LinkedIn 101 Basics for All

Seleena Hoban | @seleenahoban   LinkedIn has become the hotspot for business social media profiles for the unemployed, as well as the employed and their employers.  Providing areas for a professional background summary, uploading your resume and ways to endorse people, LinkedIn offers nothing but ways to professionally advance yourself and your company.  This is a LinkedIn 101 broken up into ways that the site can help each individual whether they are searching for a job, have a job or if you have a business that is head hunting.

If you are...

• Unemployed – The first thing you will want to do when on the job market is update your current status so the network knows you are looking for a job.  Stay as positive as you can with your words.  One might say, “Seeking a position in financing or accounting,” rather than saying, “Looking for a job cause I don’t have one.”  As noted above you will want to be specific in what you are seeking so that you will be happy with your next career move.  Another very important update you will want to be sure to upload is your resume and professional backgrounds.  Reach out for some consultation in whether or not your resume is appropriate for what you are looking for and that your contributions stand out among others.
• Employed – If you are already employed it is very important to make connections on LinkedIn and participate frequently by commenting and joining groups to better your network.   Update your status to let your network know what you have been up to in the business realm.  Comment on others’ news as well and share articles you’ve read.  LinkedIn is meant for networking so when possible try to help others make connections by endorsing them and letting them know if someone in your network is looking for an employee like them.
• Employers – Businesses are all over LinkedIn using it as a tool to find the right employees and to do business to business networking.  The important thing to also keep in mind is that people are looking for your business as well.  Therefore, it is very important to use keywords in your heading and title that are relevant to your business in not only your company profile but also all of your employees’ profiles.  Tag the skills and expertise that your business exemplifies so when prospects are searching for these qualities you will pop up in their search.
• Everyone – Be professional, update your resume/status and always have smiling appropriate pictures.

Always remember that the more you use your LinkedIn profile the more it will benefit you.  Once you get the hang of how to work your way through the site you can become a “professional” in no time.