3 ways to make the most out of LinkedIn
Darain Faraz, spokesperson from LinkedIn, shares with Futureboard his best tips to have a perfect LinkedIn profile. He says there are three essential steps everyone can take to make their profile search-perfect. These are:
1. Complete your profile
Darain says: “LinkedIn lets you build your profile visually, so be sure to include content that gives people an opportunity to view your past work, including your school/university project work.”
Completing your profile can mean adding your full name and a professional photo as well as crafting a strong summary that gives people a concise, memorable way to understand who you are in a professional context.
2. Show off your education and skills
Darain says: “Many recruiters will look for candidates by their skills. So, ensure you list out as many relevant skills as you can. If you have a niche skill, don’t feel shy to show it off.”
Darain adds it’s essential to include information about all institutions and courses you’ve attended. Including any course, no matter how short, can also prove to be the key to a job.
3. Engage with your network
Once you have your profile in place, the best way to develop a network is to actively participate in groups. Darain says: “Begin building relationships with your contacts by starting a conversation. A great way to do this is always to ask questions – how they got involved in their field or something specific about their profile or a past project - most people like talking about themselves and are flattered when asked for advice.”
According to Darain, it is also worth messaging contacts explaining what you are looking for, asking if they could introduce you to anyone who could help you in your job search or just for general advice.
Darain adds: “Also make sure you are utilising LinkedIn’s University Pages to follow your university and engage with alumni for their insights and advise on life in the professional world.”