Paste yourLinkedIn is the social media equivalent for a professional networking event. There are specialized networks for scientists such as ResearchGate, but with more than 380 million members, LinkedIn is the most popular social network for professionals. I recently wrote about Networking at Conference (insert hyperlink), with this post we move on to networking in the digital world. These tips and tricks will help you to craft a stellar profile, build a valuable network and catapult your LinkedIn success.
1) Optimize Your Visual Appearance
The first things people will see on LinkedIn, are your picture, name and headline. Make sure the first impression of you is a good one.
Upload a headshot that looks professional (though it does not necessarily need to be taken by a photographer). Next write a compelling headline that runs under your name. You can simply state your current job, but if you want to switch careers or have multiple skill sets, make these 120 characters your “mini elevator pitch”. Use keywords for your industry, i.e. terms you would search for or you see most often used on the profiles of other people.
2) Write a Summary that Makes You Shine.
The summary is the center piece of your LinkedIn profile. Most people will quickly scan your name and picture and then examine your summary in depth. Use the 2000 characters to capture the interest of those you want to reach. Your summary should be genuine and make people want to know more about you.
Before you start writing your summary, think about your audience. For whom do you write your summary? What do you want them to learn or do? For example, if you are looking for collaborators, finish your summary with an invitation to contact you for opportunities.
Next, think about what makes you stand out from the crowd. Make lists to answer the following questions: What were your biggest achievements? What are your values? What are you passionate about? What makes you stand out from your colleagues and peers? What are your superpowers?
Use numbers and external validation to back your accomplishments (I published ten papers in peer-reviewed journals. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Michigan University.)
Finally pull it all together. Start with a bang. Only the first 220 characters are immediately visible on a desktop (92 characters on a mobile). Make best use of these characters. Begin with an unexpected statement, a question or power words with punctuation: Energetic. Results-driven. Numbers-wizard
Make people want to click “See more”.
If you need more inspiration for crafting a powerful summary, check out this three-step guide and these awesome summary examples.
Three Steps To Writing The Perfect LinkedIn Summary
If you need inspiration, check out these
Check out this awesome LinkedIn summaries if you need some inspiration: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/linkedin-best-practices/2016/7-linkedin-profile-summaries-that-we-love-and-how-to-boost-your-own
3) Showcase Your Skills and Expertise
LinkedIn is the perfect platform to showcase ALL your accomplishments – also the ones that do not fit in your standard CV.
Underneath each job title, you have 1000 characters to describe your tasks, your expertise and your accomplishments.
Use these sections to provide details about the techniques that you have used, the number of people that you have trained, the results you obtained (e.g. publications, book chapters). Be very specific and use numbers for support. For example, instead of “experience in microbiology”, write “developed fermentation process with hands-on experience using bench-top to 20 litre fermenters”.
Add additional sections to your profile (on the upper right in Edit Profile mode) such as Publications, Courses, Certifications, Patents or Volunteering. All these sections allow you to feature relevant skills that might not fit in a standard resume. You can even link to external documents, photos, presentations, videos, websites or blogs via “add media”.
4) Increase Your Visibility with Search Engine Optimization
Your LinkedIn profile is different from a CV that you write for a job application. The intended audience for your CV and cover letter is another person. Your LinkedIn profile, on the other hand, is more written for search engines. Recruiters, hiring managers and others use search engines to find matching talents or expertise on LinkedIn. They use keywords to find those talents.
If you have recently used any search engine, you know how important search terms are. To optimize your profile for search engines, use the keywords that you want to be found for. Use keywords in every section of your profile: in your headline, your summary, your job descriptions.
Don’t know which keywords to use? Have a look at the profile of somebody who has your dream job and scan it for keywords. Or look at job postings. These are also keyword-based and offer a wealth of buzz words to include in your profile.
Also, remember that your featured skills and endorsements provide additional keywords. You can easily add new skills and order them as you like (Click the pencil in the Skills section and reorder them by drag-and-drop on the right side.)
5) Strategically Connect with People to Build A Valuable Network
Connect with everybody you know. Your colleagues, your friends, family, roommates, former co-workers and people you meet at conferences or other professional events. Use LinkedIn’s “People you may know” tools and click your way through the networks of your contacts to grow your network.
If you want to connect with somebody you don’t know personally or have only met briefly, personalize your request. Remind the person where you have met or explain why you would like to connect on LinkedIn. This establishes a personal connection that is vital to keep your network functional and meaningful.
There are different opinions on how to deal with LinkedIn invitation from people you don’t know. My take is that I like to keep my network personal. So, here’s what I do: If I don’t know the person, I check their profile and send a reply in which I thank her/him for the request and politely ask why he/she would like to connect on LinkedIn.
Try it. It leads to interesting insights.
6) Take advantage of Advanced Search options.
LinkedIn's Advanced Search feature (click on the looking glass) provides a much richer search experience. For example, say you want to find out if you're connected to anyone who works at a specific company. Type the company name in the company field in Advanced Search, then filter the results by "Relationship" to see if you have any first- or second-degree connections to any employees.
Using its Advanced search feature, LinkedIn allows you to search for jobs by keyword, title, industry, location, company, function, experience level, and more. It even suggests jobs you might be interested in based on a brief survey that gauges your job preferences relating to location, company size, and industry.
Snooping is the best way to use LinkedIn
Let’s say you’re interested in a job posting. You can use LinkedIn to find former employees who could give you insight into the company’s culture or to determine which of your own friends and acquaintances know current employees who could make an off-LinkedIn connection for you
You can also use LinkedIn even if you’re not looking at a specific job by exploring specific industries or companies. Say you want to find venture capital funding or that you want to work at a certain company. Do a search for the industry or company and then see which of your colleagues could introduce you to someone who works there via LinkedIn or in real life
Targeted searches such as the advanced people or company finder can sharpen your scope and help you to find exactly what you are looking for. You can use the advanced search by location, industry, alumni status, or number of employees to get more concise, specific search results.
Use the site’s “People You May Know” tool (located on the right side of your page) to reach out to professionals with similar backgrounds and connections. If you’re interested in working for a particular company (IBM or Procter & Gamble, say), go to its page and click to “follow” it, then look at the list of people who work there.
7) Find a job through via LinkedIn's job postings.
Click on Job in the Top Panel > Update interests on the right, gives you the option to include a note to recruiter, specifiy job titles, location and type of job, preferred industries and size of the company.
If you are looking for a new job, make sure to turn ON the option “Let recuriters know you are open”
4) Snoop
essay in here…