Get Started on LinkedIn In 5 Simple Steps

LinkedIn is a fantastic place to meet new people and share ideas. However, being new to anything can be intimidating. Creating an account on a new social media platform can be like starting a new job where you don’t know anyone or how everything works. Lucky for you, I am here to share my top tips to get you started on LinkedIn.

Upload a Photo

It might seem obvious but the first to get started on LinkedIn is to upload a photo of yourself. Your LinkedIn profile picture will be the first thing people notice and, a lot of the time will be the immediate decider on if they connect with you. So, you want to make sure your picture makes you appear approachable to people and someone they would want to engage with.

The easiest way to do this is by smiling in the picture. Get a clear shot of only your head and shoulders in the frame so even as a small icon your connections know it’s you. Try not to have a background that overwhelms you and definitely don’t include anyone else in the picture. Sizing is also important when it comes to uploading your images on the platform.

Write a Summary

For anyone who doesn’t know, your LinkedIn profile summary is the text box at the top of your profile page. You have a maximum of 2,000 characters to write a summary that will explain yourself, your interests and appeal to connections. It’s best to keep your summary short and sweet. When people are browsing your profile, they are not likely to pause and read huge chunks of text.

It’s up to you what you want to write in your LinkedIn summary. You just want to make sure it reflects your brand or the industry you work in. This way you are much more likely to find valuable connections working in the same or similar industries. You can highlight your latest achievements, greatest strengths or even just show off your personality a bit.

Describe Experience

The work experience section of LinkedIn is specifically designed for you to share information about your current and past jobs. So, if your summary is a little more on the personal side then you can go into more detail about your professional life here.

You can choose to add as much or as little information as you want. It’s an opportunity to go into more detail about previous job roles. By doing this, recruiters can find out more about your experience without you having to overload your CV. As well as this, providing experience builds trust around your profile and/your company.

Add Skills

Just like the experience section of your LinkedIn profile, the skills section is a great place to break down what previous or current jobs have taught you. It’s a good idea to take the time to go through and select your skills because it will help you find jobs wanting the skills you have. 

The different categories in the skills section allow you to efficiently organise your skills in a way that appeals to both recruiters and clients. You can choose up to 50 skills but you can prioritise three as your ‘Top Skills.’ These skills are the most likely to be viewed if someone is quickly browsing your profile so make sure they are the most relevant and important.

Get Networking

Networking is the bread and butter of LinkedIn. It’s the reason we’re all on it. Whether you are a business owner, recruiter or job hunter. We all want to start conversations with people in or around our industries. There are so many ways to connect with people on LinkedIn but, just like starting a new job, you won’t meet anyone sitting quietly in the corner.

You have to make your presence known on Linkedin. The first step is finding people to connect with. One of the easiest ways to do this is to import the contacts from your email and send connection requests to them on LinkedIn. Before or after doing this, LinkedIn will continuously suggest people for you to connect with. Posting regularly and completing your LinkedIn profile will help the platform to suggest people you are more likely to connect with.

Everyone has to start somewhere so don’t be discouraged in the beginning. Get started on LinkedIn, begin posting and keep connecting!