When was the last time you logged into LinkedIn? If you’re not utilizing LinkedIn as a career tool, you are missing out on opportunities and professional fun! LinkedIn is a great way to not only network with other professionals in your field; it’s also a way for you to share your own personal brand with the world. Keeping an up to date LinkedIn profile will help show you are tech savvy, committed to growing, and interested in networking opportunities with others. It’s a great way to keep in touch with former colleagues, managers, and even corporate executives. As a bonus, it’s also a fun social media tool without any of the drama that finds its way on other social media platforms.
In the business world, we often hear, “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know,” and LinkedIn can help you build stronger connections with people you already know as well as meet new people. With LinkedIn, you can even see who your friends know, and use those contacts to ask for an introduction and expand your professional reach even further.
With LinkedIn, you can gain a lot of traction, develop a reputation, and build a personal brand by sharing posts and articles. When you share a post that’s relevant, interesting, engaging, and shows excitement about your profession, you can use hashtags to gain viewership, and you can develop an audience for yourself. Who knows, maybe some of your company executives may even see your post.
Another great tool you don’t want to miss out on is recommendations! LinkedIn gives you the ability to request recommendations from current or former colleagues. A great time to ask for a recommendation is right after you worked on a project with someone, or when one of you leaves a group. Send them a note thanking your colleague for working with you, and asking if they would recommend your work. Be prepared to return the favor as well. This is a great way to share the world what you have to offer and really help you stand apart in a crowd. It also helps you gauge how others view your work and what value they think you provide. You can even share these recommendations with your manager in your next review!
Ultimately, the more professionals you know in your field, the more visibility you have, the more your promote your personal brand, the more recommendations you can get, the better your chances will be at landing your dream job. Are you ready to use LinkedIn, but not sure how to get started with creating a professional LinkedIn profile or have questions about how to utilize this networking tool? We’re here to help! Contact us at (816) 986-0909 or email us at info@platinumresumes.com