6 Tips to Get LinkedIn Working for You

“LinkedIn is social media for grownups. There's actual content... and no one yells... and the general tone is one of support and positive engagement.”  - Nigel Latta

As the world is shunted sharply towards conducting more day-to-day activities online, I wanted to highlight LinkedIn as a key tool for jobseekers, employers, and anyone generally looking to network and build their personal brand in the business world. Over the past weeks as Covid-19 has started to make its economic impact known, I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed by my local LinkedIn network coming together to help each other out.

Each post announcing a job impacted by the current crisis has received a raft of supportive response and offers to help. LinkedIn is not a golden bullet, but whether you are actively or passively seeking employment right now, or not looking at all, it’s useful to have a LinkedIn presence set up ready to go for when you may need it in the future. Crafting your LinkedIn Profile:

1. Ditch the hat, sunnies and your mates; make sure your profile photo is a professional looking one.
   ‍
2. A killer summary makes the difference; think of it as an executive summary of your brand. An easy to follow format is: current job overview, last job/s (max 2) overview, what you’re particularly good at, a bit about you outside of work. If you work in technology, adding a technology stack summary at the bottom can help.
   ‍
3. It’s not cliché to use buzz words; Agile, Cloud, Transformation, you know the ones. Anything that is likely to be used when searching for a specific skillset is good. Look at job ads for your industry online and mimic the language used if you’re unsure.
   ‍
4. Populate your work history with content; similar to your CV. Role titles can be misleading so it’s best to add some context around each of your roles. Add a quick summary about the company, then bullet point your key deliverables and key achievements/projects. Be sure to reiterate those buzz words and technologies! Only do this for roles relevant to the type of work you are seeking.
   ‍
5. Build your network; start by inviting colleagues and friends to connect with you. ALWAYS include a brief personal note when adding connections, particularly with people you don’t know very well. A simple “I’d like to add you to my LinkedIn network so we can stay in touch” is enough.
   ‍
6. Ask for recommendations; from managers, colleagues or anyone you have done business within the past. Let them know why you’re asking for a recommendation (job seeking, network building, personal branding) so they know what points to highlight.

Once your profile is set up, there’s no need to be online checking it every day. Any direct messages will be emailed to you, and its best practice to respond to each in a polite manner whether or not you’re interested in what’s on offer. You never know when you might need that connection in the future!Now that your profile is set up and ready to go, it’s time to get your message out there. LinkedIn is not Facebook; we don’t want to see pictures of your breakfast.

Post no more than twice daily, once is ideal. If you don’t want to post at all, that’s fine. A quick comment on someone else’s post will boost your visibility, or reshare content (just be sure to credit the source). We would love to hear from you with any tips you have for using LinkedIn or success stories you have to share. Please get in touch with us at talent@taska.co.nz

‍