The Top 4 Tips on how to become a LinkedIn Pro
Are you a beginner and do you wonder how to become a LinkedIn Pro? Here are some LinkedIn tips on Profile Optimization and Networking. Bonus Tip has been included at the end of this article.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. It has started attracting more people and business professionals than ever before.
As of June 2021, LinkedIn’s user base has grown up to 770 million.
It is important for a professional to master LinkedIn. I have listed 4 tips for a beginner on how to optimize your profile and networking.
4 Tips to Become a LinkedIn Pro
Profile Optimization
Your profile is like a business card. When it comes to profile optimization, there are few things your profile must-have.
(1) Cover Photo
Most people think that it wouldn’t matter a lot to have a cover photo. But basically, it is a pictorial representation of you. It is advised to have a cover photo of the company you work for or a picture of yourself giving a talk in front of a crowd.
(2) Profile Photo
According to LinkedIn, having a profile picture earns 21x more views and 36x more messages. Uploading profile picture becomes trustworthy to any potential clients, employers, and business partners.
(3) Voice Note
Adding a voice note of you pronouncing your name enables your profile viewers to get a better understanding of how you sound.
(4) Headline
Headline briefly describes who you are, what you are skilled at, and what do you do currently. It interests one to view your profile and know more about you.
(5) About Section
It is a quick presentation/showcase of your skills, expertise, specializations. This section should be brief such that the profile viewer should not lose interest in reading further. Core Strengths and other social media handles can be added too.
(6) Experience
This section tells how experienced you are, and what work are you majorly involved with. Instead of being generic (for example, what project you worked on) try to be specific like what were your responsibilities, how successful were you in your work period, etc.
(7) Education
This section covers all the studies that you have undergone, coursework, achievements, and accomplishments during your study period.
(8) Skills and Endorsements
Having an endorsement for a skill is as much important as having a skill. You can ask your friends, colleagues who have worked with you previously and know about your skillset by giving them an endorsement first (provided if you feel they are skilled enough).
(9) Recommendations
Ask your employers, clients, or business partners for recommendations if you feel you had a good experience working with them/their company. It is somewhat similar to endorsements, but here you get recognition for your work.
Networking
It is important to build a network with people whom you worked with, people who are from the same domain of interest as you, or those who are working currently in your dream company which you want to work.
It is recommended to send a HIGHLY personalized note stating what is the reason for which you wish to connect with them. Don’t ask for any referrals here as there are high chances to reject your connection request.
Activity
Post content regularly on your LinkedIn handle either daily, two days once, or weekly once. It completely depends on you. If you feel that you don’t have any content to post, start interacting in others’ posts of your interest of domain. Give your point of view, thought process, or a small word of appreciation.
When you want to post some content, keep 4 things in mind.
- Keep open to anyone enabled, provided the post doesn’t contain any private information. This helps the post to reach a wider audience.
- Add pictures, videos, or articles. This attracts people to give a read.
- Add tags related to that post. The objective is similar to the first point, to reach a wider audience who follow content related to that particular tag.
- Tag people if there is a need to. It brings a compulsion for them to react to your post which indirectly reaches a wider audience.
Bonus Tip
Try to get a LinkedIn Premium account if possible. This is not mandatory but still, it has its own benefits. It enables inMail, helps job-seekers to get in touch with hiring managers, helps learners to learn new skills with LinkedIn Learning, and also helps users to view all profile viewers, etc.
If you couldn’t afford one, you can reach out to people who work in LinkedIn and ask for a coupon explaining your situation, and what is the need for one as a student or a job-seeker.
Hope this article helps you to become a LinkedIn pro.
Thanks for reading!
Regards,
Ajay Kumar S N