LinkedIn Lesson

My son likes to sit with me in the afternoons after school whilst I work. Yesterday, I was explaining to him what LinkedIn is, after he saw it up on my screen. This was followed by the usual pointing and "who's that?" questions. The answer to that in some cases was genuinely “I don’t know!”

He looked at me with a puzzled expression and commented “but everyone knows you don’t connect on social media with people you don’t know in real life”. He’s clearly listened in the online safety classes at school!

I didn’t confuse him further by explaining about connecting with people in a business context but it did make me think about LinkedIn and what makes an individual really stand out.   Here are a few of my thoughts in no particular order:

Build connections – seems obvious but it really will help get you noticed. My son is right about connecting with people you know either personally or professionally but if you are connecting with people you don’t have a direct contact to, include a note to say why you are connecting.

An up to date profile – a recent picture and highlight current experience. Use your headline to share your objectives and add your skills further down the page. 

Avoid buzzwords – guru, ninja, strategic, passionate, expert to name a few. All great qualities but demonstrate your experience by giving real examples rather than just using headline words.

Don’t be shy – use LinkedIn authentically. Share and like content that is relevant and really matters to you. This will help get you noticed and build up your connections. 

Please feel free to comment with your own thoughts below.