For something that is your public resume and professional identity online, the LinkedIn profile seems to be dusted off and used by most people only when they're actively looking to change jobs. Yet, with with employers and recruiters seeking out potential hires online, an updated and well-leveraged LinkedIn profile becomes paramount in today's economy. Here's our pick of top tips on how to use your LinkedIn profile to get ahead.
Plan your Profile: Remember, this isn't Orkut or Facebook, and employers are looking for your qualities and qualifications, not your quirks. So keep your personal interests out of your profile, for the large part, and head for that 100 per cent profile completeness figure first. Reveal selectively-you don't want a skeletal profile displaying only your employment history and zero character traits. Give visitors a sense of where you're headed professionally.
Groups and Answers:With more than one million groups you can join, LinkedIn Groups offer an excellent way to contribute thoughtful commentary and demonstrate your expertise in your given field, and make some meaningful connections in the bargain. Don't worry if you're not an expert. At LinkedIn Answers you can pose a professional question to your network and other industry professionals - someone, possibly another newbie like you, or even an industry guru - will answer.
Skills on Steroid: Possibly the most under-discussed LinkedIn feature, Skills lets you associate keywords with your profile, so whether you're an expert at C++ or ballet dancing, you can add that skill to your profile so employers searching for that skill can find you. Be creative-employers may be using the obvious keywords, and the not-so-obvious.
Tap the App: Aside from these, LinkedIn has a slew of really useful apps that you can use to showcase your portfolio or engage with your network. For instance, the Events app lets you find professional events, from conferences to local meet-ups, and make the right connections with other professionals at the event. Or the Polls app which lets you conduct a poll in your network, let's say if you're looking to field-test an idea for your line of work. And one of the most popular, the SlideShare Presentations app that lets you upload slideshows, PDFs and PowerPoint presentations and share it to your profile.
Work your Network: It isn't a social network without the social component, is it? Cultivate your network- as you would in the real world-with one-on-one interactions and seek recommendations from a select few, ideally folks who've worked closely with you and can comment on your work without going into generalities. Be selective- asking just about anybody and everybody to endorse you isn't a good idea, is it?
Follow your Dream: Apart from connecting with current and former colleagues and batch mates, you should set your sights on companies you aspire to, and 'follow' them on LinkedIn. Not only does this let you follow updates from the companies, but more importantly, with a number of companies posting job openings on their LinkedIn profiles before they are advertised on job sites, this could your ticket in.
Watch your Stats: Beyond the number of contacts you have, LinkedIn lets you see Network Statistics (look under the Contacts tab), including the cities where your contacts are based, and the industries they work in. If you're thinking of a career switch or a location change, this could give you valuable leads about where your professional network is strongest.
Keep it Current: While it may seem obvious to do this, a lot of folks shy away from keeping their LinkedIn profile up to date, and up to 91 per cent of Indian professionals believe the ideal amount of time invested daily on progressing one's career should be in excess of 30 minutes. Yet, LinkedIn studies reveal that just nine minutes a day suffice for optimum personal branding. So whether it's an award you've won, a seminar you've attended or a certification you completed, update your profile on a regular basis. And the biggest benefit- any time you need a resume, the LinkedIn Resume Generator lets you transform the information on your profile into a proper resume, using one of the many templates available on the site. It even lets you create a custom URL for the resume so you can quickly send it out to your contacts.
Manage your Reputation: Beyond your LinkedIn profile, it's important to Google yourself well frequently to check if there is any content that you've shared or stuff that's showing up in the search that may be negative. Facebook pictures of that wild party showing up? Best to take them down before a prospective employer chances upon them.
