Claudia Scherrer, our Application & Dismissal expert, gives you five essential tips for LinkedIn success:
LinkedIn is an excellent place to network professionally.
Isn't this the well know the fact? Still many professionals are not active on this platform. It is indeed an excellent place, only if you are engaged on the platform.
The following tips will cover on how you can be more engaged.
#1 Keep your profile up-to-date and aligned with your CV.
Though it might seem obvious, many fail to have an up-to-date profile on LinkedIn. More and more recruiters look for your profile once they have received your CV, hence your LinkedIn profile should be a reflection of your CV.
If you have a complete profile, prospects will be able to find you more easily, and you can present yourself as an expert more effectively.
Here is a small tip: Make sure your job title reflects the role you seek or your experience in the field. Since job titles can vary a lot from company to company. And recruiters are aware of it.
#2 Add new contacts regularly.
Send a request to a random person on LinkedIn? How does that work? What if they don't respond?
Claudia is often faced with these same exact questions by her coachees during her Application Journey program. And her answer is, "Yes, go for it!" Some of them accept, some don't. End of the day, you only gain, and there is nothing to lose.
You are not expected to know everyone in your network. LinkedIn is the place to grow professionally. People are happy to be part of your network.
What happens when you do this? Your network grows slowly, and when someone from your network post about a job opening, you will be aware of it, and it would be much easier to contact the person if they are in your network ;)
#3 Engage with others' posts.
Reacting to posts will increase your visibility. Did you know "Likes" and "comments" are much more effective for LinkedIn engagement? Cecile Jemmett, LinkedIn expert explains in simple terms how important they are in her recent podcast.
Hold your horses! It doesn't mean you hit that like button on all the posts you come across. Find the relevance!
Never miss an opportunity to engage with the posts that are relevant to your field or topic of interest. Share your point of view through comment.
#4 Show your expertise with your own posts.
To make the most of LinkedIn, you need to create and share content. LinkedIn is not only for companies to publish. As an individual, you should do it too.
Once you build the network by following tip #2, it's time you showcase your expertise. You don't necessarily have to be a content creator to do so. Start by sharing articles related to your field and topic of interest. Make sure you share your opinion about it as well.
