How to Create a LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is a social media website for business people to connect. Learn to create a LinkedIn profile and what to do with it after that.

While Facebook allows you to create a personal network, LinkedIn helps you create a business one. You can make connections with others in your field or area of interest. Keep up to date with the latest news in your profession. You can also search for a new job.

Sign Up

Click Join Now and then fill in your email and create a password.

When you create a LinkedIn profile, you provide a lot of personal information. Read the user agreement and privacy policy to be sure you understand how your information will be used and displayed.

Create a Profile

Now you start to fill out your profile. You must provide your true name and other information. You can leave some blanks, but do not enter incorrect information.

A Basic (free) Account is sufficient when you are just starting out, but there are premium accounts that give you more options when/if you need them. Choose your photo carefully, a professional-looking head-shot is the best way to go.

SCORE is a free mentoring service for business owners (or future business owners). Their document SCORE – 10 Steps for Creating an Effective Profile provides some great tips to help you create a LinkedIn profile.

Once you’ve completed all the available/relevant sections, check, check and check again before publishing! You’re now ready to start building your network, getting endorsements from people for your skills, and looking for your next job.

The post LinkedIn: The Best Basics for Your Profile from Kathy Vines‘ Career Blog includes very useful advice for setting up a strong profile.

Connect

The power of LinkedIn is the connections you make. From your profile, you can request a connection with anyone else on LinkedIn. Start by requesting professional family members and co-workers. Here is a great article from LifeHack listing the 7 Types of People You Should Connect with on LinkedIn. Anyone who accepts your connection request will be a first-degree connection. Anyone they are connected to is a second-degree connection.

Looking for a Job

Job listings on LinkedIn will list any people you are connected with who work for that organization. This gives you the opportunity to reach out to them and put yourself in a better position when applying for that job. This is one of the more powerful aspects of LinkedIn.

Summary

If you’d like some help navigating through LinkedIn and setting up your profile, then give us a call and make an appointment!