10September 2021
LinkedIn is an American industry and employment-oriented social network service that work through various web applications and portals. Launched in May 2021, the network is primarily utilized for professional networking, allowing job seekers to post their CVs and companies to post job openings. In addition, LinkedIn is a great way to find other professionals with similar interests and experience. It has become the leading US professional networking site, second only to Facebook. This article will provide an insight to how you can set up your own profile on LinkedIn.
The first thing you need to do is create your profile on LinkedIn. You can do this by visiting the LinkedIn home page and clicking “Profile” at the top of the screen. Here you will find a search box to type in your personal information and choose a username. If you’re using a photo for your LinkedIn profile, click on the photo to upload it, or copy and paste the URL for a photo you have taken yourself. LinkedIn will prompt you to enter some contact information. Remember to use the @ LinkedIn branding wherever you want people to join your network.
Now that you’ve created your profile and are ready to start posting, the most important question to ask yourself is, what are you going to post? The two primary types of content that LinkedIn lets you put into your profile are content and jobs. Content is much more important than jobs, because these are what other professionals refer to when they’re looking for an employee. Jobs are important, however, because it’s where you present yourself to future employers, so make sure to keep your resume and references inside of this section. It’s also a good idea to put links within your resume for every opening you’re applying for, as well as a link to your website.
LinkedIn also features an extensive network of contacts. These are the people you know in real life, like your coworkers at work or church members, or even those you meet online (like Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc). These contacts are what helps bring you “outside the walls” of your office and allow you to broaden your professional network. But, it’s also the reason why you need to be careful about whom you associate with on LinkedIn. Make sure you don’t become too connected with anyone you meet on LinkedIn, or you could end up losing a great opportunity.
One way to expand your LinkedIn connections quickly and effectively is by following others. This is done by visiting their LinkedIn profile and following all the appropriate links. Be sure to also read the profile first so that you don’t accidentally violate any of LinkedIn’s rules. If you’re just visiting other people’s profiles to find out who they are, this is fine, but if you’re trying to market yourself to them, it’s not recommended. You should always try to stay away from spamming other people’s profiles, unless they initiated the action or they have given you express permission to do so.
Another way to expand your LinkedIn contacts is to create a new job or open a new account. Doing this is simple: just search for jobs (in LinkedIn’s search engine) or open new jobs (there’s a button near the top of the page you can click to open the link) and add relevant information to your LinkedIn profile. When you post your job opening or job description on LinkedIn, be sure to include a link to your website as well so that recruiters can follow you. You can also include a link back to your blog (or WordPress blog, if you own one) and/or an external site. It’s important to keep your website and blog’s RSS feed consistent with your other social media sites, especially Twitter, which is linked to Facebook and vice versa. The more people who can follow you, the more likely you are to receive targeted leads.
Another great way to get new LinkedIn contacts is to attend events sponsored by or associated with industry groups and related industries. Attending these events allows you to meet and network with people who have an interest in the same things as you do. You may also find job leads and other connections at these events. If you’re attending a conference or trade show associated with a particular industry, check out LinkedIn and social networking sites like it to look for interesting contacts.
The last strategy I’ll discuss for getting LinkedIn leads is simply to participate. Even though LinkedIn has a great security feature that limits who can login, you can still share what you’re doing – whether that’s about your job search or something else – with the people you connect with on LinkedIn. Ask them to invite you to lunch or maybe attend a workshop. This doesn’t have to be done every day or even every week, but when you’re actively participating in the discussions, you increase your visibility.