I really believe in social networking when it comes to spreading the word about your business and services. It makes it easy to connect to every one in the world as well as gives you the opportunity to see what is in demand and to stay on top of current trends.
Below are 5 reasons every professional should have a LinkedIn profile online:
1) Manage Your Professional Brand: Your online presence is typically the first impression with a recruiter or business contact. Pollak says “recruiters will Google you,” and you need to be in control of what they are going to find. LinkedIn profiles typically rank high in Google searches.2) Organize Professional Relationships: LinkedIn is a great way to organize and manage professional relationships. Contacts you make during the job hunt and throughout your career may not necessarily make sense as Facebook friends. LinkedIn offers a platform for maintaining your professional network while keeping it separate from your personal life.
3) Gather and Display Recommendations: LinkedIn has a tool for requesting and posting recommendations from other users who have worked with you professionally. This allows you to build your credibility by harnessing the power of third-party endorsements. Pollak points out that requesting a recommendation is also a great excuse for reaching out to former colleagues you may have lost touch with.
4) Become an Expert: The best way to gain credibility in a field is to become a go-to resource. LinkedIn offers a number of tools for helping professionals engage with peers to exchange information and ideas. For example: LinkedIn Groups, LinkedIn Answers, and LinkedIn Today are all great ways to reach out to colleagues and become part of the trending conversations in your field. When it comes to college students and new professionals, Pollak says these tools are “a great way to learn the lingo of your field and become a virtual insider.”
5) Attract Recruiters: Recruiters use LinkedIn. The job search isn’t always an active process, and hiring managers and recruiters use the tool to find candidates to fill openings. Pollak encourages users to pay attention to key words in their profiles, so be sure to have them peppered throughout the following sections of your LinkedIn profile:
- •Summary
- •Specialties
- •Skills
- •Recommendations
With people turning to the Internet to earn an income or replace their regular job, it is never too late to get started online.
What do you feel is the number one perk to having a LinkedIn profile? Or do you feel it does more harm than good?
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