Social network LinkedIn has now become an integral part of both job-seeking and career development. These handy tips will help you maximise the effectiveness of your profile.
According to an article produced by LinkedIn in 2016, for every 10 positions employers fill, seven or eight of those employers has utilised LinkedIn in the process.
Evidently, LinkedIn has reached critical mass in the careers sphere. It’s certainly not going anywhere and, if anything, its role in recruitment may only be augmented with time.
LinkedIn can offer extreme value regardless of what point of your career you’re at. It can be a great way to find positions as a jobseeker, but can also help you expand or strengthen your network if you’re in a position but hoping to advance, be it within your organisation or somewhere else.
In all likelihood, employers will, in turn, take advantage of LinkedIn’s functions to research job applicants and seek out potential candidates.
What all this amounts to is that if you’re serious about your career, you need to start asking yourself whether your LinkedIn really represents the best version of yourself.
Used correctly, it could help you land your dream position. If neglected, it could be what causes an employer to pass you over in lieu of someone who actually jazzed up their profile a bit.
You, of course, don’t want to be left behind. Luckily, On Stride Financial has put together this great infographic about how you can become what they call a “power user”. (The less said about that designation the better. Heretofore we’ll call this “being better at LinkedIn”, to maintain some dignity).
The changes you make don’t even have to be especially drastic; it’s just a matter of giving your profile enough polish that you are easily searchable and easily understood.
Simply customising your URL or including your location can be a marked improvement. Also, make sure to get a really good headshot for your profile photo. It’s worth looking into getting a photo taken by a professional photographer.
For some more LinkedIn advice, check out the infographic below.
Man holding Huawei mobile phone with LinkedIn application on the screen. Image: k.nopparat/Shutterstock