LinkedIn is a powerful tool for establishing you career, yet many overlook it as a watered-down version of Instagram. The first step to using it, is to create an account – seems simple enough, right?
A career – only few clicks away
The first steps in this process included choosing an appropriate profile picture and banner background for my account. These are the first things people observe and assess. I choose my own photo of the mountains as it aligns with a childhood passion and my seasonal job.
However, visuals do not keep employers! Hence the next step included creating an appropriate summary of my previous experiences and significant events in my life. I added: all my job, volunteering experiences, education and projects I was a part of. Along with all the skills I attained throughout them creating a more precise picture of how every experience formed me as seen today.
Furthermore, as a small bonus in the process of optimisation, I have adjusted my profile link to be displayed as my name and surname for a cleaner look, and hopefully easier tracing. Finally, I decided to expand my network by adding my colleagues from university, people I met throughout my career path, and people I find interesting.
All-star status – what’s next?
My profile possesses All-Star status. However, I must align myself with a specific branding and career path, to have an exceptional account. This will come about in due time. For now I will utilise LinkedIn and my networks to expand my horizons and future possibilities. I will utilise my Social Selling Index (SSI) as a reference point on how to improvise my account:
It is a low score, however considering my lack of alignment, as previously mentioned, and how fresh my account is; it is natural. Nevertheless I will keep it in mind and build upon my account and future! Currently this is what my analytics page looks like:
By simply increasing my network and adding alumni or other close to my future profession I have gained 30 profile views and increased my appearance rate. These actions have also considerably increased my SSI score from the initial audit I did as an experiment.