HARNESSING THE POWER OF LINKEDIN

I recently attended a Career Advancement event, where we talked about Resumes, Interviews, LinkedIn optimization, among other things. Someone mentioned how LinkedIn is somewhat intimidating for her. You know how there’s always someone posting about getting a new job (via LinkedIn or not), finishing a course, graduating, or something like that. I admit it could be a tad bit intimidating sometimes, especially if you’re between jobs. So, here are a few ways to optimize your LinkedIn account, get more out of it, and make it work for you.

1 – A Professional Headshot:

Now, put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter: if you stumbled on two accounts, one with a profile picture in which she was pouting, wearing a bonnet, and on her bed and the other with a clear picture, clean background, neat hair, and sitting on a chair or standing, which of them would you be more drawn to reach out to?

Your profile picture, most times, gives the recruiter the first impression of you. Try to make it as good as possible; if necessary, you can go to a studio or get a photographer to take your headshot.

2 – Be Detailed:

It is not enough to have a tagline that says you’re a Freelance Writer or Developer. Why not talk about the types of pieces or software you have published or built? If possible, upload the links to some of your past works. Basically, convince me as a recruiter, that you are good at what you do.

3 – Ask For Recommendations:

We spoke about convincing a recruiter that you are good enough. Endorsements and recommendations are other ways to do this. Have you ever tried a product because you heard from someone or a few people that they had tried it and it was good? You can apply that to LinkedIn too.

Ask your friends or people you have worked with to endorse your skills or write you a recommendation. It does not have to be a superior colleague; you could ask your colleagues, people who reported to you, or your friends. If a recruiter sees your recommendations, (s)he could be propelled to speak to you. Your connections may even be impressed and refer you for open roles.

4 – Make Meaningful Posts and Comments:

How can you be a marketer, and all you post about is your dead dog, a party, or something along those lines? LinkedIn is a professional app, and you should use it as such. While they don’t have to be rigid, dull, or overly serious, your posts should highlight events related to your career and skills or something you’ve learnt.

When you see a post that resonates with your skills and values, you can reshare, like, and drop a comment. That way, people who read your comment or are in the same field as you may be interested in connecting with you.

5 – Ensure You are Following People in Your Line of Interest:

Yes, you’re on LinkedIn to make connections, get a job, or something, but you are also there to learn. To get more information and learn things related to your career or fields you want to venture into, it is essential that you follow people in that line. They may share posts, resources, event opportunities, etc., that could help you.

All of the aforementioned are some of the tips you need to note to make LinkedIn work for you. There are other things too, like minding your tone, courtesy, texting professionally, not spamming people with messages, etc., but one step at a time. We’d write more articles in the coming weeks on how to empower your job search – fingers crossed. Wishing you the best in your career journey.

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