HOW TO NETWORK ON LINKEDIN

LinkedIn, a professional social network, is an effective tool to build your representation online. But in order to fully realise its value, you have to adapt a set of rules and strategies to make your professional account look really professional.

First and foremost, before accepting or sending any invitations, make sure the information you give about yourself is up-to-date and sufficiently detailed. People are often put off by the absence of a photo, and they may not accept your connection if you don’t have one, so add one that reflects a side of your personality that is related to your profession.

Now, when everything is set to start to make connections, you have to make a decision about how selective you want to be. Will you accept connection requests only from people who you actually know? Or are you open to networking, where any connection is a good connection? When making this decision, keep in mind that the more connections you have, the more visibility you will have and the more full profiles you will be able to view. Also remember that you may not be personally acquainted with all the people who know about you. Someone, for example, may have noticed you during a presentation at a conference and would like to make a connection as a result.

First, connect with people you have studied or worked with. You will be surprised how much new information about the development of their careers you will get. In this way you will build a good foundation for growing your professional network. Now, identify people you would like to be connected with, whether planning your career development or for a project you are working on at the moment. You can try communicating with them within a professional group, of which LinkedIn offers many. Remember that identifying the right interest groups will also help you to identify the right people to connect with.

Do not blankly click “connect” just on people who look important to you. Be prepared to explain and argue why you have requested this connection, even though it might never actually be needed. It also always looks very good, if you care enough to write a personalised LinkedIn invitation instead of just sending a standard message saying “join my network on LinkedIn”.

Be disciplined, adding people in LinkedIn whenever you have made a personal acquaintance and keeping your network up to date. This is very important, as your network will open up opportunities that are unique to you.