5 LinkedIn Strategies You May Have Overlooked
Written by: Gabriella LoBue, MS Business Analytics, Dec 2019
By far, one of the most powerful tools you can use in the pursuit of career development is LinkedIn. Investing the time and effort to revamp your profile can open doors for maximizing opportunities and leveraging your personal brand, so why not make sure you do it right? Of course, you should have a professional profile picture and a customized URL, but what might you have missed the last time you updated your LinkedIn?
Don’t neglect your Summary statement
The purpose of the summary is to describe who you are, what you can do, and where you want to go. This brief statement should clearly express your goals, whether you are seeking a job or a mentor, and what you can offer based on past or current work experience.
Use job descriptions to drive your relevance
Copy and paste several job descriptions for positions you are most interested in into a word cloud tool. The words that stand out the most in your cloud are the skills that recruiters value most when searching for candidates. Incorporate these keywords into your profile as they apply to your own experience and increase your chances of being seen.
Spice up your headline
Rather than having your headline simply feature your title and company, use this as an opportunity to tell your “so what?” Catch recruiters’ eyes with a very brief but impactful summary of what it is that you do. Do you have specializations? Unique industry-specific experience? Show them off here! Utilize those 120 characters and to tell recruiters why they should click to see more.
Become a groupie
LinkedIn has Groups available to join which can help you connect with other professionals in your industry. Once you join a group that is relevant to your line of work, make an effort to participate. Just like you would approach and contribute to conversations at a networking event, you should converse with others in Group discussions. Your two-cents will show other professionals that you’re knowledgeable and passionate about your field. Similarly, pose your own questions or share content. Show that you are always open to learning more and genuinely enjoy what you do.
Take your online connection offline
Once you’ve connected with an alum or professional whose work experience or current job position interests you, get to know them! Ask to set up a time to meet or chat via Skype so you can pick their brain and learn how to find your own path to success. Reaching out and engaging with someone beyond the screen-to-screen interaction can provide a much richer conversation than back and forth text communication. This is also a chance for them to learn about you and your interests, which is valuable if, down the road, they learn of a position that you’d be great for. And, of course, don’t forget to send a thank you note after speaking with them!
By far, one of the most powerful tools you can use in the pursuit of career development is LinkedIn. Investing the time and effort to revamp your profile can open doors for maximizing opportunities and leveraging your personal brand, so why not make sure you do it right? Of course, you should have a professional profile picture and a customized URL, but what might you have missed the last time you updated your LinkedIn?
Don’t neglect your Summary statement
The purpose of the summary is to describe who you are, what you can do, and where you want to go. This brief statement should clearly express your goals, whether you are seeking a job or a mentor, and what you can offer based on past or current work experience.
Use job descriptions to drive your relevance
Copy and paste several job descriptions for positions you are most interested in into a word cloud tool. The words that stand out the most in your cloud are the skills that recruiters value most when searching for candidates. Incorporate these keywords into your profile as they apply to your own experience and increase your chances of being seen.
Spice up your headline
Rather than having your headline simply feature your title and company, use this as an opportunity to tell your “so what?” Catch recruiters’ eyes with a very brief but impactful summary of what it is that you do. Do you have specializations? Unique industry-specific experience? Show them off here! Utilize those 120 characters and to tell recruiters why they should click to see more.
Become a groupie
LinkedIn has Groups available to join which can help you connect with other professionals in your industry. Once you join a group that is relevant to your line of work, make an effort to participate. Just like you would approach and contribute to conversations at a networking event, you should converse with others in Group discussions. Your two-cents will show other professionals that you’re knowledgeable and passionate about your field. Similarly, pose your own questions or share content. Show that you are always open to learning more and genuinely enjoy what you do.
Take your online connection offline
Once you’ve connected with an alum or professional whose work experience or current job position interests you, get to know them! Ask to set up a time to meet or chat via Skype so you can pick their brain and learn how to find your own path to success. Reaching out and engaging with someone beyond the screen-to-screen interaction can provide a much richer conversation than back and forth text communication. This is also a chance for them to learn about you and your interests, which is valuable if, down the road, they learn of a position that you’d be great for. And, of course, don’t forget to send a thank you note after speaking with them!
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