LinkedIn is one of the most powerful tools for growing and maintaining your network. Whether you feel comfortable “marketing” yourself or not, having an optimized LinkedIn profile plays a vital role in your career. The thing is, LinkedIn is less about selling your professional profile through gimmicks and more about connecting with others and informing them about you.

To leverage it for the career-boosting tool it is, check out these 5 tips to ensure you are maximizing your LinkedIn experience.

1. Keyword-Optimize For Target Roles/Industries

Including keywords in your profile increases your searchability by employers and recruiters. After all, if recruiters can’t find your profile, they can’t contact you. When considering keywords, start with identifying your target role or industry. Then, review relevant job descriptions to determine which skills and areas of expertise are in high demand. Note the keywords that keep showing up. Next, do a quick search on LinkedIn to see how many results each of those keywords get. Identify the keywords with the highest results and include them throughout your headline, summary, experience, and skills sections.

2. Turn On Job Alerts

Stay up-to-date on the latest openings by turning on job alerts. Be specific when you create your alerts to ensure you’re notified about the right jobs. You can also manage how often alerts are sent to you and whether the alerts are sent via email or app. Utilizing this feature saves you time in your job search so you can focus on other aspects of your career search.

3. Connect With Others

LinkedIn will automatically recommend connections based on your education, career, and location. Plus, you can search by companies and industries you wish to work with and request connections with individuals who pique your interest. Some profiles may have connections limited, but you’ll still be able to follow these profiles and engage with them.

4. Engage With Content

Your home page features stories and content from people and companies you follow. After engaging with posts created by others, take it a step further and share content to your feed. This is a great way to share your values and goals with others and generate conversations. Engagement establishes your point of view, highlights your expertise, and increases your profile’s rank in searches. Higher visibility increases the chances of recruiters and hiring managers seeing your profile and reaching out to you.

5. Join Relevant Groups

Are you looking for a way to increase your connections and add value to your feed? Join groups that are relevant to your career goals. Many groups share valuable industry information, as well as hot job leads. LinkedIn makes recommendations based on your profile, but it’s important to find groups that align with your goals. The key is to think about quality, not quantity.

Next Steps

Are you looking for a community of women who can help motivate you and unlock your potential? Join The Winners Circle, an exclusive networking and learning community for women who want to unlock their potential and own their greatness within the workplace.

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