Heard of it, but not sure what LinkedIn is or why you should be using it?
In this article we are going to share some information about the social network site LinkedIn; how it is used by people to help their careers, find job opportunities and build their skills and knowledge and also share how you can simply and easily get started with your own LinkedIn Profile.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a social media platform that is mainly used by professionals for their own career or personal development.
It helps people to grow their network and keep in touch with people they know, but purely from a work perspective. You probably agree having your tutor, boss or future boss seeing pictures of you and the cats is something to be avoided, at least until you know them better. But having your tutor or boss or future boss see your work and your professional skills definitely has its advantages.
How does it work?
It works in a similar way to other big social media platforms, you connect with people who you know, you can create your own posts, join groups you are interested in and follow brands and # to see what is happening in the world of work you are interested in.
How does it help young people?
LinkedIn is useful to so many people for so many reasons, here are our top 3:
- You can connect with people you know and even some you don’t…. there are 740 million users on LinkedIn, including leaders of some of the biggest and best brands in the world. Keeping in touch with people or making new connections can really help grow your career prospects, who knows when someone you connect with might reach out and offer you a job.
- You will learn things about the world of work and learn about new opportunities – knowledge really is power and on LinkedIn there are millions of experts talking about things happening in their industry, launching new products, sharing updates and maybe most importantly sharing when they are hiring, opening up Apprenticeship or Graduate Schemes, offering work placements and more. This information can be really valuable in you growing your understanding and expertise of a range of topics and businesses and being ahead of the curve when it comes to who is hiring!
- Build your profile – have you ever considered that you are a brand? The way you dress, behave, the things you know and do, it all adds up to your own personal brand. LinkedIn can help you build your professional brand online so that people can get to see who you are and what makes you tick. This could lead to lots of interesting possibilities.
How do you get started?
Just like with other platforms LinkedIn guides you through the registration and set up process. You will be prompted to put in your education and employment information (don’t worry you can leave some sections blank), you share your interests and skills.
The more you put into your profile the more you will get out. Recruiters often look through profiles before hiring people so it is important to show off your best self and keep it up to date.
Remember it is a professional platform though and you should think carefully about the photo you upload and the information you put in!
There are lots of tips for building a good profile here is a link to some more details.
Once your profile is up you can begin to connect to people, think about some of the people you know through personal connections, work experience or training you have done. The more you grow your connections the richer the experience of LinkedIn.
Top Tip – it is always nice to send a little connection note when you reach out to someone – “Hi xxx, I have just joined LinkedIn, I thought it would be great to have you in my network. I am hoping to build my professional contacts and learn more about the world of work.”
Join some groups – you can use the search function to find some groups that may be of interest, there will be a group for almost anything you are interested in in the world of work – Creative Industries, Technology, Charities, Climate and Energy, Finance, Manufacturing, Professional Development and so much more. Join some groups where you will get to see posts from people who are also interested in that topic.
Follow some people – do you have some business hero’s? Bill Gates, James Caan, Steven Bartlett, Richard Branson, Simon Sinek and literally millions more. You can follow companies to, here is our LinkedIn Business Page, be sure to give it a follow!
Eventually post some stuff – when you have the hang of things do not be afraid to post things you are working on, share new items you think would be of interest, comment on other peoples posts. The world of connections and networks awaits you and people are pretty friendly on LinkedIn so as long as its professional and kind you will see a whole world of possibilities.
