There are 332 million people on LinkedIn and every second a new member joins the network, from over 200 countries and territories around the world. 40% of LinkedIn users check LinkedIn on a daily basis, so it pays to make your Linkedin profile as effective as it can be. Even simple things like turning off your notifications and not sending multiple connection requests to the same person can make a big difference to your profile.
Here are eight Top Tips to help you manage your LinkedIn Profile.
1. Turn off "Notify your Network"
Before you get started on updating your profile, visit your personal settings menu and turn off the activity broadcast setting, this can be found among other privacy settings. Why? This way you’ll stop everyone in your network receiving announcements regarding each and every tiny change you make. You can switch it back on when you're finished, but my personal preference is to leave it off.
2. Connection Requests
Don’t send more than one connection request...Once you’ve sent an invitation to connect Linkedin will send reminders to your potential connection. Be patient if it takes longer than a week or month before that person accepts the connection, there can be all sorts of reasons why they haven’t accepted immediately.
3. Contact Information
By adding in your social media channels, email, blog and website you will ensure your connections and any potential connections will have further information about you. When I’m researching and reading about my connections I always like to cross reference that person and perhaps follow them on Twitter or read their blog.
4. Education
Don't forget to fill in your education, no need to go back to your days in primary school or highschool, but ensure you have filled in your college, polytechnic, degrees and any adult education degrees or workshops you may have completed.
5. Experience
When filling in your experience, you don’t need to put a full job description for each role you’ve had, that will be a little overkill, but with your last three roles you can be a little more descriptive, other roles, just simply put in the title, company name and dates you worked there. Remember to leave no gaps, if you went on sabbatical, extended leave or maternity leave, simply tell the truth.
6. Publications
Linkedin allows you to add in any publications you may have produced, so why not add them in! I’ve written several guest blogs for external platforms, so this is a great place to advertise them! Any Blogs, white papers, books, magazine articles or newspaper columns you have written.
7. Volunteering Experience
This isn’t essential to fill out, but it does show that you care about other topics, causes or charities other than work and gives you more of a human aspect.
8. Following Influencers
Try and say away from the standard Richard Branson and James Carin, think outside the box when it comes to influencers, be sure to follow people within your industry and those who you find a genuine influence.
