LinkedIn is a fantastic tool to promote your skills and knowledge but also a tool that 
can do untold damage to the way people think about you and your personal brand.
Think about the process of job hunting for a professional role. Not the easiest process by any stretch of the imagination – but a process that has changed so much in the 20 years that I have been working.
Even 5 years ago, the main way to find a job would be to troll through job boards and contact recruitment consultants. You then sent off a CV and hope that it didn’t get lost in a black hole. I remember being told to “always follow up with a phone call” so that you get a voice associated with your CV. It wasn’t always easy to get through to the right person. How things have changed…..
If you are looking for a job now, you can create a relationship with the recruitment consultant or business you want to work in using LinkedIn. You can find which of your contacts have friends who work in the same business you want to get employment with – or work in the business themselves. You can get the ‘inside track’. You can tell a wide network of people that you are looking for work – not just your immediate friends down the pub.
But what if your profile isn’t complete? This is like sending an empty CV to the recruitment consultant in the old days. Why would somebody employ you if you can’t be bothered to have a good picture taken or tell people about the difference you made in the last job that you did or where you went to school? Unless you tell people what you are looking for and how you can help their business to grow, why would they think of recommending you for the new role that they have heard about?
Obvious isn’t it – but I have lost count of the number of incomplete profiles that I have seen. There are other things to think about too – in terms of deepening relationships with others, participating in groups, using status updates to share your knowledge and using the jobs board within LinkedIn.
None of it is rocket science, but if you would like some help to do it well and find that next job – invest in some time to learn how to use LinkedIn to find your job. We have just released our latest E-Learning course – LinkedIn for Jobseekers to help you. This course can be taken on a desktop or a tablet device.