To be successful on LinkedIn, it is essential that you begin building your profile and network the right way. It is like building blocks: if you don’t start in the right spot, you are going to lose the game before you even get started.
There are a couple of reasons to consider building a big network. The first is that when you have a big network and you search for someone in a particular field, you are more likely to find the person you are looking for. The same holds true in reverse, you will be in more people’s networks, and consequently show up in more searches.
The goal with your LinkedIn profile is to get found. It does not do any good to have an outstanding profile no one sees. It is a constant process of learning new tricks, implementing them, and improving. Networking is not a stagnant activity!
There are a couple of things that affect your rating in searches. Two of easiest ones to rectify are your profile completeness and your network size. Make sure to fill out your entire profile and actively network. Connect to people you know, and send invitations with messages to those you would like to know.
Remember, you want to show up well in searches, you want to have a great headline and digital footprint to encourage people to click on your profile, and then have a visually appealing profile so people keep reading once they click through.
For job seekers, a great tip we do not often give out is to intelligently use keywords in your profile. Go to the descriptions of jobs you would like, pull out applicable keywords, and add them to your profile in the correct spots. This will help you in two ways. The first is that when people are looking for people to fill positions on LinkedIn, you stand out as having the qualities they want. If you apply to a job through LinkedIn, your application will include a link to your profile so they will see you as an appealing candidate. Secondly, you will show up in searches run by those looking to fill that position, or similar positions, which can only help your cause.
Your homepage offers the very useful statistics of who has viewed your profile and how many searches you have appeared in. Keep an eye on these numbers to gage your progress. When you make profile updates, you can get instant feedback to see if it helps or hurts your visibility.
To find out more, check out our new RockLinkedIn.com site for some FREE lessons we are producing for our Integrated Alliances U. We look forward to seeing you over there!
