Improve Your LinkedIn Profile in 4 Easy Steps
In a world where we meet new people every day, LinkedIn is a perfect example of the easiest, most professional way to connect with people you have previously met or will be meeting soon. LinkedIn is a great platform for you to present your best work, share your experiences and connect with people who have similar interests. No matter the industry you’re in, whether in marketing (like me) or finance or education or architecture or engineering, LinkedIn in a good place to be.
Now that we’ve established the importance of simply being on LinkedIn, we can talk about the importance of a strong, well-built LinkedIn profile. Before you can take advantage of LinkedIn’s numerous resources, you need to make your account on LinkedIn the best that it can be. Luckily, it doesn’t take massive amount of work to make your profile go from “meh” to “alright!” In fact, you can improve your LinkedIn profile in 4 easy steps. Here’s how.
Improve Your LinkedIn Profile in 4 Easy Steps
First and foremost, finish your profile.
The first rookie mistake is to publish an unfinished profile, especially without a photo. Don’t forget to keep your photo professional, but that means professional for your field. If you’re a graphic designer, your profile picture will look different from the company’s accountant.
Flesh out your profile with your latest work. Even if you finished your profile ages ago, it’s good practice to go back and update whenever it is needed.
Lastly, proofread, proofread, proofread. Step away from your page and then come back again to edit. It’s the only way (besides having another person review your work) to ensure typos and grammatical errors don’t slip into your profile.
Build your network by connecting with your current contacts.
The best way to build your connections is to connect with people you already know, especially those whom you have helped in a professional setting. These connections can endorse you for your work in your particular field and help you to get noticed by others.
Join groups and follow companies that you’re interested in and observe what they are doing.
Get involved on LinkedIn. Create new relationships by joining in on discussions. Show that you’re active on the social platform. You never know when a new lead will contact you via LinkedIn…
Start posting to your profile.
I know, I know – it’s scary, right?! Before you commence your freak-out, remember that you can begin with baby steps. Walk before you run. Start by merely commenting or liking an article you found particularly edifying. Graduate to sharing articles to your profile. Before you know it, you’ve made your profile a hub for activity. Or, as the very least, there’s a little something happening once in awhile. And hey – that’s a big improvement from the half-completed profile you had in Step 1!