By Kate Smith
Are you looking to develop your IT career? Do you have a LinkedIn profile? Creating a LinkedIn profile has the potential to put your experience in front of recruiters.
There are plenty of articles about creating a LinkedIn profile, and plenty of ‘what not to do’ articles too. I’ve spent a lot of time recently reading, watching videos and completing online training sessions and from that, below is a simplified way to get you started or to increase the value or your current LinkedIn page. Don’t forget that you must continue to update your profile and interact on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn will walk you through the set-up of your profile, below are some recommendations to enhance the value of your page.
Getting the most out of your profile
Remember that Linkedin has a core business focus (not social like Facebook)
Make your profile act like a resume – design it for recruiters and clients
Fill out your profile completely – including a profile photo (keep it professional)
Customise your URL
Write your summary- what you’re looking for, what you’re currently doing. You can add links to your employers (websites, projects, other social media)
Participate in groups (which act as forums)
Follow people (influencers) – eg CEOs and people you look up to
Be selective with who you connect with and tag (categorise) people. Tags enable you to view the feed by only people tagged to a category
Have recommendations (ask for them) and recommend people (as you see fit)
Keep reviewing and updating your profile (new job, new task etc)
Be a brand ambassador – follow CPI and companies you’ve worked for/ admire
Remember that theory is one thing, the practice is another; therefore the learning will continue.
How to measure your Linkedin profile page
Number of connections, number of invitations, number of profile views
Number of endorsed skills and recommendations
Number of job offers
Do you use LinkedIn? Have you been informed of a job via LinkedIn? Of course there is a lot more to LinkedIn that what I’ve stated, so feel free to leave your tips in the comments.
Follow Computer Power Institute on LinkedIn
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