2.2 LinkedIn Best Practices

MEMORANDUM

To: Brian Wong, Riya Kathuria (Brian’s Team Writing Members)

From: Parsa Seyed Zehtab (Brian’s Team Writing Member)

Date: March 5, 2023

Subject: Ten Best Practices For Professional Networking on LinkedIn

As requested in the outline for assignment 2.2, the list below highlights a summary of the ten best practices for effective professional networking on LinkedIn. The information below will be useful for anyone looking to bolster their job prospects.

1. Optimizing profile to immediately grab recruiters’ attention. A LinkedIn profile with a high quality picture, an effective headline, and a comprehensive summary increases the chances of making a quality first impression on anyone viewing the profile
2. Making use of LinkedIn media. Posting content onto LinkedIn and including media, increases the traffic a profile receives, increasing the chances of expanding your network.
3. Targeting recommendations over endorsements. Recommendations are more personal, and share more detail about abilities than endorsements do. As such, getting a few recommendations written by past employers will increase the professional aspect of a LinkedIn profile.
4. Engaging with others’ posts. Engaging with someone’s post before sending a connection request is a great way to build an initial rapport, and increase the likelihood of making a connection.
5. Joining LinkedIn groups relevant to career interests. This is a great way to find other like minded people, expanding one’s network with others who are in the same industry.
6. Attending virtual LinkedIn events. This is a great way to meet and connect with new people in any industry. Moreover, a lot of these events share valuable information that can increase the chances of landing an ideal job.
7. Asking for informational interviews. Asking connections that work at a company of interest to perform an informational interview increases knowledge on the company and hiring process. This will demonstrate passion for the company, increasing the chances of getting a referral.
8. Following up in person meetings with LinkedIn connections. After attending an in-person networking or recruitment event, connecting on LinkedIn with anyone you met is a great way to continue conversations, increasing the chances of getting hired at the company.
9. Sending a personalised message with connection requests. This is a great way to remind someone how you met each other, and increase the chances that they accept the connection request.
10. Learning  from others. By observing how others engage on LinkedIn, one can emulate what  works, and avoid mistakes that others make. This again increases the chances of expanding your network, and keeping a professional presence on LinkedIn.

The 10 best practices listed above will surely improve anyone’s LinkedIn practices and increase the likelihood that a LinkedIn profile becomes a valuable tool to use. If you have any questions regarding anything in this memo, please feel free to reach out by email at parsaz00@students.ubc.ca. Attached below is a reference list of all the sources used in compiling this memo.

Enclosure: References 2.2