LinkedIn: Confusion or Conquest? Part 1 of 2
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The ultimate goal of an executive LinkedIn profile is to attract the right people to it, engage them with your content, and generate a call to action. As with any effective marketing tool, it needs continual refinement to keep it up-to-date to improve impact and reach.

Typical concerns:
  • Are you struggling with knowing there is more to LinkedIn, but you don’t know how to access it?
  • Have you exhausted the strategies you can put in place?
  • Is the confusion over what to do next paralyzing your ability to develop your LinkedIn profile and strategy to the next level?
Typical solutions:
  • You can hire an industry expert (career coach or LinkedIn specialist) who will address your challenges and coach you through a solution process.
  • You can do it yourself by incorporating the tips listed below into your career action plan.
Move from confusion to conquest by following these tips:

1. Check your LinkedIn homepage feed at least once a week (several times a week is preferable). People in your network may be posting valuable resources. After a quick skim, you can choose to click the “like” button. This starts building your online presence and link-ability.

2. Monday is the best day to search for jobs on LinkedIn, although if you are in an active job search, I would recommend doing this daily. You can apply for jobs using your LinkedIn profile and quickly submit an application or resume.

3. Are you a Job Seeker Premium subscriber? If so, remember to click the “feature my application” button to appear at the top of the list.

4. A few times a week try to comment on the status updates of a few selected connections. This will nurture your relationships and may even prompt someone to view your profile and share information.

5. Spend a few minutes a couple times a week visiting LinkedIn Groups. Follow featured discussions and post comments. You can build a reputation as knowledgeable in certain areas and become valuable to the group that could ultimately result in connections for job opportunities.

6. Post your own discussion topic in LinkedIn Groups. Keep it simple, and you’ll attract a higher number of responses. Now what? Reach out to the people who posted comments, thanking them, and requesting a connection if you are not already connected as first level.

7. Check your LinkedIn Inbox regularly. People expect quick responses today, so review your connection requests and answer messages as soon as possible.