list of network building tools if it isn’t already.
Keep Your Profile Up To Date
Your first point of contact with other LinkedIn users is your profile, so keep it updated regularly. Your profile is essentially a digital version of your resume showing your work experience, education, interests, website links (your blog, your company, etc.), and your participation in groups or associations both through LinkedIn’s Groups and outside associations. It is very important to keep this information up to date for a number of reasons. Often times, when someone wants to know more about you (i.e. job recruiters, hiring managers, potential clients, etc.) they go to Google or Yahoo. LinkedIn profiles tend to rank very highly in search results meaning there’s a good chance your profile will be the first place these people look. A complete profile will reflect positively on you and will provide positive support of your professional abilities.
It Isn’t What You Know, It’s Who You Know
Now that your profile is set you can begin building your network. LinkedIn easily allows you to connect with contacts through your email clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) which is a good place to start, and they also give you the ability to find current and past colleagues as well as former classmates. Make sure and create a broad network for yourself that serves both your personal and professional needs, but stick to people you know. Invite friends and colleagues, even those who aren’t currently using LinkedIn, to help build your network. Your goal is to build a strong network with contacts who are able to refer you to others, that you would feel comfortable contacting for that purpose. Once you have exhausted your personal and professional resources, you can begin to fully explore and make use of your network.
The Power of Recommendations
One of LinkedIn’s most effective features is the ability to give and receive recommendations. Recommendations allow members of your network to elaborate on your skills and qualifications, and vice versa. These recommendations, embedded into member profiles, boost credibility and add an additional level of professionalism. An easy way to gain recommendations from your network is to first recommend them. A good guide for writing recommendations can be found here. Don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations from friends or colleagues. Let them know you are doing all you can to ramp up your job search and that their assistance would be greatly appreciated. Also be sure to let them know that you will reciprocate the favor by giving them a recommendation as well.
Get Connected to Companies or People You Thought Were Out Of Your Reach
You must take full advantage of your network and leverage it to its fullest potential. If you are looking for a new job and you have a particular company in mind but aren’t sure how to get in contact with the right people, search LinkedIn. Find that companies recruiter or hiring manager and see how many degrees of separation you are from them. (If you are unfamiliar with this feature, see the box on the right hand side of the LinkedIn page which reads “How you’re connected to so-and-so”) This will show you which of your contacts you can use to get an introduction to this person. If you have built your network in the manner listed above, then you should have no issues with asking a friend or colleague for an introduction.
LinkedIn is a largely untapped resource that many job seekers overlook. Whether you currently have a job or are in transition, make sure to update your LinkedIn profile every 3 months, just as you would your resume. A professionally crafted profile will reflect positively on you when it comes time for an employer to do their due diligence on their prospective job candidates.
