LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. It’s a great platform for making connections, building your professional brand, finding job opportunities, and more. As a dashboard manager, LinkedIn can be a valuable tool to help you in your career.
Networking
One of the biggest benefits of LinkedIn for dashboard managers is networking. With over 722 million users, LinkedIn gives you access to connect with professionals in your industry from all over the world. As a dashboard manager, you can connect with others who have similar roles to share ideas, challenges, and best practices. You can join relevant LinkedIn Groups to participate in discussions and stay up to date on the latest trends and news related to dashboard management.
In addition to connecting with other dashboard managers, you can also use LinkedIn to network within your company. Follow relevant coworkers and executives to stay aware of company news and initiatives. Getting to know more people at your organization can help increase your visibility for future opportunities.
Building Your Personal Brand
LinkedIn also provides a platform for you to build your personal brand as a dashboard manager. With a complete, professional LinkedIn profile, you can highlight your background, skills, accomplishments, recommendations, and more. This gives you an opportunity to showcase your expertise in dashboard management.
Some key tips for building your brand include:
- Crafting a compelling summary section that describes your value as a dashboard manager
- Outlining your core dashboard management skills and areas of expertise
- Adding media like presentations, reports, or infographics you’ve created
- Obtaining strong recommendations from managers, clients, or coworkers
Having an impressive LinkedIn presence can help you gain visibility and stand out when networking or exploring new career opportunities.
Finding Opportunities
LinkedIn can also help dashboard managers discover new job openings and career options. With their job listings, you can search for relevant opportunities by keyword, location, company, or other criteria. LinkedIn uses your profile information to recommend jobs that may be a good fit. You can also get notifications about openings that match your interests and experience.
In addition to job postings, LinkedIn is a great way to research companies you’re interested in and learn about their culture and values from employee perspectives. The platform makes it easy to identify people who work at organizations you want to learn more about so you can connect with them.
Participating in Groups and Discussions
There are many LinkedIn Groups focused on data, analytics, business intelligence, and dashboard management topics. As a dashboard manager, joining relevant Groups can help you:
- Take part in discussions to share advice and learn from other professionals
- Stay on top of industry news and emerging trends
- Find and connect with experts in dashboard management
- Get feedback on challenges you’re facing
- Promote your own expertise by providing thoughtful contributions
Active participation in Groups and discussions is a great way to enhance your professional reputation and relationships.
Learning and Development
LinkedIn Learning provides over 16,000 expert-led courses on in-demand business, technology, and creative skills. As a dashboard manager, you can use LinkedIn Learning to expand your skillset and stay updated on the latest trends and best practices, which can help you advance in your career. Some relevant course topics include:
- Data visualization and dashboard design
- Data storytelling and communication
- Advanced Excel skills for analytics
- Data modeling and SQL
- Tableau, Power BI, and other BI tools
LinkedIn Learning offers personalized course recommendations based on the skills listed in your profile. BY investing time into continually developing your abilities, you can become a more well-rounded and valuable dashboard management professional.
Showcasing Your Work
To demonstrate your expertise as a dashboard manager, you can publish relevant content through LinkedIn’s publishing platform. You can write posts to share your insights and experiences managing dashboards and data visualizations. Embedding screenshots of your best dashboard work is a powerful way to showcase your skills.
Potential types of content you can publish include:
- Tips, tricks, and best practices for dashboard design
- Case studies highlighting success stories and impact from your dashboards
- Industry analyses using data and dashboards
- Tutorials on dashboard tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Excel
Publishing unique content positions you as a thought leader and can expand your professional reach. Your posts will appear in the LinkedIn feeds of your connections as well as LinkedIn Group members.
Making Connections
Here are some tips for effectively using LinkedIn to connect with the right people as a dashboard manager:
- Personalize invitation messages – Avoid generic invites by adding a customized message highlighting why you want to connect.
- Provide value – Engage with your connections by liking/commenting on their posts, providing advice, and sharing opportunities.
- Follow up after meeting someone new – Send a LinkedIn invitation after meeting at an event or conference.
- Connect with colleagues and clients – This maintains relationships and keeps you top of mind.
- Expand your network – Grow your 1st-degree connections and get introduced to their connections.
Focus on building authentic relationships, not just amassing connections. Nurture your network and contribute value.
Researching Companies & Trends
As a dashboard manager, you can leverage LinkedIn to research:
- Companies – Follow organizations to get updates on their products, services, and news. Review employee profiles to gain insights into their culture.
- Competitors – Identify key competitors and follow their company pages to learn about competitive offerings and positioning.
- Industry trends – Follow hashtags, influencers, and Groups related to your industry to stay on the cutting edge of new developments.
- Business intelligence tools – Follow and learn from vendors like Tableau, Microsoft, and others to get updates on products.
- Dashboard best practices – Follow thought leaders in data visualization and dashboard creation for inspiration.
Conducting company and industry research on LinkedIn ensures you have the knowledge needed to be an effective dashboard manager.
Getting Recommendations
Recommendations on LinkedIn provide valuable third-party validation of your skills and experience to bolster your profile. As a dashboard manager, aim to get recommendations that speak to:
- Your technical dashboard management expertise
- How you’ve solved problems or overcome challenges
- Positive impact of your dashboards and data visualizations
- Specific projects or initiatives you led or participated in
- Core strengths and capabilities
Potential people to request LinkedIn recommendations from include:
- Managers who have overseen your work
- Colleagues you’ve collaborated with on projects
- Clients, customers, or stakeholders who have used your dashboards
- Direct reports who you have mentored
- Vendors, partners, or agencies you’ve worked with
Having thoughtful recommendations helps you stand out and validates the skills outlined in your profile.
Best Practices for Asking for Recommendations
- Give plenty of time for the person to write it
- Jog their memory on projects you worked on together
- Offer to provide details on your role and contributions
- Show appreciation and offer to reciprocate the favor
Joining Relevant Groups
Here are some LinkedIn Groups dashboard managers should consider joining:
- Data Visualization Experts
- Advanced Excel User Group
- Tableau Software User Group
- Power BI Community
- Data Analytics, Big Data Analytics, Data Science
- Digital Analytics Association
- Business Intelligence Network
- Data Presentation & Dashboard Design
Benefits of joining Groups include:
- Discussing challenges and best practices
- Learning about new trends and technologies
- Making connections with other professionals
- Promoting your expertise by sharing insights
- Staying current on industry news
Following Influencers
Follow these types of influencers and thought leaders to get inspired about dashboard design and management best practices:
- Dashboard design experts – People who are prolific in creating dashboards and data visualizations. Follow to learn from their work.
- Data storytelling specialists – Masters of turning data into compelling narratives and insights. Excellent for improving dashboard communication.
- Analytics leaders – Executives at technology and analytics firms who provide key insights into industry direction.
- BI tool experts – Influencers specializing in tools like Tableau, Power BI, Looker, etc. Great for skill development.
- Data visualization pioneers – Trailblazers in using data visualization most effectively. Follow to discover new techniques.
- Conference speakers – Experts who present at leading events are worth following to get the latest information.
Following relevant influencers and experts provides continuous inspiration and education to enhance your capabilities as a dashboard manager.
Using Advanced Search
LinkedIn’s advanced search gives you additional options to target your searches and customize your results. Useful searches for dashboard managers include:
- Find connections who work at specific companies you’re interested in
- Look for people by industry, title, or skillset (ex. “analytics”)
- Search for members of a particular LinkedIn Group or alumni of a university
- Find mentions of a hashtag, tool, or other keyword across posts and profiles
- Look for jobs by title, company, location, or other filters
Using advanced search allows you to efficiently and effectively find the right people, jobs, content, and groups relevant to your goals as a dashboard professional.
| Advanced Search Filter | Example | Use for Dashboard Managers |
|---|---|---|
| Title | “Dashboard Manager” | Find other people with your same job title |
| Company | “Google” | See who works at a company you’re interested in |
| Group name | “Business Intelligence Network” | Discover relevant industry groups to join |
| Skills | “Data Visualization” | Locate experts to connect with and learn from |
| Keywords | “dashboard design” | Get content, profiles, and jobs related to key topics |
Engaging With Content
As a dashboard manager, you can leverage LinkedIn to consume relevant industry content to stay aware of news, trends, and best practices. Make sure to actively engage with content by:
- Commenting on posts to join discussions and share perspectives
- Liking content from individuals, companies, and groups to show support
- Sharing worthwhile posts with your own network to help expand their reach
- Providing feedback and ideas on content to help others refine their approach
- Publishing your own content as a thought leader
Proactively engaging with content positions you as an influential member of the dashboard management community on LinkedIn.
Showcasing Dashboard Projects
To highlight your dashboard management skills and expertise, add examples of your best work to your LinkedIn profile. You can include:
- Dashboard screenshots and images in your background photo, summary section, or experience descriptions
- Links to live Tableau Public or Microsoft Power BI dashboards you’ve created
- Presentations, Excel documents, or PDFs showcasing your approach to designing dashboards
- Descriptions of the impact your dashboards had for clients or your company
Showcasing impressive projects, metrics, and dashboards differentiates your profile and demonstrates your capabilities as a dashboard professional.
Tips for Effectively Displaying Dashboards
- Ensure screenshots are high-resolution and easy to view
- Focus on dashboards that delivered the most value vs. just visually appealing
- Explain the business context and goals behind the dashboard
- Quantify the tangible results you achieved where possible
Connecting with Fellow Alumni
Fellow alumni from your university who studied similar topics and work in related fields make natural connections to network with. You can leverage LinkedIn to:
- Search for alumni from your university in dashboard management or data analytics roles
- Join university alumni Groups or subgroups for networking opportunities
- Follow alumni-related hashtags from your school to see relevant updates
- Attend alumni events highlighted on LinkedIn to meet new contacts
- Contact alumni at companies you’re interested in to learn more
Connecting with fellow graduates opens up new possibilities for career support, mentoring, job leads, and partnership on shared interests.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is an invaluable platform for dashboard managers to network, share knowledge, stay updated, build their personal brand, and advance their careers. By actively engaging on LinkedIn, dashboard professionals can position themselves as thought leaders, connect with mentors and peers, and take advantage of new job possibilities. The strategies outlined above demonstrate the many ways managers can maximize the impact of LinkedIn for their dashboarding role.
