Assignment 2.2 – LinkedIn Best Networking Practices Email Memorandum

Memorandum

To:        Jessica Lee, Nicholas Jang, Barton Lui, ENGL 301 99A Team Rocket Members

From:    Phoebe Wu, ENGL 301 99A Student and Team Rocket Member

Date:     October 26^th, 2020

Subject: LinkedIn Best Practices for Professional Networking Research

Creating a professional looking LinkedIn profile is a critical component to the ENGL 301 curriculum. As a part of lesson 2.2, students were to research on the best LinkedIn practices for networking. Ten best networking practices commonly used by professionals I’ve found are as follows:

1. Give your profile a professional look by filling it out completely (Balkhi)
2. Use keywords when summarizing your role and experiences (Balkhi)
3. Opt for simple language everyone can understand instead of convoluted language (Daum)
4. Join active LinkedIn groups within your industry and location (Balkhi)
5. Connect with people you know (Prasad)
6. Expand your network by reaching out or accepting connection requests, but do not spam (Arruda)
7. Regularly interact with your network by posting status updates and liking and commenting on other people’s posts (Arruda)
8. Be ready to explain why someone should connect with you when asking for a new connection (Daum)
9. Bring value to everything you post, comment, or recommend; don’t post vacuous comments (Daum)
10. Craft a personal message when messaging potential connections (Daum)

From my research, a general rule for using LinkedIn as a networking site seems to be to conduct yourself professionally, consistently, and intelligently. Think about what your profile and activity on LinkedIn portrays about you to someone viewing your profile and make valuable connections with people within your industry. I hope these tips I’ve found are helpful to you when networking on LinkedIn. Please feel free to contact me if you require any additional information.

Sources:

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. “Tips for Successfully Networking on LinkedIn.” Business.com, 23 Aug. 2018, www.business.com/articles/linkedin-networking-tips/.

Daum, Kevin. “20 Critical Dos and Don’ts on LinkedIn.” Inc.com, Inc., 25 Oct. 2013, www.inc.com/kevin-daum/20-critical-dos-and-donts-of-linkedin-networking.html.

Prasad, Kiran. “Four Tips to Network on LinkedIn.” LinkedIn Official Blog, 12 June 2020, blog.linkedin.com/2020/may/june/12/four-tips-to-network-on-linkedin.