With its grand outreach to around 500 million people worldwide, it has become one of the strongest networks in the world.
Today in the era of virtual reality it becomes pertinent for all of us to make our presence felt. In order to ensure the same LinkedIn can be an effective tool of sophisticated networking.
While it is easy to sign up on LinkedIn, it is an art to highlight your profile amongst a plethora of others
Here are a handful of tips which will help you to carve a niche for yourself and stand out in the crowd.
1. Study other profiles: profiles
Getting inspired by others is anyway a right way to begin with. Find out the good profiles of your
domain and study them so that you may have an idea about how your profile should be created.
2. Selecting Profile Picture:
You may have a good pouting skill but kindly check if that pouting goes with your profession. Select a picture that reflects your domain of career. Avoid distracting background, dress accordingly; the picture should be 400*400 pixels [high quality] and not more than 8 MB. Make sure you choose a recent picture; a little filter would cause no harm but don’t overdo it else you will look like a Chinese platter served in an earthen pot. Remember there is a difference between social networking sites and professional networking sites, respect the difference, please.
3. Headline:
It is the entrance to your profile; make it in a way that people should be willing to enter your La La Land. You have around 120 characters to play with and get the attention, make optimum use of this
opportunity.
4. Profile Summary:
Once you have gained the attention of your profile readers using the headline do not let their hopes die at this point. Create a profile summary that shows your experience, dexterity and other skills; don’t just rest upon the past laurels but also focus on future endeavors and current projects, assignments and of course learning. For painting, this canvas you get around 2000 characters, color it in the best possible way.
5. Play with URL:
Only a few members of LinkedIn are aware that they can customize the URL of their LinkedIn ids and even better convert it into a QR Code (looks trendy and millennial). So, go and have fun with your customized URL.
6. Start Making Connections:
Once you have created your ids, start making connections with the professionals of your domain,
influencers, you can also start following various forums on LinkedIn.
7. Start Posting:
Remember the gospel of India “Atithi Devo Bhava”; you need to entertain your connections by your
posts. Remember your posts should be related, worthy, logical and must be exclusive of hatred,
biases, unnecessary politics, rumors and superstition.
8. Use #Tags:
There is no need of explaining what a # tag is; you simply need to use proper #tags. There is a section on LinkedIn which suggests you appropriate and trendy # tags which will enhance your visibility.
9. Be Active:
The way you love your Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook account you need to have a little affection
towards your LinkedIn account also. Spend a few minutes every day on LinkedIn and see what’s
happening in the world; read the articles, blogs and share your insights with the world.
10.LinkedIn Profile Etiquette:
An article by Melonie Dodaro published on April 17, 2014, clearly envisages the LinkedIn etiquette out of which the important ones are:
* Send a Welcome Message– For establishing a good network, it is important that whenever
your connection request gets accepted, send a customized welcome message. It will show warmth and would act as a nice gesture on your part.
*Keep it Professional– Do not try to establish a connection on LinkedIn, put forward your
professional foot only and be very poised in your content or conversation.
*Don’t send irrelevant messages– Always check if your message makes any sense to the receiver, if not, better you refrain yourself. Always remember the rule; it must fit for the needs of the other person.
*Don’t comment negatively or criticize others– Your words are the index to your persona,
choose them wisely or regret later. Your words have the power to define you; do not use this extreme power to degrade you. Do not criticize others or respond negatively on LinkedIn
Remember:
➢ Take this task a little seriously with a pinch of sincerity.
➢ A nicely crafted LinkedIn id will benefit you in numerous ways- be it getting an internship, or a
first job or a job change.
Written by-
Mr. Himanshu Saxena
Assistant Professor- Communication and Soft Skills
HSS Department
KIET Group of Institutions