Leverage the power of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great tool to help you cultivate your career, network with other professionals and find new jobs or new employees – but so many people don’t know how to leverage its power.
LinkedIn has more than 300 million active users and is the number one career management tool in the world. For all its usefulness though, many of us rarely use it, doing little more than signing in from time to time.
Sound familiar? We’ll share some simple strategies and top tips for LinkedIn to help you advance your career.
Get ahead before an interview
It’s common practice to look for information about a new job candidate before an interview to find out about their skills, experience and education, but it can be just as useful in reverse.
If you’re preparing to interview for a new job, use LinkedIn ahead of time to do some extra research on the people who will be conducting the interview – you could find valuable information about things you have in common that will help you make a lasting impression when you’re in the room.
Show off your credentials
Many people fill in the bare bones of their LinkedIn profiles and then forget to go back and complete the rest, but doing so can have a real impact.
Think of it as an advanced CV – you can take up all the space you need to show off your credentials, work experience and achievements throughout your career in more detail than is typically allowed when submitting a job application. Recruiters and employers regularly search for candidates based on past experience and by failing to fill out your profile you could be missing out on opportunities you never knew existed.
Post status updates
Posting a status update is a simple way to draw attention to yourself and your business and reach out to your network. Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn has a newsfeed each user will see with updates from people they’ve connected with.
By sharing thoughtful commentary, interesting resources and job postings you are establishing a presence and reminding people you’re there.
This is particularly useful if you run your own business or are responsible for promoting a product or service – if you establish yourself as an expert by sharing useful resources with others, they’re more likely to approach you with an opportunity in future.
Network the easy way
Networking is one of those words that makes people cringe – and if you’re not naturally extroverted the thought of promoting yourself and making new connections might feel totally unappealing.
Let LinkedIn do the work for you – use it to seek out friends and colleagues from your role now and past jobs you’ve had through the years. Even if you’re no longer working with them it’s an easy way to stay in touch.
The site also makes it easy to recommend connections and endorse them for skills. Get into the habit of doing this regularly and you’ll notice that others will start to do the same. Taking a few moments to comment on a connection’s status update or like what they are doing will help you keep in positive contact and could lead to them getting in touch with a new opportunity or offering some advice or an introduction to a contact you need in future.
So tell us: have we inspired you to take a second look at LinkedIn?
Rachel - Silversurfers Assistant Editor
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