LinkedIn or LinkedOut: Optimizing your LinkedIn experience

How to make your LinkedIn experience beneficial

How do you create or write your LinkedIn profile?  Are you struggling with how to build an effective profile? Don’t write your LinkedIn profile with just a listing of jobs or schooling without any details. Much like a resume, LinkedIn profiles need to be well written and complete to be effective.

Are you connecting and building your LinkedIn network? I understand this because it was the way I handled LinkedIn in the beginning. I set up my LinkedIn profile in 2006. However, I left myself alone out there for a long time until I was rescued by some friends who chose to connect with me. I didn’t understand it, there weren’t many tools out there to help you understand it.

Privacy rules: Some people lock their network. A recruiter colleague said she locks her network so it won’t get raided to protect the privacy of their connections. At the risk of opening a can of worms, I will comment on locking shortly. However, if you are worried about your connections being raided, I suggest that you exercise more caution in who you choose to connect.

How to improve your LinkedIn experience

You can certainly write your own LinkedIn profile but before you start, do some research into the correct way to write a profile. Don’t compare the LinkedIn profiles of the executives in your firm. Many executives are as clueless as you are in how to make LinkedIn work for them.

Educate yourself on the best LinkedIn strategies for a successful LinkedIn experience.

LinkedIn Profile Writer: All of my packages include LinkedIn training, profile writing, and coaching on content marketing with LinkedIn. I see LinkedIn as critical to everyone but particularly those in a job search.

Build your network to improve your LinkedIn experience

LinkedIn makes suggestions of who you know who are on LinkedIn. Its powerful search engine seems to be able to find commonality between your interests or your location.

Use LinkedIn’s search engine to search for people you want to connect with. Search for your former employers, specific people, your city, companies you would like to work for, schools, or any number of potential connection points.

Concern about privacy in your LinkedIn experience

Do you have a legitimate reason for locking your network? Rethink why. Are the benefits of understanding the spiderweb of LinkedIn connections more than your privacy concerns.

• In my world, the power of LinkedIn is the understanding of who is connected to who. If everyone locked down their networks, you might as well just keep people in your address book.

There is no benefit to LinkedIn if you don’t see how connections in your network reach companies you target for future jobs or new customers.

Is your LinkedIn experience working for you? Are you ready for a LinkedIn Makeover? Need some help? Explore more here.