Some people think LinkedIn is something they can avoid. 

 

It’s not. 

 

Is LinkedIn really important? The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes, if you’re a professional of any kind.

 

Every type of professional is on LinkedIn. They go there because LinkedIn is dedicated to business. There are few cat videos. Mostly, people keep their politics off of LinkedIn. It’s one of the fastest ways to make professional connections. 

 

Millions of businesses use LinkedIn to find new employees. They will search through profiles looking for people who are qualified for whatever job they’re trying to fill. Then they invite those people to apply. 

 

If you want to find a job or build a network, you need LinkedIn. 

 

Some LinkedIn facts:

 

  • 756 million people are LinkedIn users
  • 310 million use the site monthly
  • There are over 15 million open jobs on the platform
  • 3 people are hired every minute via LinkedIn
  • There are 57 million companies on the site 1

 

So, yes. LinkedIn is important. You need to be there if you want to get a job, hire people, or build a network of professionals to communicate with.

 

Optimizing a LinkedIn Profile

 

As with most social media platforms, optimizing your LinkedIn platform isn’t difficult, but it can help if you take the time to do it right.

 

Here’s a short list of things to optimize on your LinkedIn profile to get noticed:

 

  • Use a good profile picture. Keep it pretty boring. A front-facing, well-lit headshot will make a perfect picture. Unless you’re an artist, don’t get too fancy.
  • Add a header image. The image should be relevant. It’s easy to make your own using any of hundreds of image services. 
  • Write an enticing headline. The headline should be more than just your job title. It should tell people a little about you.
  • Make your summary a narrative. Suck people in with an interesting story. Don’t make it too sappy, but make it interesting. 
  • Leave out the buzzwords. Seriously, aren’t you sick of hearing the same buzzwords over and over? They’ve been so overused, they mean nothing anymore. 
  • Avoid the type of jargon that’s also overused. While Lean is a specific skill set and practice, it’s also so overused, it’s watered down. Instead of talking about Lean or some other technique, talk about what it can do for the reader or what it does for your business.
  • List relevant skills. Be sure the skills you’re listing apply to what you do now. That you were the number one striker on your college soccer team is not useful for a salesperson.
  • Endorse people so you can get endorsements. That’s the key to sharing love. The more you get endorsements, the more it shows that you’re networking well and making connections. 
  • Take skills assessments. Three are tests on LinkedIn. Of course, they cost money, but you can take the tests and they’ll show that you have the skills you say you do.

 

Get started with those steps. Those Will help you build your profile and start networking you on LinkedIn.