When it comes to professional networking, LinkedIn is still supreme. With an estimated 500 million users, it\u2019s almost a must for people in any industry.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re in your first job or approaching retirement, it\u2019s important to keep a presence on the site; not only does it give prospective employers a chance to see more about you, but it allows connections from previous jobs and experiences to stay in touch.<\/p>\n
Of course, simply having a profile isn\u2019t enough. If you want to bolster your chances of being noticed, make sure you\u2019re doing more than just the status quo. Invest the time and effort to create a profile that not only reflects who you are and what you\u2019ve done, but where you want to go. And make sure to check out sites like Comparably to help you figure out\u00a0how much you can earn<\/a>\u00a0and what\u00a0company culture<\/a>\u00a0is like at your dream gig.<\/p>\n Here are some secrets of the best LinkedIn users right now.<\/p>\n 1. DON’T use the\u00a0default \u201cI want to connect\u201d message.<\/b><\/p>\n When you connect with someone on LinkedIn, you\u2019re given the option of writing your own message or using the default. Always write your own message. The person you\u2019re connecting with, especially if he or she is someone you\u2019ve never met in person or met a long while back, will want some kind of clue as to why you\u2019re looking to connect. Write something short but thoughtful.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0DO use a hi-res professional photo.<\/b><\/p>\n One of the first things someone sees when they go to your profile is your photo. Make it count: have a professional photo taken if you don\u2019t have one already. It needs to be high resolution or else it will appear grainy, which conveys a lack of tech savviness on your part. Make sure any photo you use is current and somewhat formal; a photo of you at a beach barbeque five years ago is probably not going to cut it.<\/p>\n 3. DON’T use a general tagline such as \u201cI\u2019m looking for new opportunities.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Your tagline should be something that reels people in. If you\u2019re an engineer with special certification in something, find a way to include it. If you\u2019re a former employee of a well-known company, think about including that as well. Most importantly, make your tagline something that reflects who you are (instead of \u201csocial media professional\u201d maybe \u201cconnector of people.\u201d Try to stay away from taglines that make you seem needy, like \u201cI\u2019m looking for new opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n Related:\u00a0How to Tell if Your New Employer Has Good Company Culture<\/a><\/em><\/b><\/p>\n 4.\u00a0DO respond in a timely matter and move the conversation offline efficiently.<\/b><\/p>\n If you are corresponding with people through LinkedIn, be sure to answer that person\u2019s reply within a few days of their message. This can be challenging for people who don\u2019t use LinkedIn every day. For that reason, consider taking the message offline very quickly. Ask the person if they\u2019d prefer to carry on through email and ask for their email address.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0DO engage with your connections regularly.<\/b><\/p>\n It may look good to have 500+ connections, but if you don\u2019t ever engage with them, what\u2019s the point? Consider recommending someone\u2019s skills or wishing someone a congratulations for their work anniversary. For people who you know particularly well and worked with directly, consider writing a full testimonial that reflects the work you did together and specific examples of how their performance stood out. Employers are always interested in seeing not only how you tend to perform, but who from your network is going out of their way to recommend you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When it comes to professional networking, LinkedIn is still supreme. With an estimated 500 million users, it\u2019s almost a must for people in any industry. Whether you\u2019re in your first job or approaching retirement, it\u2019s important to keep a presence on the site; not only does it give prospective employers a chance to see more … Read full-story <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":4753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[65,8],"tags":[216,215],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4751"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4751"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4754,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4751\/revisions\/4754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comparably.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}