Here are 3 things I tell people to make the most of LinkedIn

One of the cool things about my job is that people love giving me feedback about LinkedIn -- the good, great and bad. Whether its members reaching out directly, clients pulling me aside after a meeting, or casually at a dinner party, people always have great questions about how to get the most out of LinkedIn.

Having been here for over nine years, I’ve heard the gamut but it’s also been fascinating to see some common threads and topics that continue to come up. So, I thought I’d share them with you:

1. Who should I connect with?

I get this question mostly from people who are relatively new to LinkedIn, and that makes my job of answering so much easier. Why? Because my advice is to be thoughtful from the start. Reid Hoffman, one of our co-founders put it best when he said, “LinkedIn is a closed network, and for a very simple reason: For the network to have value as an introduction tool, the connections need to have meaning.”

Keep it simple - connect with people you know or trust. When your network is filled with people who you know personally, each connection will have the potential to be helpful to your professional life. Yes, you can connect with people you don’t know, but just make sure there is a mutually beneficial reason. For me personally, I only connect with people that I’ve either done business with or have had a conversation with prior because it keeps my feed relevant and useful, and not cluttered with updates and articles that don’t add value.

Now, sometimes this question comes from people who have been using LinkedIn for a while and were overzealous when it came to adding and accepting connections. First, know that you can hit the ignore button if you don’t know someone; they won’t be notified. Second, just like cleaning out your closet, it’s good practice to go through your connections every 6 months or so and disconnect from people you don’t remember or those who no longer provide value to your professional career.

2. What do I put on my profile?

First off, make sure you have a profile. Add a picture so people will recognize you, and make sure you are filling out your past experiences. And when I say experiences, I’m not just talking only about 9-to-5 jobs. This is a chance to show off the volunteer work you’ve been doing, those side gigs you’ve landed, or even the executive boards you sit on. To help your profile stand out even more, add images, videos and any presentations you are most proud of that show off the great work you’ve done in each role.

Lastly, adding skills can make a huge difference on how your profile is found online. Our algorithm leverages skills to help recruiters find members that might be a good fit for open roles, so this is an easy way to make sure the right people are finding you on LinkedIn. And be sure to show off your soft skills as well - our research shows that the top soft skills of 2018 include leadership, communication, collaboration and time management. I recommend having at least 5 skills - it can help your profile get up to 17x more profile views and up to 31x more messages from recruiters and others who can help you find the next opportunity.

3. What should I post about?

I want to clarify that you shouldn’t think about it as “posting.” You should use LinkedIn similarly to how you have professional conversations in real life. Think about the chats you have with colleagues in the hallway about the latest news, how you nod or agree with someone in a meeting when they share some helpful advice, or how you email another person when you have a professional question. Having these types of conversations with your professional community is one of the best ways to give and get help, make new connections, and strengthen existing ones.

In my opinion, you should be engaging with your community on a daily basis. But that doesn’t mean you need to come up with your own musings - join an existing conversation, share an interesting article you read, chime in on one of the groups you are part of, or even just give kudos to someone who deserves recognition.

Hope these answers helped give you some insight into a few of the easy ways I think you can start to get the most out of your LinkedIn experience. Let’s keep the conversation going -- share your top question or favorite feature in the comments.