LinkedIn is a useful tool for expanding your network and industry contacts, and can be especially valuable if you're looking to find a new job or step up in your current role.

However, there are so many features of this social network that it may be difficult to know where to begin and if you're doing the right things to boost your prospects. This step-by-step guide has been designed to help expose yourself to the right industry contacts and to make yourself a more attractive employee.

Get your profile up to scratch

Click on the left icons to see 6 ways to get your profile up to scratch.

Keywords

Include specific keywords to get noticed by employers. For example, including your job title and specific skills you have will help you appear in search results.

URL links

Create a memorable LinkedIn URL. This makes it easier to remember and give to people in conversation. You can personalise your URL by editing your profile and choosing an appropriate URL.

Friendly approach

Take a friendly and approachable tone and speak from your point of view, e.g. "I am a senior manager with six years of experience" rather than "Joe is a senior manager…."

Be brief

Get to the point. Include a brief piece of text to accompany each of your job roles instead of long paragraphs copied from your resume.

Privacy settings

Ensure that your privacy settings aren't too high: you want people to be able to discover you through search.

Photo

Include a photo. It's far easier to get noticed if people can put a face to a name. Even better, use a professional photo of you dressed for the job you want.

  • Connect with people

    Don't just connect with people you know. Connecting with more people means that your network grows and in turn more users can view your profile. Connecting with recruiters is a great way to get more exposure, plus they are more likely to consider you for a role if you're connected. Recruiters will generally have Pro accounts.

    Connect with people Connect with people Connect with people Connect with people Connect with people Connect with people Connect with people

    These are a more “top-level” type of LinkedIn profile (which usually comes at an additional membership cost) where recruiters can manage their connections in an advanced way, filtering by skills that are important to the role they are looking to fill.

  • Join relevant groups

    A group on LinkedIn is a collective of like-minded people who can comment on industries, businesses and even hobbies. You can discover the LinkedIn groups available by going to Interests, or Groups from your home page, where you can then search for a topic that interests you.

    LinkedIn has hundreds of professional groups which may be relevant to the skills you currently have or want to gain. These groups are particularly useful if you have any questions about your industry, and can also help you connect with people in the real world. They are also a reflection of what you do and who you are, as they can be displayed on your profile.

    You can only join up to 50 groups, so choose wisely. You can also join alumni groups on LinkedIn - a great way of finding employers who usually hire graduates from your university or school.

  • Participate

    Join the discussion on LinkedIn and take part in group talks and status updates.

    It helps boost your profile and gets your name out into the network.

  • Get recommendations

    One of the easiest ways to get noticed on LinkedIn is through recommendations.

    1) They show you're knowledgeable and experienced.

    2) It makes you more trustworthy as other people are willing to "vouch" for you.

    3) You can request a specific individual to recommend you to ensure you get quality reviews. To do this, simply search for "request recommendations" in the search bar at the top of the page and you can then specify the job role you'd like to be recommended for, who you want to ask, and the message you'd like to send them.

    And if you're writing a recommendation for someone, make sure that you would be proud to have it on your profile. Don't simply submit a one-liner. Explain how you know the person, why they are great at their job, and explain why someone should hire them.

  • Invitation dos and don'ts

    Don't lie: Explain who you are and why you want to connect to someone - there's nothing worse than going in cold, and be honest if you are simply connecting with them because you liked the look of their profile.

    Do explain how you found them: Whether you met them at a networking event, used to go to school with them, or read an article online that they wrote, it's friendly to give them a quick reminder of how you're connected.

    Don't use the generic invitations: If you use the default invitation that LinkedIn chooses it can seem lazy, so take the time to write a personalised connection request.

    Do pay attention to detail: Chances are, the person you're connecting with has spent as much time as you have on perfecting their profile, so reference that in your invitation to connect. For example, you might want to say, "I noticed you worked at Company A - I have a friend that once worked there!"

  • Update your status

    Updating your status is one of the best ways to let people know you're looking for a new job. Mention events you've attended, or other people you have met on LinkedIn. Link to helpful resources and blog posts relevant to your career.

    Ask questions to your network, either directly asking about a job, or for interview tips and techniques.

  • Search for jobs

    It might sound simple, but doing a regular search for jobs is just as important as connecting to relevant people.

    Many recruiters will advertise positions without reaching out to you, so ensure you're making regular use of LinkedIn's job search functionality.

Top tips

Ask for what you want, and promote yourself for the job you want, not the job you have.

Fill out your profile 100% - you are 40 times more likely to show up in LinkedIn searches if your profile is complete.

If you've got a common name, personalise your profile by providing your job title, email address and name in your Profile Summary.

Sign out if you're trying to see a profile of a 3rd degree connection. As LinkedIn limits what you can see on a 3rd degree profile, if you have a free account, sign out and use a search engine to find the connection's full profile.

Always respond to people and ensure you keep a professional attitude.

Remember to update your profile when your circumstances change.

QUICK FACTS ON LINKEDIN

Linkedin it is the largest professional network on the internet

330 million

members in over 200 countries and territories on Linkedin.

89/500

89 of the top, publicised Fortune 500 companies use LinkedIn to find talent

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For every two seconds there is one person joining Linkedin

3/4 users

Every 3/4 users use Linkedin for business purposes.

6 million

Linkedin users in Australia.

89/500

89 out of the top, publicised Fortune 500 companies use LinkedIn to find talent

Graph
00:02
+1

For every two seconds there is one person joining Linkedin

3/4 users

Every 3/4 users use Linkedin for business purposes.

39 million

Students and recent college university graduates on LinkedIn.

89/500

89 out of the top, publicised Fortune 500 companies use LinkedIn to find talent

Graph
00:00
+0

For every two seconds there is one person joining Linkedin

3/4 users

Every 3/4 users use Linkedin for business purposes.