LinkedIn is a powerful tool for networking, building your Brand, and keeping in touch, in addition to job searching. Most people have a LinkedIn Profile although not everyone leverages the tool as much as they could or should. During a few conversations this week, I was asked the same question: “How can I leverage LinkedIn to increase my visibility”. This blog will provide a few tips. I hope you find them helpful.
One of the best ways to increase your visibility on LinkedIn is to use the “Start a post” feature at the top of your home page on LinkedIn. This lets you share details that
are important to you. While you can technically post anything using this feature, I suggest keeping the details professional and relevant to your work, volunteer activities, and/or career interests. Here are a few examples of details you could mention in the “start a post” section.
If you are a researcher, you could mention papers that have just been published, conferences that you may be presenting a poster or talk at (virtually now until COVID-19 subsides) or grants that have been awarded for your group. You could also mention new or expanded collaborations (that are public), and exciting results of your work (that are public). Be careful not to share any confidential information on LinkedIn.
You could also post webinars that you are organizing for an organization (for example in Boston, many of my friends are active with the Mass AWIS chapter http://www.massawis.org/ and they help plan their events. They have been posting information on their LinkedIn profiles about the upcoming webinar events in order to spread the word. Even if you are not involved in organizing events, you can still post events that interest you, since they may also interest others in your LinkedIn network.
You could also post links to relevant articles of interest. For example, a cancer researcher, might post about an article relevant to cancer drug discovery. Someone interested in a career in consulting might post about an article related to the “business side of science”.
You could post about volunteer activities that you are involved with regarding upcoming (virtual) charity events, requests for volunteers, news about the volunteer organization, etc
In addition to posting the details above, you also have the option to write an article on LinkedIn which allows you to share more insights about your experiences and expertise. The articles you write can then be shared with your network on LinkedIn as well as other sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
When you post details – either a post or an article, they are shared with your network. This helps your network learn about what you are up to and interested in. In
addition, when people come to your profile, they can view your posts as well as the articles you have written. This allows people to gain additional insights about your background and interests and builds upon the details that are written in your Profile sections in LinkedIn.
Good luck increasing your visibility! Your network will probably appreciate it.
About this blog series:
This is a very uncertain time and many people are anxious, especially people who find themselves in an active job search. Many people feel helpless and are unsure of what to do during this time especially when it comes to making their job search productive. Every year, I provide advice to thousands of people, directly through my career coaching activities and also through the recruiting activities I am involved in. I am privileged to have a unique perspective into both the “job seeker” and the “organization looking to hire”.
This blog is part of a series of blogs that I am writing to provide advice to help people prepare for and conduct a job search. A link to other blogs in this series is here:
Self Reflection - A Job Search Tip During the COVID-19 Crisis - See Link
Enhancing Your LinkedIn Profile – Building your “About” Section - A Job Search Tip During the COVID-19 Crisis - See Link
Identifying Career Opportunities: Building your Target List. A Job Search Tip During the COVID-19 Crisis - See Link
Feel free to reach out to me at Lauren@propelcareers.com with topics that interest you and I can try to incorporate them into future blogs.