How to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile for career development

LinkedIn is a continually growing platform and if you are looking to build your professional network to enhance business results this is regarded as one of the most effective ways to do so.

To give you a deeper understanding as to how influential LinkedIn is, it now has 590 million members worldwide (LinkedIn 2018) and 260 million users are logging in every month.

So, if you are job searching, conducting business development or would like to improve your company presence then it is time to give your LinkedIn some much needed attention.

Top tips to make your LinkedIn have more impact:

• Make sure your LinkedIn is fully complete. Do not leave any section blank. Once you have completed all your profile, LinkedIn will say you have you an ‘all star profile’ which means your profile is complete.
• Headline: If you want to be found then your headline is how people will find you. This needs to contain the appropriate keywords for what you want to be found for. If you are a recruiter or someone looking for your services in a specific industry or field, what would someone type into the LinkedIn search function (think of this as the Google for business)? Never put currently looking for new job opportunities in your job title (as there is a separate setting for that and this will not get you found by recruiters).
• Photo: Make sure this is professional, no holiday pictures or with a glass of wine in your hand (no matter how good you think you look!).
• Recommendations: Make sure you gain some of these on your profile as this basically an online reference. Ensure it is professional and hits the key points you want to highlight to other parties (for business reasons or for recruiters).

How will you get noticed on LinkedIn?

It is simply not enough to perfect your profile and hope you will be found. You have to be active on LinkedIn so you are visible to your connections (and their connections).

The more connections you have the more you will be noticed. So be sure to post regularly (around three to five times per week), as the more people that comment, like and share your post the more you will then become visible to their connections, meaning more success with job searching or business development activities.

Many people are unsure what to write about on LinkedIn, but here are some suggestions:

• You can tell people about a networking event you have been to
• A success you have had
• Something you are looking forward to such as an event or conference
• Thanking someone or a business or
• You can write an article which also boosts your profile.

How can I measure if my activity is working?

Firstly, you will start to receive more connection requests as people are interested in you and you are now becoming visible to your connections’ connections. But you can also check your Social Selling Index to get some statistics on your activities.

How do I access my LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI)?

Login into your LinkedIn on a laptop or desktop, open a new tab and type in:  www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi

This measures how effective you are at establishing your professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights and building relationships.

Ideally, you want to be ranked in the top 1% in your industry (top 5% is exceptional) and you want to be achieving 70+ out of 100 in your SSI score.

Do not worry if your figures are not here yet. If you do the above you will notice an improvement quickly. Your SSI is updated daily.

Hopefully, this helps you understand where improvements can be made with your profile and helps you gain the results you want from LinkedIn.

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