Building Your LinkedIn Profile Part 2: Become a Power User
Building Your LinkedIn Profile Part 2: Become a Power User
By: Dr. Kathleen Iverson
Now owned by Microsoft, LinkedIn has over 500 million users and 10 million active job posts (Darrow 2017), making it the largest professional social network in the world.
A basic profile is more than adequate for most purposes (See Building Your LinkedIn Profile Part 1) . But if you have the time and interest, LinkedIn provides almost limitless opportunity to connect and participate with those in your network and beyond.
Here are ways to expand your presence on LinkedIn beyond your basic profile:
Join Groups
You can join up to 50 groups in LinkedIn, but don’t overdo it. Instead, join groups that you genuinely want to network with by commenting on and perhaps writing articles, participating in discussions, and offering advice and assistance to group members.
Post Updates
These go into the news feed of your connections so be judicious. It’s always acceptable to post important status updates include promotions, job changes, or awards, but not what you’re having for lunch or how long your commute took. Remember, LinkedIn is not Facebook. Do post important, new information, job opportunities in your company, and an occasional interesting story or experience. Always keep your audience in mind by posting information that is relevant to your shared interests and expertise.
Add Comments and Likes
Like Facebook, these are added to the posts in your feed. Your network will appreciate your recognition and be more likely to reciprocate.
Write articles
Articles in LinkedIn are similar to blog posts in that they are brief, conversational, and engaging. Choose professional topics that showcase your skill set. Be sure that your writing is stellar: triple check your grammar, usage, and word choice.
Discussion Questions
- What groups in the field of training and development do you belong to or do you think would be useful to join?
- What are your thoughts about posting updates—do you post them? If so how often and for what events?
References
Darrow, B. (2017). LinkedIn claims half a billion users. Retrieved April20, 2017.
Lu-Lien Tan, C. The Art of Online Portraiture. The Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2011.
RU Training @ Roosevelt University in Chicago 
Great post! I was just in a meeting with my current HR Manager and we spoke in-depth about LinkedIn and the benefits that it can provide. She walked me through her profile and how the system is setup and encouraged me to get an account of my own ASAP. I’m excited to look into this and see the benefits that it can have on my career!
Thank you for this post and great information. I use LinkedIn regularly and am always open to learning more about how to increase my presence in a valuable way.
Groups are a great way to gain insight within your profession on LinkedIn, and can be helpful for recruitment efforts also. LinkedIn is a great way to network. Professionals will post a multitude of articles, which can be applicable to many situations in the work place. Prior to an interview I also like to review employees I will meet with as it helps tailor my questions to align with their background and gain more insight about the culture of the team I may join. I also agree to not use LinkedIn as I would Facebook or other social networking tools.
I do not belong to any groups as far as I can remember. I will now look around and see what is out there to join. I have not posted any comments or statements. I do occasionally share posts that I like or agree with from other people or organizations. I love LinkedIn. I was not fond of it until I started using it more and finding my way around. I recommend every professional in the workforce to have one.
I have do have a Linkedin account but I have to be honest that I do not utilize it beyond the basic profile. I think these are some great suggestions to enhance my visibility to potential organizations. I will now make it a goal of mine to increase my brand and join groups in order to advance my knowledge.
I never looked at LinkedIn in the same way I see Facebook or Twitter in regards to posting updates. But after reading this article I do see the benefits of networking and joining groups on LinkedIn. I have only used LinkedIn to share my resume and connect with former co-workers and job postings. I didn’t know there were groups to join on LinkedIn and I don’t frequent LinkedIn as often as I should. I have not taken advantage of all of what LinkedIn has to offer but I guess I should.
Yes same here. I tried the Premium membership for awhile too. It is a little expensive for my means currently, but one day I will get it again. It is a great network for career choices, advice, and learning.
These are great tips. Being the worlds largest professional network you can find a groups or people to learn from. There is also a new Learning product. The library is huge! Over 15,000 courses and videos. The topics are grouped into 3 main categories: Business, Creative, and Technology. The content is lead by industry experts. Of special note, to be a pro on LinkedIn, having certifications and a record of your learning can help. The LinkedIn Learning platform learns to provide relevant content to you based on your connections, interests, and past learning history. My tip is to post learning completions to your profile. This will create a digital portfolio of sorts.
You can keep track of certifications and other interests help others find common group. With that common ground, you can build meaningful connections.
I am new to Linkedin, but do agree it is a tremendous platform to network with individuals. I feel my account is basic at the moment and will continue polish it. I have not joined any T&D groups at the moment. What would be some meaningful groups to join? Like on Facebook, I am pretty selective on what content I share, what groups I join, and who I am connected to. Like my peers, I do not post just to post or share because “it is the thing to do.”
I am new to the LinkedIn and I’ve only had it for a few months. I plan on connected with healthcare individuals who will be very beneficial to my career in the future. I have not done everything you have mentioned in your article but i do try and keep my profile up to date.
Thanks for the great post and information. I have had my LinkedIn account since about 2011 or 2012. When I was laid off in 2014 and worked with a executive coach that was provided as a resource from my previous employer to make my LinkedIn account much stronger. The three groups I belong to are The Association for Talent Development, The Global Forum of Training Manager and Learning, Education and Training Professionals Group.
There is a lot of information that is shared within these groups and a great way to learn about the industry and simply to share ideas and view videos. Now, I simply prefer to visit the page instead of receiving the emails on a daily basis. I really need to make this a goal of mine to post, because I don’t utilize my account as often as I should. Sad to say, that I have not posted, but I am very selective on who I connect with as I treat this as a professional site and not a social one. I do think it is important to post, but you should be very careful about what you post as many employers look at your LinkedIn account when you are looking for employment.
Even though I’ve had a LinkedIn account for more 6-7 years, I don’t believe I’ve taken full advantage of some of the recommendations in your article. I try to keep my profile up to date and I did use my account to look for jobs I was interested in. My main field of interest is pharmacy so it narrows down the type of groups or page I can partake in such as ASHP, or pharmaceutical companies. Personally speaking, I wouldn’t use LinkedIn to post updates/comments/likes. I feel it is more of a professional outlet, not so much of a “social media” where I would want to engage with others.
I think after using LinkedIn actively for the past year I have found that joining groups such as training groups or coaching associations have been a great way to learn about what is needed in that field as well as making connections. I think also what type of information you engage with on LinkedIn says a lot about you to future employers and connections. Being mindful of things you share or post just as you would on any other social media site. It could help or harm you.
What groups in the field of training and development do you belong to or do you think would be useful to join?
I have not joined any groups for T&D on LinkedIn but have joined groups for recruiting and management. I would like to join the ATD group to get updates and inspiration.
What are your thoughts about posting updates—do you post them? If so how often and for what events?
I do not post a lot of updates and articles. I do feel like I should post more articles that are relevant to my career and T&D to get more attention to my profile and gain credibility as a professional on Linkedin. You never know who is watching your profile and could gain a step in the next direction by showing knowledge that you have on your profile. When I do post, I am sharing current positions open in my company, any news articles my company is involved in, and any career changes.
This was a great post on ways to enhance your professional presence on a platform like LinkedIn that has millions of users. With my profile, I am a member of a couple change management and leadership development groups, two areas that I am very passionate about. One of the updates that I’d like to make to my profile including removing some of the language about operational leadership since I have transitioned to an OD discipline and highlighting more of the experience and projects that I have worked on in change management. Not too long ago, I posted my thoughts on a change management article and that received reviews by my online network. I want to continue to write in that space to showcase my skillset and approach. I also comment on others posts, both by sharing my professional outlook and celebrating the career milestones of others. Over the last couple years, I have used my LinkedIn profile more and more and I am looking forward to highlighting even more of my skill set there to position myself for additional opportunities.
The two groups in the field of training and development that currently belong to are
Organization Development, Learning Development and Human Resources, and Training and Development for E-Learning. I’m certain there are others I would be interested in joining and I’ll continue to explore other options to do so.
I have found that connecting with groups is no different than connecting with peers at an in-person social or industry event. That said, the results of establishing relationships are all about the input and effort you put into it in the first place. For example, if you just join a group and passively read posts, that is not engaging. As a matter of fact, you become invisible to the rest of the group members who are actively sharing and exchanging ideas. Same holds true if you were to attend an in-person social or industry event. If you wait for others to approach and initiate a conversation, the chances of that happening are slim to none. Whatever your preferred method of staying connected with peers and industry professionals, you must take the first step and initiative to communicate. LinkedIn is no different.
When joining groups, I think it’s important to be selective with those you join. Ask yourself how will I benefit from other members who have joined this group? Will you be using it primarily to build a resource of new contacts to use as relationship currency, or just want to learn new ideas and best practices?
I have commented and liked other people’s posts; however, I have not posted any articles or blogs of my own. My goal in 2019 is to consistently post articles to generate interest and a healthy discussion among LinkedIn members.
Hello,
Below are some of the groups I am a member of on LinkedIn, however I am very interested in coaching and leadership development, so I have joined groups and follow thought-leaders that pique my interest in this area. I think you should follow areas that interest you the most.
Digital Nomands on LI
Chicagoland Learning Leaders
Leadership, HR, Change, OD, Human Resources and Talent Development Innovation #HR #sales #leadership
Coaches (Life, Business, Relationship, etc.) Support Group
International Coach Federation
I’ve had LinkedIn since 2006, I’m probably one of the original people on the platform and I am a heavy user of the platform. It just started to become more “social” in the past few years, however I do not think users should engage with it in the same way they engage with other social platforms. My first thought is, remember this is “work” and posts should be focused on work-related thought-leadership. I also have a background in advertising and influencer marketing and one of the golden rules is, “don’t just post to post.” Make sure if you are going to post something, there is thought put behind it and it’s quality over quantity, especially with content. I think if you have something meaningful to say, you can post as often as you like, and your followers will continue to follow you for that reason. There is no specific cadence, but the more often you most, the more likely your work will be seen and you will gain followers – but remember the golden rule, don’t just post to post, have something to say.
I have yet to really capitalize on the thought-leadership and social function of LinkedIn. I use it mainly for research and keeping in touch with colleagues. I also reach out to people for coffee dates, if I have a question about changing my career, and found most are willing to help. Developing my personal brand and posting more thought-leadership is something I aspire to do, but since I do not have time to do those types of activities right now, I don’t “post to post.” 🙂