LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 740 million members worldwide. It allows you to connect with other professionals in your industry, find job opportunities, stay up to date on the latest news and trends, build your professional brand, and more. Getting started on LinkedIn may seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually quite simple once you learn the basics. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know as a LinkedIn beginner, from setting up your profile to growing your network. By the end, you’ll feel confident navigating LinkedIn and maximizing its many benefits. So let’s get started!
Setting Up Your LinkedIn Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is essentially your professional resume on the platform. It’s likely the first thing people will see when they look you up, so you’ll want to make sure it’s polished and portrays you in the best possible light. Here are some tips for setting up a stellar LinkedIn profile:
Add a Professional Photo
Your profile photo is prime real estate – don’t neglect it! Choose a high quality headshot where you look friendly and approachable. It’s best to avoid selfies, cropped photos, or pictures where you’re wearing sunglasses or a hat that obscures part of your face. You want to make eye contact with the camera and have good lighting. Consider hiring a photographer to take your LinkedIn photo if you want it to really stand out.
Write an Engaging Headline
Your headline appears right below your name at the top of your profile. Think of it like a slogan that summarizes who you are professionally. You get 120 characters, so choose words that will capture attention. Focus on your current role and industry rather than just your job title. For example: “Innovative marketer specializing in social media strategy and content creation.”
Fill Out the About Section Thoroughly
This is where you can share your background, skills, accomplishments, goals, and what makes you unique. Write it from a first-person perspective using an engaging tone. Include keywords that relate to your target roles so you’ll come up in relevant searches.Bullet points, statistics, and results can help break up large blocks of text. The about section is also a place where you can add media like photos, videos, presentations, or documents to showcase your work.
List Your Work Experience and Education
Flesh out your work history and education here. For each role or degree, describe your responsibilities, achievements, and knowledge gained. Use quantifiable facts and data like “Increased social media engagement by 50%.” Also incorporate industry keywords related to the positions. Listing your experience in reverse chronological order is best. You can include volunteer work and internships too.
Add Skills to Endorse and Get Endorsed For
The skills section lets you list out expertise you want to highlight like “Social Media Marketing” or “Content Creation.” Other users can then endorse you for the skills, boosting your credibility. Similarly, you can endorse connections for their skills. Aim for 5-10 skills that portray your strongest competencies.
Customize Your Public Profile URL
From your profile, go to the “Edit public profile & URL” section in the top right. Here you can create a unique URL like www.linkedin.com/yourname instead of the default long string of numbers and letters. This custom link is much easier to share and remember.
Showcase At Least 3 Positions
To fully build out your work experience, have at least your last 3 roles listed and described on your profile. This gives visitors a broader view of your background and capabilities versus only seeing your current title. If you’re just starting out, list any internships, relevant coursework, or extracurricular activities.
Growing Your LinkedIn Network
Expanding your connections on LinkedIn opens up more opportunities to engage with other professionals, get introduced to leaders in your field, stay atop industry trends, and learn about job openings. Here are some ways to start growing your network:
Connect With Colleagues
Import contacts from your email and connect with current and past coworkers who you have strong relationships with. They can provide recommendations to bolster your profile and serve as conduits for meeting more people. Send personalized connection requests mentioning your shared history.
Follow Companies You Admire
By following companies you want to learn more about or potentially work for, you gain insider access to their LinkedIn page. This lets you see news updates, job postings, events, and other content they share just with their followers. Their employees will also become suggested connections.
Join Industry or Topic-Specific LinkedIn Groups
Groups focused on your particular role, sector, interests, university, etc. enable you to meet like-minded professionals, share advice, post discussions, and demonstrate your thought leadership. Be an active contributor to build connections organically.
Connect After In-Person Networking Events
If you meet people offline at conferences, trade shows, seminars, or other events, always follow up by connecting on LinkedIn after. This sustains the relationships you initiated in-person so you can support each other’s professional goals.
Search for Connections Using Name, Company, School, etc.
Tap into your existing contacts and communities by searching for specific people, companies, or schools you’re affiliated with. For example, you can search your university alumni group on LinkedIn and connect with fellow graduates.
Engaging With Content on LinkedIn
Beyond just connecting, you should also spend time engaging with the newsfeed content shared across LinkedIn. This keeps you informed on the latest industry knowledge, builds relationships, and gets your name in front of others. Here are some ways to actively engage:
Comment Thoughtfully on Posts
When you see an insightful article, compelling discussion, or interesting update from a connection, add your perspective by posting a comment. This shows you’re paying attention and gets you participating in the conversation.
“Like” and Share Relevant Content
A simple like goes a long way in showing you appreciate someone’s post. Even more powerful is sharing content to your own connections if you find it valuable. This expands the content’s reach and builds goodwill.
Publish Your Own Status Updates
Don’t be afraid to occasionally post your own status updates to share career achievements, interest in topics, responses to news, ideas, or links to articles you like. This builds your professional brand and keeps you top of mind.
Send Direct Messages to Connections
When appropriate, use LinkedIn messaging to follow up with connections about shared interests, opportunities, or other personalized subjects that don’t need to be public posts. This facilitates deeper networking.
Use Hashtags Relevant to Your Industry
Hashtags help surface content within specific communities. Follow and engage with hashtags like #socialmediamarketing, #accounting, #realestate, etc. based on your field. This gets you noticed.
Applying to Jobs on LinkedIn
With quality profile established and robust network built, you can start using LinkedIn specifically for job searching and applying. Take advantage of these features:
Turn on “Career Interests” in Your Profile
Recruiters can see you’re open to new opportunities if you add career interests like “Seeking full-time Social Media Manager roles” or “Open to Remote Account Executive positions.”
Follow Companies You Want to Work For
As mentioned earlier, following companies gives exposure to their job postings, hiring managers to connect with, and company culture to determine fit.
Use Advanced Job Search Filters
Narrow your search results by job title, company, experience level, date posted, location, remote options, and more. Saving these filters creates email alerts when new matching jobs are posted.
Look Out For Easy Apply Options
Easy Apply lets you submit your LinkedIn profile information directly to apply rather than needing a resume. This enables fast, one-click applications to increase your volume.
Message Hiring Managers and Recruiters
If you see a job but can’t apply, consider messaging the hiring manager or recruiter listed to pitch your interest and credentials for the role. This proactive effort can pay off.
Research Company Pages for Insights
Vet companies you’re interested in by browsing their LinkedIn for info like employee reviews, leadership team bios, mission statements, office locations, and open job stats.
Additional LinkedIn Profile Enhancements
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile is an ongoing process as you gain more experience and connections. Here are some additional ways to round it out even more:
Showcase Volunteer Work and Causes
Highlight any volunteer leadership roles, charitable initiatives, or causes you actively support in the volunteer experience and causes sections. This conveys your values.
Add Examples of Your Work
Well-done projects and achievements do more to showcase your skills than just stating them. Links to your website, slides, videos, certifications, publications, patents, and other work samples demonstrate impact.
Include Interests to Show Personality
While mainly professional, sharing your personal interests humanizes you. Hobbies, sports, travel destinations, or cultural associations build common ground with connections.
Get Recommendations From Colleagues
Testimonials validate your capabilities, work ethic, and character. Request recommendations from bosses, coworkers, professors, or other associates who can endorse you.
Join More LinkedIn Groups
Continue networking by joining additional niche LinkedIn Groups where you can share expertise. Pick groups aligned with your aspirations.
Add Projects Section to Showcase Initiatives
Supplement your work history with a projects section detailing major initiatives or collaborations you spearheaded, including objectives and powerful results achieved.
Link to Other Professional Profiles
List links to your website, Twitter, Quora, GitHub, Facebook Page, portfolio, or other online profiles to drive visitors to learn more about you on other channels.
Navigating LinkedIn Messages
LinkedIn messaging works similarly to email, enabling you to connect one-on-one or with groups. Use these best practices when messaging:
Respond to Messages Within 24 Hours
Promptly returning messages builds your responsiveness and professionalism. Set notifications so you see when new messages arrive.
Craft Subject Lines That Grab Attention
Like email, the subject line is your chance to get your message opened. Use relevant keywords like “Digital Marketing Opportunities.”
Address People by Name in Greetings
Personalize messages by starting with “Hi [first name]” or “Dear [full name]” if it’s a formal contact. This immediately shows you took the time.
Add a Signature With Your Contact Info
Make it easy for recipients to follow up by creating a customizable signature with your name, title, company, phone number, and email address.
Adjust Tone Based on Your Relationship
Take cues from how well you know someone and what they shared to match a formal or informal tone. It’s OK to open up more with close connections.
Follow Up on Any Next Steps
If messages result in plans to talk further, connect on another platform, meet up, or take action, be sure to follow through so opportunities aren’t lost.
LinkedIn Etiquette and Best Practices
Minding your manners goes a long way on LinkedIn. Follow these general etiquette guidelines:
Personalize Invites Rather Than Bulk Adding
When growing your network, take the time to write a customized message referencing your common ground or reason for connecting. Mass invites come off insincere.
Reply Promptly to Comment Notifications
If someone comments on your post or shares a discussion, reply in a timely manner just like you would with messages. Don’t leave them hanging!
Endorse Genuinely Rather Than Indiscriminately
Only endorse people for skills you can authentically vouch for based on working together. Endorsing everyone for everything dilutes the value.
Keep Posts and Discussions Professional
Unless you solely connect with close friends and family, keep your content focused on career and industry topics suited for wide professional audiences.
Say Thank You
Express gratitude when people share advice, endorse you, recommend you, give you praise, or make helpful introductions. Reciprocity strengthens bonds.
Use Common Sense and Trust Your Judgment
When unsure about networking requests, content sharing, messaging frequency, and other gray areas – let common sense guide you. Listen to your gut.
Conclusion
The key to effectively using LinkedIn involves fully leveraging all of the platform’s capabilities while applying common courtesy. Set up a well-rounded profile, build out your network, actively engage with insightful content, and explore opportunities. Approach connections with a spirit of giving first and contributing value. With some time invested upfront in laying this groundwork, LinkedIn can become an invaluable ongoing tool for empowering your career.