Memorandum
To: The Glam Fam Professional Writing Team
From: Matthew De Rose, Student
Date: June 29, 2020
Subject: Best Practices for Professional Networking on LinkedIn
As per the assignment description for 2.2, I have investigated best practices for professional networking on LinkedIn and created the list below from my findings.
Treat Your Profile Like Your Resume: Your profile will essentially serve as a resume to anyone that encounters it on LinkedIn. Ensure that you have filled in all key and up-to-date details that will better enable possible connections to get a good first impression of you.
Have a Professional Summary: Your profile should provide a short story about your professional career and your goals. Keep it concise and to the point to ensure that your connections have a clear idea of who you are and what you can offer as a professional.
Professional Profile Photo: LinkedIn profiles with professional headshot photos often receive more views and interactions than profiles without a photo.
Use Keywords: Ensure that your profile includes keywords pertaining to the job titles you are interested in and/or specialized skills you possess. This improves the ability of recruiters to search for your profile when they are recruiting candidates for a certain position or specific skill sets.
Post Engaging Content: Try to post regularly by either sharing professional articles you find interesting or ideally create your own articles. By creating your own content, you give prospective employers a clear understanding of your voice and capabilities while also creating an opportunity to engage with professionals in the comment section.
Ask Questions: You may also post open ended questions to help start discussions on your profile and to help engage more with your connections.
Keep Responses Professional: Ensure that you understand that all posted content or responses to other content will be viewed by all of your professional connections so avoid posting any content that reflects poorly on your character or ability to maintain composure.
Like and Comment on Content: Seek content you find engaging and provide a like with an insightful content to help other peers understand your point of view.
Make Connections : Expand your network of LinkedIn connections to provide a means of keeping in contact with your professional relationships and also forge new ones with people suggested to you on LinkedIn.
Engage with LinkedIn Groups: Groups provide an opportunity to engage with like-minded professionals and allow you to introduce yourself to new people.
Overall, by presenting a complete, professional profile with engaging content you can present yourself as a skilled professional with a point of view and a vision. This sets the foundation to both build a network to help maintain contact with people that you have developed a professional relationship with and explore new opportunities to help grow your career.
Works Cited
Arruda, William. “LinkedIn 201: How To Cultivate A Powerful Network.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 2 July 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2017/02/05/linkedin-201-how-to-cultivate-a-powerful-network/.
Balkhi, Syed. “How to Network on LinkedIn Like a Pro.” Business.com, Business.com, 23 Aug. 2018, www.business.com/articles/linkedin-networking-tips/. Accessed On 29 Jun, 2020.
Joe Pope . “LinkedIn Networking Tips: Making Connections and Getting Business in 3 Easy Steps.” Hinge Marketing, 17 June 2020, www.hingemarketing.com/blog/story/networking-on-linkedin Accessed On 29 Jun, 2020.
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