LinkedIn

Below the most important things to use LinkedIn for:

• Networking – You are able to connect with people from work, university, your colleagues and people you would like to get to know to or people who inspire you. It is good to remember that you can see who has visited your profile and vice versa. It may be interesting and inspiring to find out what people have been up to if you haven’t seen them in many years and reconnect again through LinkedIn or get new ideas.
• Seeking for work – People are able to contact you easily through LinkedIn if they are interested in getting to know you. For example many recruiters are looking for new employees for their organization and if your profile seems interesting and original enough they may send you a message. You can also search for different organizations and people that seem interesting to you and contact them. LinkedIn also suggests firms for you based on your resent searches, interests, abilities, experience and organizations you have worked at, which can be useful.

These two things are the reasons why you should really think about the appearance of your LinkedIn profile. Below some guidelines for a good profile:

• Select a picture where you look professional (not pictures from holidays, pictures where you don’t look like yourself, pictures that are unclear or blurry etc.) Remember to smile in the picture and have clean and neat clothes on it.
• Write down clearly where you have worked at previously and where you have studied, what are your skills (Microsoft Office, team work etc.), if you have any recommendations or endorsements, accomplishments (languages you are able to speak) and your interests.
• The most important part about your profile is the “about” part in the beginning. That is the first thing people can see (addition to your picture) when they view your profile. That is the section where you have an opportunity to stand out. Originality is the key and you should always be yourself. It is good to write a little bit about yourself, what makes you interesting and differentiates you from the others. It is important to write “looking for new opportunities / looking for work in the field of … / interested in … ” so that people can see straight away what you are looking for exactly.

It is a good tip to always connect with people from your workplace, school or with people you have worked with previously. For example from this course you may connect with at least 10 new persons, which is great. My goal is to have at least 200 connections by the end of this year. Also my goal is to connect with new interesting people or organizations who may be beneficial for me in the future.