LinkedIn is a social platform for working professionals. Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016 and its offerings have grown significantly since then. It provides a place to network, search for job opportunities, see what is trending in different industries, and provide a virtual resume. Some people are more active on LinkedIn than others depending on what they do. Regardless, you are better off having one in the case that someone attempts to look you up than to not have an account.
I may earn a small commission for affiliate links in this post at no extra cost to you. Please read my disclaimer for more information.
What to Put on Your LinkedIn Profile
Think of your LinkedIn profile like your online resume. The following things should be included in on your LinkedIn profile.
Professional Summary
A professional summary is a brief paragraph explaining what you are looking for in a position. For example if you are a college student you can include what year you are in school, what you are studying, what type of internship you are looking for, and your ideal job after graduation. Keep this brief but provide enough information to peak someone’s interest.
Description on your profile
This description will appear whenever someone hovers over your name or profile picture. Some people use this as to simply display their current employment without someone having to click on their profile. Ex. MBA Candidate or Manager at XYZ Company. It is also a medium for expressing interest in new opportunities. If you are currently unemployed you could say something like the following:
- HR professional immediately available for hire
- IT professional open to new opportunities
- Recent college grad with consulting experience
Experience
This section should reflect your professional work experience. This is the same process as writing out your experience on your resume. Look up the company, include the time from in which you worked there, and include details on what you did in your role. Don’t include things that don’t align with your career goals. For example, if you worked a part time job at a fast food restaurant in high school and now you work in IT, don’t put the fast food job.
Similar to how a resume is read by a computer before it is seen by a human, your LinkedIn profile can be optimized with keywords for the best results. This is useful for people that are searching for candidates on Google or directly within LinkedIn. For more information on keywords, check out our FREE Keyword Guide for Resumes and Cover Letters.
Education
This is where you put your formal education. This includes high school, college, or vocational school. This is also a great way to build your network. LinkedIn often recommends connections based on mutual connections or a relationship with an organization. You can also join alumni groups of schools you have graduated from to expand your network
Classes/Certifications
If you have taken courses that provides knowledge that will help you in a specific role, you can list those out on your profile. This also applies to specific certifications that you have in your industry. If you have certifications that is also a great thing to include in your name (Ex. John Doe, CPA).
Involvement
If you are involved in your community or participate in professional organizations you should include those. This is a great way to display your professional skills outside the office. For example if you are a board member in your local community or on a special committee or task force for an initiative. Being involved in things outside of your main job shows passion and shows people what you care about as an individual.
Skills
LinkedIn allows you to list skills that you are proficient in. For example if you are an IT Manager your skills could be leadership along with specific coding languages. People can endorse your skills on LinkedIn. The more endorsements you have, the more credibility you have. Providing endorsements is a great way to build and strengthen connections on LinkedIn.
Reviews from Connections
Your connections are able to write a review of your work to validate your abilities. These are a great way for people to gain more insight on what you do and your ability to work well with others. Similar to endorsing a skill this is another great way to build and strengthen connections with people within your network.
How to send a connection request
There is a button where you can ask to connect with someone if they are a 2nd degree connection to you. One feature that I wish LinkedIn didn’t take away is the ability to customize your message. Unless you go to their profile and send a connection request it will send a generic message saying that you would like to join their network. Since this is the way it is now and people who are on the platform know it, people shouldn’t take it personally that they are not getting a greeting just for them.
However, if you are reaching out to someone that you barley know, or don’t know at all, I would take the time to send them a customized message. If you know them, reference from where and tell them why you want to connect. When you don’t personally know the person, let them know you how you know their mutual connections and briefly explain why you wish to connect.
How to build your connections on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great resource, but it isn’t something that you can build overnight. It is important to build your network steadily overtime so that you can utilize it when you need it. These are some ways to build connections on LinkedIn:
Begin by looking up people that you know and send them a connection request. Here are some places you can start looking for connections:
People in your community
The easiest way to get started is to look for people you already know and are close to. This can be people you went to school with, professors and teachers, and work colleagues. The more connections you build up in these categories the easier it will be for LinkedIn to find others that you have mutual connections with to suggest to you.
Join Groups
Find the alumni group for the school you attended. You can even join industry related groups for careers that you are in or aspire to learn more about!
Follow influential people and companies you look up to
Following influential people and businesses will open you up to a wealth of information. Since influences typically have a large audience there is usually conversations going on in the comments. This is a great opportunity to network.
Event Networking
When you go to events like a conference or webinar, connect with people you meet shortly after interacting with them. I know some people who don’t even carry business cards anymore. They simply keep the LinkedIn app on their phone and connect with people that way. From there they can get more contact information after a connection is made.
Lead by Example
Create your own posts to stimulate engagement or leave a comment on other people’s posts. This will show up on your feed and the your second and third level connections as well exposing you to a wider audience.
Things not to do on Linkedin
While Linkedin is a social platform it isn’t is still a professional plaftorm. These are some things your shouldn’t do on LinkedIn.
Keep your personal life off of LinkedIn
While there are certain personal milestones that can be celebrated on LinkedIn for the most part LinkedIn is strictly a professional networking platform. If you are posting or commenting on other posts, keep it as professional as possible. LinkedIn is not the place to start arguments in the comments. If you disagree with something, state your point eloquently without attacking the original commenter. Getting into disputes in comments may lead people to believe that you are unprofessional in an office setting.
Be selective on which profiles you look at
LinkedIn is different from other social media platforms when it comes to profile views. Unless you have changed your settings to be anonymous someone will know when you viewed their profile. LinkedIn will notify someone inside their account and via email when someone has viewed their profile. If you are trying to be nosy you may end up in an embarrassing situation!
Don’t get lazy with your LinkedIn account
I often see people let their LinkedIn profiles go after they are settled in their career or a specific role. Don’t do this. It is important to keep networking or at least keep the information on your account fresh so that people know you haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. If you run into a situation where you need to find a new opportunity quickly, it may be more difficult if you haven’t interacted with your network for a long time. Keep the description on your profile up to date with your current role. Like and share things that resonate with you. You don’t have to post frequently but at least stay active.
Things to beware of on LinkedIn
While LinkedIn is an extremely useful platform you should be mindful of the following things:
Fake accounts
Social engineering aka getting information from people to use against them is something that is very common on LinkedIn. People will create fake accounts of real people, connect with the people in their network and reach out to them to ask personal questions.
It is also common to see fake accounts from people posing as recruiters trying to gain access to your information and your network. Phishing is common on LinkedIn so be careful and do your due diligence.
Fake job postings
LinkedIn allows you to apply for jobs directly through the platform so there are a lot of fake companies posting fake jobs to get personal information on people. While LinkedIn is a great place to connect with others, I try to keep in mind that if a job is legitimate, it will also be posted elsewhere. If I can’t find the job somewhere else, it is probably fake.
Clout Chasers
There are some people that simply want to look well connected on LinkedIn by having a lot of connections. Remember that this isn’t LinkedIn, someone can get a lot of information about you by being a connection on LinkedIn. The will know where you currently work, the city you live in, your past job history, and where you went to school. Be very mindful of who you accept into your network.
There are also people that will attempt to connect with you to get access to other people. With LinkedIn, you need to be at least a 2nd degree connection with someone to ask to connect with them. Otherwise, you will need to send them a message to their inbox to formally introduce yourself to potentially create a connection. To avoid this, some people will see who that person is connected to and see if there is anyone within their network that could be a gateway to other people. For example, if someone went to UCLA and they try to connect with another person they know went to Harvard, if they access a whole new network just with one person. Keep in mind, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you are accepting connecting invitations blindly from people you don’t know, you don’t know what their intentions are.
Take recruiters with a grain of salt
Once you start gaining experience as a professional in your field, you will start to have recruiters send you messages with job offers. Take this with a grain of salt. While these people may be reaching out to you because you are a great candidate, they could also be reaching out because they have a quota and you fit the criteria. It’s never a bad thing to have a recruiter that you can get in contact with but don’t feel obligated to express interest in a role just because a recruiter reached out to you. Due to the way that LinkedIn has evolved over time, it is one of the first places recruiters use for researching prospects for a job.
—
Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes. For more details please visit the Disclaimer Page.
