LinkedIn: you’ve heard of it, but perhaps you haven’t made the most of it when looking for work or hunting down top candidates. It’s a rich and powerful social media site for professionals that, for new users, can look a little daunting.
To help those of you looking to leverage LinkedIn to boost your professional Profile, look for work, promote your business, or find candidates, we’ve put together the ultimate guide.
If you’re looking for work then a LinkedIn profile is a must
So why should you invest time in creating an unbeatable profile? Well first and foremost, it helps you build contacts in your industry. Contacts that will inevitably become valuable as you look to develop a reputation in your field. It’s also a great platform to showcase your work – where anyone looking to hire can see it. It’s also a great place to find candidates, allowing you to see skill sets, previous experience, and get a feel for the person you might employ next.
So without further ado, here’s our comprehensive guide to LinkedIn
Profile setup
Employment
Imagery
Endorsements
References
Networking
Job Hunting
Business promotion
Finding candidates
Chapter 1
Setting up your profile
The first step is to set up your profile. It’s a straightforward process, but there are a few areas that you might be tempted to skip over, which we recommend that you don’t do. The guides below will take you through how to get your profile up and running and take the right steps from the outset.
How to set up a profile on LinkedIn
8 steps to improve your LinkedIn profile in 2016
Setting up your LinkedIn profile. What to do and what not to do...
How to craft the perfect LinkedIn profile
Chapter 2
Summary, previous employment, and skills
Writing a summary about yourself sounds easy. But believe us when we say it’s a tricky thing to do. Same goes from your previous employment and skills. Which should you include? How much detail should you provide? The guides below will take you through these steps ensuring that you have covered every bit of information potential employers are looking for.
4 ways to write powerful LinkedIn job descriptions
5 secrets to a knockout LinkedIn profile summary
How to write a LinkedIn summary
Top skills to list on LinkedIn
14 do’s and don’ts for LinkedIn “Skills & Expertise” profile category
Chapter 3
Imagery
Most LinkedIn profiles look the same. Make yours standout with some great imagery. Below we have collated guides to help you find the perfect sizes, create a great background, and how to enhance your profile using your portfolio.
We know that you might not have a degree in design. But there are some super good free imagery manipulation websites out there. Our favourite is https://pixlr.com/
The ideal image sizes for your social media posts
5 ways to visually enhance your LinkedIn profile using professional portfolio
5 easy ways to create a brilliant background for your LinkedIn profile
Chapter 4
Endorsements and recommendations
Endorsements and recommendations come from previous employees and colleagues. If, for example, you’re web designer, your ex-colleagues can endorse you for this skill. The more endorsements and recommendations you have, the more skilled in your role you are.
They’re a great way for potential employers to see your strong points. But how do you get them? The guides below will help you manage, attain, and write endorsements.
Everything you need to know about LinkedIn endorsements
LinkedIn tips: 5 ways to manage endorsements
The best way to increase your LinkedIn endorsements
How to request a LinkedIn recommendation
How to write and receive unbeatable recommendations on LinkedIn
Chapter 5
Getting references
Endorsements and recommendations are specific to LinkedIn and they work wonders for finding jobs. But old fashioned references still have a place. Potential employers always look to read recommendations to find out more about how you performed in previous roles. Check out our favourite guides to getting good references that make you look great.
How to get the references you need to land the job you want
How to pick and ask for good job references
How to obtain and use references and recommendation letters
Chapter 6
Networking
Networking is LinkedIn’s biggest weapon. It’s the reason so many professionals flock to the platform to bolster their career profile. But you would be surprised at how many people get it wrong. Or at least, don’t use LinkedIn to its full potential.
To guarantee that you’re making the most out of your time on the website, below you will find our favourite guides to socialising and meeting people on there.
20 critical do’s and don’ts of LinkedIn networking
The 10 deadly sins of LinkedIn networking
4 essentials for networking with strangers on LinkedIn
5 tips for networking your to a job on LinkedIn
Chapter 7
Job Hunting
One of the main reasons people turn to LinkedIn is to find work. But where do you even start? You’ve created a killer profile with a great summary and top quality images – you’ve got plenty of endorsements, and connected with old colleagues.
What now?
Check out our favourite three guides for using LinkedIn to find your next job.
Guide to using LinkedIn for job search
How to use LinkedIn to job search
Guide to using LinkedIn for your job search
Chapter 8
Promoting your business
LinkedIn isn’t just a great place to boost your professional profile. It’s also a great place for business to promote too. Below we have picked out a couple of guides. One is to help you create a business page on the social site, the other gives you tips and advice on how you can promote your business on LinkedIn. Remember – it’s not just a place for job hunters.
How to create a LinkedIn company page to promote your business
10 smarter ways to promote your business on LinkedIn
Chapter 9
Finding Candidates
Now your business is on LinkedIn you can start to use the platform to find your next best employee. The site is super feature rich, and works hard to act as the best place for all professionals. Not just job hunters, but people looking for candidates too.
Check out our favourite guides on how to find candidates on LinkedIn below.
How to find and identify active job seekers on LinkedIn
7 ways to recruit quality candidates with LinkedIn
How to identify top candidates on LinkedIn
For employers: How to leverage LinkedIn for finding prospective job candidates
This post first appeared on Passive Candidates: The Insiders Guide, please read the originial post: here
