Professional Networking

Should I join a professional network such as LinkedIn?

In today’s tech savvy business community, professional networking sites such as Biznik, Opportunity, PartnerUp, VisualCV, Meetup, Xing, Plaxo & LinkedIn all provide excellent online locations to help you grow professionally, but to date as stated by Forbes.

LinkedIn is far and away, the most advantages social networking tool available to job seekers and business professionals today

With 2 people joining every second, LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world with over 400million users of which 40million are students, its available in over 200 countries in 40 languages and your basic account is free set up.  You can use LinkedIn for a variety of different reasons from promoting your company, job seeking, growing your brand, attaining information, promoting your blog, promoting jobs and most importantly it’s a super location to network with professionals across the globe.

Setting up a LinkedIn account

To setup your free LinkedIn account you will need to submit your email address and create a password and please make sure your email address is a professional one.  You will need to add your contact details, summary section (include up to date industry buzz words), work experience, qualifications & your interests. You can also add in specific skills which people will endorse you on and you can also get recommendations from colleagues and friends to strengthen your claim to professional knowledge.

Things to remember about LinkedIn

Things to remember, LinkedIn is a professional networking site not Facebook, only post work related topics in a professional manner.  Have a professional photo, keep your profile current and without spelling or grammatical mistakes, try and get recommendations from people you know and be specific.  Join groups and forums and contribute value adding information.  Connect with people you know, people that might benefit from knowing you but do explain why you would like to connect.  Connect with recruiters but be careful connecting with companies you would like to be employed with particularly in the way you approach them, and before you do any of this ensure your profile is completed fully.

Top Tip: Ensure your LinkedIn profile matches your CV.