The acceleration of digitalization has increased the importance of creating a successful network. Today, social media has a great place for networking. LinkedIn is a career platform where you can highlight your professional business life, experiences and competencies. The rapidly increasing number of users and the active recruitment processes of Human Resources specialists on LinkedIn increase the importance of this platform day by day.
You can review how to create an effective LinkedIn profile by following the steps below.
1-Choosing the right profile photo
Your LinkedIn profile photo should have no one but you. You should avoid using profile photos that are not related to your profile, such as vacation photos, travels, landscapes and your industry. Your profile photo is the first step to introduce yourself in the connections you will make. Since the first impression you make is very important, you should be careful when choosing a photo.
2- Prepare a good LinkedIn Summary
Your LinkedIn profile tells people who don't know you well about your experiences and competencies. A simple but informative summary section that you will create in addition to your work experience will give the most accurate impression about you at first glance to the people who view your profile and will be effective in quickly conveying your career development and goals.
3- The information in your profile must be the same as the CV.
Everything on your CV should also appear on your LinkedIn profile. A LinkedIn profile full of incomplete information can result in negative feedback on job applications. You must include skills, certificates, foreign language that you speak and experience in your profile. For example, if there are several profile options to be preferred, the profile in which the information is transferred completely and consistently is highlighted as the most active profile by the application.
4- Comments made about you
The positive comments about you by your colleagues at the institutions you have worked for will be an indication of their reference to you. Positive comments about you are important clues about what kind of person you are in your business life. Therefore, it is important to keep your profile up to date by using the application actively.
5- Take part in volunteering activities
Your volunteer-based work is just as important as paid work. Recently, employers and managers have started to pay more attention to this issue in recruitment. Participating in voluntary work through NGOs as much as possible will contribute to making your profile more effective.
6- Join industry related groups
You should join the groups where you can access much more information such as the latest news in the industry, job postings and prominent titles. In LinkedIn groups, you can stay up to date with everything that's happening in your industry. Groups keep you active on LinkedIn.
7- Make a connection
You can follow the employees in your industry from the link building section, which is one of the important features of LinkedIn. Having more links will make you appear more in search results. These links can give you an advantage in your job applications. Be open to making new connections related to the department you are interested in. Instead of connecting with people you know, try to connect with well-equipped and effective people in your field. Also, as a very important point, contacting Human Resources Specialists, who also carry out recruitment activities suitable for your field, will enable you to access new job opportunities shared/announced by these people, in addition to candidate searches and job postings. Make sure your links are meaningful and strategic.
8- Make sure your profile is up to date
All information on your LinkedIn profile, which is your gateway to the business world, including information about you, your experiences and your photo, must be up-to-date. Keeping your profile up-to-date helps you establish a healthy communication with the institutions you apply to. You should quickly update your profile on changes in contact information or work experience, and make sure that people who will review your profile will see the most up-to-date information.
9- Follow the Profiles of the Companies You Are Interested In
Company profiles on LinkedIn will give you more information about companies you're interested in. In this way, if you have connections within the company, you can see them and learn about job opportunities and similar companies. It will also be beneficial for you to follow these profiles in order to enable the people who manage the recruitment process for that institution to see you.
10- Be an Active User
In addition to having an effective profile, you should be active on LinkedIn and regularly follow messages, posts and announcements. You should know that being active on the platform, replying to messages and using LinkedIn effectively will position you in the 'More Likely To Respond' section of candidate searches.