Yahoo Lifestyle How to use use LinkedIn to achieve your career goals
Believe it or not, LinkedIn is 21 years old. The career networking platform is older than Facebook, and even predates Myspace.
In recent years, LinkedIn has become more than just a website to browse for job listings and connect with colleagues – it’s firmly embedded in the lives of professionals of all levels across the world, with a community reaching one billion members. With such a vast audience now using the platform, it’s possible to leverage your profile to do far more than you’d expect. You could even become a #LinkedInfluencer.
“We’re seeing record engagement on the platform,” LinkedIn career expert Charlotte Davies tells Harper’s Bazaar.
“More than 1.6 million pieces of content are interacted with on LinkedIn every minute. On top of this, six hires are made every minute and more than 7,500 members click to apply for a job every minute worldwide. Gen Z is also the fastest-growing audience on the platform.”
It was the pandemic that turbocharged LinkedIn as a platform to boost your profile. In 2020, engagement on the site nearly doubled compared to the previous year. “LinkedIn became the place professionals and businesses turned to for support and help during this extraordinary time,” Davies explains. “We also saw people share the challenges of maintaining a work-life balance, topics around mental health and more, but very much through a workplace lens.
“The pandemic really highlighted the value of having an online professional community where people can go and support each other.”
Bringing emotions and narratives to a platform that previously focused on drier, more career-focused posts is no bad thing. The pandemic led to great uncertainty, which extended into our work lives; 11.7 million jobs were furloughed, while 370,000 redundancies were planned the same year. The pause the pandemic put on our lives led to what was coined ‘The Great Resignation’, where people walked out of their jobs for new opportunities en masse. A survey conducted by Microsoft of 30,000 of their global employees revealed that 41 per cent of workers considered quitting or changing professions. Many LinkedIn users began sharing their struggles as much as their successes, and those more heartfelt posts helped people land roles in a difficult and challenging time.
“We also launched the ‘Open to Work’ feature which allows you to discreetly or openly signal to recruiters and your network that you're open to new opportunities, specifying your preference for remote, hybrid, or on-site roles,” Davies explains. “LinkedIn data shows that turning on Open to Work doubles your likelihood of getting a recruiter message, and 36 million members globally have chosen to add the Open to Work public photo frame to their profile.”
LinkedIn is also more than just networking and recruitment, with the platform offering additional resources such as live sessions and webinars, as well as LinkedIn Learning – which is currently offering two two complimentary professional certificates on Generative AI until the end of 2025.
If you work in a field that benefits from sharing regular posts, such as content creation, you could also consider starting a newsletter; there are currently 156k newsletters on the platform, totalling 550 million subscriptions.
“If you’re looking for a new opportunity, set up job alerts to stay informed about relevant opportunities and subscribe to newsletters like Get Hired, which provides timely job search advice and shows which companies are currently hiring,” Davies advises.
Of course, as with any social media, the element of self-promotion can give way to content that could be criticised as cringeworthy. An increasing amount of LinkedIn users creating ill-advised content on the platform has resulted in some posts going viral. Social media sites such as X’s @TheStateOfLinkedIn and Reddit’s r/LinkedInLunatics poke fun at some of the most wince-inducing content.
To avoid the dreaded 'career cringe', Davies reminds us that content creation on the platform is “not about creation for the sake of entertainment” - so maybe think twice before posting that 'hilarious' meme, 'pithy' wordplay or 'thoughtful' parable that you might think could do numbers on the platform.
“What’s consistent is the advantage of networking, advice and career tips you can’t get anywhere else,” she explains. “It’s a trusted community where professionals can have great conversations and connect with other professionals.”
10 ways to improve your LinkedIn profile
If you're looking to find a new line of work, or just feel as if your profile is in need of a spruce, Davies has some easy tips to make sure your LinkedIn page gets noticed (for all the right reasons).
1/ Go beyond just writing your job title: craft a compelling headline for yourself, and include relevant keywords so you’re more likely to be found in searches
2/ Use a high-quality, recent photo that embodies who you are as a professional
3/ Write a detailed summary that highlights your key achievements and skills
4/ In the experience section, emphasise specific accomplishments and highlight any quantifiable results and business impact
5/ Be sure to list your skills, even if they don't seem particularly relevant to your role: people who write down at least five skills are more likely to receive 17x more profile views
6/ Add your current and past positions to showcase your most recent accomplishments to help build trust among recruiters and your larger network; members who include at least one position on their profile receive up to twice as many profile views and connection requests
7/ Connect with former line managers and colleagues that you have a good professional relationship with, and see if they're willing to give you endorsements
8/ When you’re requesting to connect with someone new, be sure to add a personalised note
9/ Join industry groups and participate in discussions – look out for tools like the ‘Catch Up’ tab, which is focused on surfacing opportunities to spark conversations with people in your network
10/ Be sure to stay active – post regularly or comment on updates from your connections to foster stronger relationships
You Might Also Like
