Some people are still sceptical about the value of being on LinkedIn, but for every business professional it’s an absolute must. It’s a great place to promote yourself and to find potential clients and contacts.
Not only is it a website that essentially displays your CV and much more, it’s a place where other people can confirm your skills and endorse you, giving you a wide range of references from your network.
LinkedIn isn’t just a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter. It’s a global networking tool that puts you at reach with millions of users from all over the world, giving you access to people who can help you enhance your career – Connect with all of your professional and personal contacts, you might just find someone you know is connected with an individual that could become important to you.
However, it’s important to ensure the people you are attempting to connect with want to connect with you. Trying to connect with people you don’t know is the online equivalent of cold calling, often regarded as bad practise on LinkedIn. If you do find someone with a common connection, who you think would be a beneficial connection for you, instead of just connecting with them, you should ask your mutual contact to introduce you.
The appearance of your LinkedIn profile is important, make sure your profile is complete; put all of your professional experiences, skills, interests, ambitions and successful projects onto your LinkedIn profile.
Upload a professional portrait photograph, use a photograph you would be happy providing alongside a CV – studies have shown users with a photograph are 11x more likely to have their profile viewed. Users listing their skills are 13x more likely to get profile viewed, which means completing your LinkedIn profile is just as important as being on there in the first place.
Correct spelling and grammar is a must. Despite the rest of your profile being impressive, readers will often spot amateur errors and this will not reflect well on the owner of the profile.
Endorse your connections and ask people to endorse you back. The more people that recognise your skills the more credible you become.
Not only is LinkedIn beneficial for individuals, it is another necessary social network for business, allowing company’s to self-promote and share company news. This makes it a great way to keep up to date with companies that are of interest to you.
There are over 15 million users in the United Kingdom and over 350 million worldwide, so can you afford not to have a LinkedIn profile?
