Ways to Increase the Value of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the staples of the professional business world. The network is purported to have more than 8½ million members, all professionals from around the world in no less than 130 industries. It is held in very high regard and recruiting managers use its platform to head hunt their next superstars.

It is important to optimize your visibility if you want to use LinkedIn for your benefit. Make sure that you treat your profile as if it were your resume or CV. Don’t skimp on any of the details and fill out your profile as carefully as you would write a resume for distribution. To add to your visibility insert your profile’s URL within your e-mail signature, allowing you to break ice more effectively when you mail some new business prospect or other professional. Add as many connections as you possibly can and work on your network membership to increase your footprint as much as possible. Your aim should be to appear as high as you can on the list of search results relevant to your specialty.

You should definitely allow your profile to be available for search engines to index. As Google highly rates LinkedIn profiles they are likely to be ranked well when people search. Select “full review” and make sure that your actual name appears in your profile’s URL.

When talking about visibility, don’t forget to promote your personal blog or website by entering the details in the relevant categories. Remember to enter your name and appropriate keywords to help you achieve the best search engine results.

To narrow down your job search features, don’t forget that you can use this network’s advanced search option by entering your relevant keywords to find out where others with your skill set currently work. When you are focusing in on a prospective new employer, use LinkedIn to study profiles of their current employees. This will give you a good feel for the makeup of the company and should you get the job, help you to fit in more quickly.

While on the subject of getting to know people at the company, do some research to find out more about your interviewer. Wouldn’t it be great if you shared some passion in common, went to the same college or enjoyed similar sporting activities?

As your goal is always self advancement, check out the health of the company and the industry that you are targeting. LinkedIn’s advanced search enables you to enter company names and you should focus on former employees who may well be willing to give you a candid opinion about your target company and its key personnel.

As with any network, the major benefit comes from being able to interact with other members. Ask pertinent questions and you should receive high-value answers from those people who are “in the same boat” as you, can talk from experience and may be more than willing to pass on their advice.

Do you use LinkedIn? Tell us about your experiences.

Matthew Toren