𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬? I hear this from people almost daily.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Having a well-optimised, personalised and visible profile can yield positive results for both you … and your current workplace. This is the approach I’d suggest you promote to the top brass.
Unlike other social media optimised for social sharing, LinkedIn focuses solely on professional connections gained through networking to further your career and uncover and tap into business opportunities and new ventures.
TOP LINKEDIN TIPS FOR PASSIVE, STEALTH OR ACTIVE JOBSEEKERS
➥ Establish Connections and Build Relationships. Don’t just connect with people and leave it there. Like posts in your feed that resonate with you and comment something meaningful. Share posts that you think could be of benefit to your network. Send a message every once in a while to say hello. Building and nurturing a strong network of connections will boost your presence and credibility on LinkedIn.
PRO TIP: Ensure connections are “visible to only you” via your security settings. This will prevent questions about why you’re connected with recruiters, resume writers or hiring managers.
➥ Maintain A Current Profile. Consistently update your profile to highlight your skills, interests, and capabilities. Don’t just update your profile when you’re looking for new opportunities. Your career story keeps evolving and so should your LinkedIn profile. This will help you find others who share similar areas of expertise; ultimately developing into connections with hiring managers.
PRO TIP: Regular updates will mitigate probing questions about why you are updating your profile. Also, did you know that you can switch “notifying your network of job updates” to yes or no?
➥ Promote Your Current Workplace. Promoting the products, services, promotions and articles for your workplace, can not only boost the firm’s income, market positioning and visibility but also uncover new opportunities for you while also impressing current (and future) employers.
PRO TIP: Be sure to post professionally written content including the company’s LinkedIn page and website if appropriate. This is a win-win!! A couple of pointers:
- Distinguish your workplace from competitors. Use keywords and phrases that would interest consumers when developing your posts. You have the chance to incorporate infographics and visuals here – use them!
- Generate traffic. Like other networking platforms, LinkedIn has a “share” button that allows you to share posts and content, boosting your company’s presence. This is a useful tool for business-related materials that can make your posts go viral.
➥ Let Your Personality Shine Through Your Profile. In today’s highly competitive job market, hiring managers use a variety of tools and methods in their search for talent. LinkedIn (and other social media platforms) plays a big part in both finding and screening talent. Your name will be Googled and your LinkedIn profile will rank highly in the search results.
PRO TIP: Part of the recruitment process is selecting the candidate with the skillset that matches the job requirements but another important part is personality and choosing the right person for the job, team and company. Your LinkedIn content should never be a copy and paste of your CV. They are two very different things with very different goals! Here are some questions to consider when developing your LinkedIn content:
- Why did you get into this line of work? What drew you to it? Take your readers back to the beginning of your fascination with… (maths, banks, helping people etc.).
- What do you want to be known for at work?
- What have you overcome to get to where you are today?
- What do you lose track of time while doing? When do you feel the most alive at work?
- What is your ‘end in mind’ or ’ultimate aim’? What do you want to achieve? What is your reason for being on LinkedIn?
- What outcomes do you want? Selling a product or book, promoting your business or services, workshops, generating leads, networking, relationship building, collaborations, job searching, brand growth or recognition and awareness?
- Do you have a mantra or philosophy? Or a favourite inspirational quote?
- Who is your target audience? Who would you like to connect and network with? Who can you form valuable connections with?
- Who do you admire? What qualities do you admire about them?
➥ Get The Most From LinkedIn’s Job Board. Most companies have a business page on LinkedIn and you’ll have access to a smorgasbord of jobs to apply for. If you’ve diligently built a strong and large network, you may well know of someone (or have a mutual contact) who works for one of your target companies.
PRO TIP: Leverage your network where possible and appropriate to establish and build a relationship with hiring managers, recruiters or decision-makers. You just never know what results you could achieve.
With 550 million users worldwide and growing, I strongly suggest utilising LinkedIn to the fullest.
