We live in a society that is constantly plugged in. Even in the rare occasion that we do walk away from computers, smartphones, tablets, and the web itself, we – as an ever-evolving, socially aware society – start to feel anxious and out of touch with those around us. It may seem a little absurd how continuously in-the-know we are with one another, but don’t jump to conclusions in thinking that’s necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, actively embracing social engagement not only keeps you informed, it can potentially benefit your professional career as well. If you utilize the website correctly, LinkedIn can immensely benefit you and your career. For those of you who are looking to improve your social engagement on LinkedIn, check out these four useful tips on how to make the most out of your account and attract positive attention from fellow colleagues, friends, and employers – both current and potential.
I would venture to say that many people probably already have a LinkedIn account but just don’t know how to utilize it properly. A lot of people sign up for an account and even log on a few times, but once they start to feel confused about how to navigate through the website, they decide to move on to more lighthearted social-engagement websites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Do yourself a big favor: whenever you sign up for an account, take an hour or two to look around at all the different features and find out which ones are of most use to you. Perhaps you want to use the website to connect with colleagues and that’s it. That’s perfectly fine. Perhaps you want to go all out and actively engage with the news section, the jobs section, the group section, etc. That’s all well and good, but in both cases make sure to at least check your account once every two days, at least. By staying actively engaged with the website, you’ll be aware of changes and revisions the website and your connections go through. Also, if you keep your profile updated, colleagues and employers who track you down will see an up-to-date profile, not one you registered a year ago and abandoned.
Now you wouldn’t add someone you didn’t know on your Facebook account, would you? I doubt it, so make sure to do the same with your LinkedIn account. It might be tempting when you stumble across someone you’ve admired your whole professional career to add them to your list of connections, but I’m telling you now that it comes off as unprofessional. Social engagement on LinkedIn comes with an implied level of respect and dignity, so don’t abuse it. If you really want to get to know a specific contact that you’ve never met before, try and setup and appointment in their office or ask them out for coffee sometime.
It may feel awkward to join groups on LinkedIn when you have no idea who 99 percent of the members are, but socially engaging with groups can help you in ways you never imagined. Perhaps there is a local city chapter that meets up in your town and discusses matters vital to your career. Perhaps you’re trying to network more within your own profession and want to use the groups section to help you do so. In both cases, joining a group can be of great help. Some groups on LinkedIn actually meet in person, others don’t. Don’t feel pressured into joining any specific group, just try to find one that you feel can be useful to you.
Whenever I do something noteworthy in my professional life, I always make sure to reflect it on my resume. Your LinkedIn profile reads like a resume, so make sure to treat it that way, and here’s why: Sometimes potential employers like to utilize LinkedIn to find new recruits for their businesses. They may want to look at your prior work history and independent projects before asking you if you would be interested in interviewing with them, and if your details aren’t current, then you’re likely to be a less appealing candidate to them. Even in the case when you aren’t looking for a job, you want to make sure that contacts are able to access the current details of your professional background so that you can know about community service events, networking events, upcoming conferences, happy hours, and numerous other work-related endeavors.
Even though it may be difficult to navigate in grasp at the beginning, LinkedIn is a website that is great to socially engage with. It not only helps you network with colleagues, friends, and employers, it also keeps you abreast of anything and everything related to your field.
Thank you for sharing.