Linkedin service. Professional interest groups on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not a typical social network. It was not created for entertainment and communication with friends; this is not a place for funny pictures and discussions of frivolous statuses. This is a resource that is used in professional activity, for business development. With its help, you will become part of a multimillion-dollar audience aimed at finding new partners, employees, and clients. A well-filled LinkedIn profile is an online business card in the largest professional social network in the world.

Registration and creation of a personal page

Where to start on the path to professional success? Of course, from the page registration. This can be done through the browser version or using the LinkedIn app for Android or iOS. Go to the main page of the resource – linkedin.com, click “Join”. A standard registration form opens:

In general, the registration procedure is the same as in other social networks. Simply follow the prompts and fill out all fields with accurate and up-to-date information. You can reduce registration time by logging in via Facebook. Then your first name, last name and email address will be filled in automatically. All you have to do is think about the password.

Once you've sorted out your LinkedIn registration, install the LinkedIn app on your smartphone to always stay in touch with your contacts. Where to look for it? Go to Play Market or App Store and enter the name of the application in the search bar.

How to fill out a profile so that it is effective?

The search algorithm on LinkedIn is designed so that profiles with the highest performance indicator appear first in search results. What does it mean? Those accounts that contain detailed information about professional qualities appear in the top. This indicator is clearly demonstrated by the “Profile Efficiency” scale:

What does creating an effective LinkedIn profile include? Everything is extremely simple if you follow simple tips regarding filling:

1. A professional headline is something a profile cannot do without. But simply indicating the name of your profession is not enough. LinkedIn will fill in this information automatically even without your participation. It is important for you to include all your specializations in the title. You can use a list using the delimiter (|). This will allow recruiters to immediately see information about your qualifications, without spending a long time studying the page.
2. Indicate your real name, write down your last and patronymic names in full. This is a business, not an entertainment environment, so nicknames and comic variations of the name are inappropriate here. Also decide on the filling language. If you work in a Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking environment, give preference to the Cyrillic alphabet, because transliteration makes many of our surnames difficult to understand. This can also lead to difficulties when finding your accounts on other social networks. It is not always possible to correctly reproduce surnames written in English letters in Russian.
3. Create a simple and short link to the profile. It should not exceed 30 characters, be easy to remember and compact. Also make the link neat so that it does not contain unnecessary numbers and symbols. You can edit it in the lower right corner of the profile page:

All information posted in the profile should answer the question “How can I be useful to the company?” It is not enough to simply list a list of past jobs and talents. It is necessary to emphasize work experience. For example, if you were involved in sales, then a comment in the style of “worked as a sales consultant” will not give a complete picture of your activities. Write - “I know how to work with cold and hot sales.” This way, a potential employer, when studying your page, will immediately be able to note how you will be useful to them.

Profile Pictures

The choice of profile photo, its “face,” deserves special attention. A high-quality portrait measuring 400x400 pixels is what you need. Your page visitors form their first impression of you based on your photo. You don’t need to choose an image with cats or a photo at the dacha by the fire as your avatar. This is allowed on other social networks, but not on LinkedIn. Your avatar should show you as you are in Everyday life, but at the same time have a representative appearance.

Also you can choose background image(cover) relevant to your activity (for example, company logo). It must be of high quality and not exceed 4 megabytes in size (important for download speed). The recommended image size is 1584x396 pixels.

Premium accounts

LinkedIn users now have the opportunity to test the premium version of the site for free to assess whether they need additional features. For whom is this relevant? For those who are active on LinkedIn and strive to quickly and effectively achieve their goals.

Examples of filling out a profile

I'll take my page as an example. I use it to establish business connections, so I regularly update the content and monitor the effectiveness of the social network.

I keep all the basic data up to date, periodically update the photo - this is how the page looks alive for contacts on LinkedIn. When I finish working on another project, I add it to the appropriate block. If I learn a new skill, I indicate it and immediately ask for confirmation from my contacts.

Here's an example of a not-so-successful profile filling:

Why are contacts important?

An effective page is one that has professional LinkedIn connections. The minimum number is 50 contacts. They are needed not only to maintain contact with the right people, but also to increase the visibility of your profile.

Creating a network of contacts

How to start building your network of contacts? The first way is to use the search bar:

By opening advanced settings, you can set certain search parameters:

This will help you find people you are interested in. For example, you can enter the names of previous jobs to contact old colleagues and add them to your network. Through the search you can also find your customers, contractors and other people with whom you have worked or are working in this moment. You will have additional channel connections with them. Also, LinkedIn itself will tell you potentially necessary contacts in the People You May Know section.

The second way to search for contacts is to import from Email. Enter your email address in the special field to receive everything available contacts. People who do not yet have a profile on this social network will receive an invitation to join it.

Contact levels

Have you noticed that some users have numbers 1, 2, 3 next to their names? These are levels.

1. 1st level contacts are people with whom you have contacted personally or whose invitation you have accepted. You can exchange private messages with them.
2. Level 2 contacts are your acquaintances from other networks, friends of friends. You can contact them or send an InMail.
3. Level 3 contacts are friends of friends of your friends. If their profile is not limited by privacy settings, you can immediately establish contact with them. In other cases, InMail can help.

People who are members of one or more thematic groups with you are identified separately. IN search results A “Group” icon will appear next to their profile. This is useful because you can immediately understand what you have in common with this person, and also write a personal message without having to establish direct contact.

What is the difference between the "Contact" and "Send InMail" buttons?

“Establish contact” is analogous to a friend request. You send an application, the person receives it, accepts it, after which his profile information becomes available to you. InMail – paid option private messages on LinkedIn for premium accounts. You will be able to contact the person even without a request to be added to your contact list.

Thematic groups on professional interests

On LinkedIn, finding a job is possible not only through targeted research into available vacancies (more on this later), but also through thematic groups. It is important to monitor their activity to improve the effectiveness of your profile.

Groups are sorted by professional interests, help expand your network of contacts, obtain useful information, and improve your online image. What's special about them? Here you can participate in discussions and comment on posts, which will affect your activity indicator. You will also increase your chances of being noticed by an employer or potential partner.

Search interesting group not necessarily on your own. In the Groups section, LinkedIn will automatically select a list for you interesting communities, corresponding to the data specified in the profile. Great, right?

Tracked Content Settings

You can edit the content displayed in your news feed. If you no longer want to receive information about updates to certain user or company pages, simply remove them from your list of followers. If you find a low-quality post, you can also hide it and it will disappear from your feed. And in cases where you find content that violates the site rules, feel free to click on “Report post.”

Validation of skills - why is this important and why validate the skills of other participants?

How to verify skills on LinkedIn and why is it needed? It's simple. The more such confirmations you receive, the more trustworthy your profile will be. This is a win-win feature. Users validate your skills, and you can validate them in return. Interact with friends, colleagues, customers or managers.

In your profile, it is important to indicate and demonstrate your awards and achievements. If you have completed any courses or trainings, do not forget to mention this. Do you speak foreign languages? Specify the level. Do you have a certificate confirming your knowledge? Great, show it off!

Secrets to Using Your LinkedIn Profile Effectively

Having studied various tips to improve the effectiveness of your LinkedIn profile, I’ll outline the main ones for you:

- use the option to create publications available in the news feed - this is additional opportunity demonstrate your professional qualities and knowledge. Your articles will be able to be read by all network participants (depending on privacy settings) and shared. Also when public access your content will be visible outside of LinkedIn;

- establish self-censorship - avoid mentioning in your profile anything that you would not talk about in person;

— update your profile regularly and receive more cooperation offers;

- Do you have a blog or website? Place a LinkedIn button there so readers can share your posts.

Finding a job through LinkedIn. How to request and provide recommendations?

A list of available vacancies is displayed in the “Vacancies” menu.

It is generated automatically based on the information posted in your profile. You can also independently enter the position or company you are interested in in the search bar, and specify the desired geolocation.

LinkedIn recommendations will help you find a job. This detailed review about your work. Therefore, it is not only possible, but also necessary to request them from authoritative representatives of the industry that interests you. Having 5-10 such responses, you significantly increase your chances of attracting the interest of recruiters.

Profile protection

All new accounts are public. This means that they can be viewed by all network participants. Are you against such openness? In the privacy settings you can set a certain level of privacy. You can hide the list of websites or current position, and also exclude some pages from the list of those who can access the information posted on your page. You can protect your account from hacking by using a complex password and two-step login confirmation.

Privacy Mode is a special feature on LinkedIn. Typically, if you view another member's page, they will also be able to see your name and professional header. By setting the mode to private, you will appear in the list of visitors as “LinkedIn Member”:

And when you click on your profile, the following message will appear:

Creating pages for companies

Companies can also create their official pages on LinkedIn. But they are not intended for communication or branding. Moreover, excessive self-promotion may cause your profile to be deleted. Why? Because such pages on LinkedIn should not be created for marketing purposes, but for information purposes. Such pages display the number of employees, the direction of the company’s activities, news and vacancies. For example:

What's the point for other users? Visitors to the page can analyze the above information, considering the company as an employer, partner or client.

Advertising on LinkedIn

— set targeting parameters - location, company, position, education, age, gender, etc.;

— select a tariff – the minimum daily budget is $10, you can pay using a card or an advertising coupon.

Have you already realized that the social network LinkedIn is not the usual VKontakte, Facebook and Instagram, created for entertainment? People come here to find new business contacts, exchange experiences, and express their brand. Therefore, advertising on LinkedIn is more aimed at promoting B2B services.

Did you like the article? Add as a friend - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bogutskiy/ to collaborate and share useful information within the largest professional social network, LinkedIn.

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Let's look at an example of why LinkedIn is needed.

Maxim - developer software. His one-year contract to work in the Czech Republic is ending and he is looking for an interesting vacancy abroad, preferably in the USA. On the advice of his colleagues, Maxim registered on the social network LinkedIn - this is where American companies often look for employees. I filled out my profile and found contacts of former colleagues and classmates. Having free time, actively participated in groups and discussions, gave advice and shared experiences. Within two months, I received three offers from employers to take part in a competition for a vacancy. Found a temporary one remote work in a project with good pay. Continues to browse other options offered online. The portal allows you to save on the services of recruiting agencies and directly contact employers.

LinkedIn - what is it?

This social network is intended for professional communication, not for entertainment. This is what distinguishes it from other social networks, such as Facebook, Odnoklassniki, VKontakte. Here you can establish business connections with colleagues and find vacancies. It is convenient for HR managers to find specialists to attract, and for users to keep abreast of news related to professional issues. Business pages of companies, with articles and news, thematic communication, joint solutions complex issues– all these are options for using this portal.

How LinkedIn works

To access the service you need the Internet and a computer. You can also enter with mobile devices– designed for convenience special applications for Android or iOS OS. They are downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play.

Registration

To start using, you need to go to the site and register - create an account.

It is worth considering that this is professional communication and opportunity.

Therefore, it is advisable to indicate full information, which may be of interest to employers. And the automated search for interesting vacancies and social circles offered by the service works based on this data. There is also such a thing as “profile efficiency”. It is measured in percentages from 1 to 100. The higher they are, the sooner the profile will be shown in search results.

To get the maximum, you need to fill out all the fields provided:

• photo;
• place of residence;
• education;
• current and two previous job positions;
• skills and qualifications;
• interests;
• Total information;
• contacts.

There is a “View More” option, which opens additional lines to fill out. The profile is a resume - it contains all the required information.

Contacts

Please note that during the registration process you are asked to provide your email address and password. You can skip this step. But if you specify this data, the social network will count all personal contacts from your email and send them an invitation to register. This can happen either immediately or after a while. Moreover, the mailing will be periodically repeated to those recipients who are not registered on the network. Such mailings may be considered spam and may cause complaints.

However, on the other hand, this is one of the secrets on how to effectively use LinkedIn to network and increase your authority. If you specify your work email, this will allow you to communicate with partners or invite them to it. If specified mail contains only personal contacts, or access was opened inadvertently, then everything can be corrected. Mail changes in the account and settings section. You can cancel sending invitations if you go to already sent messages and select the “revoke” option for each of the contacts.

How to search for contacts on LinkedIn that are important for profile status? On this network, you will not be able to invite as a friend a person whose profile was seen or found based on some criteria. You will need to know his email. This is a kind of protection against the intrusiveness of unfamiliar participants.

Groups

Create groups, join them, communicate with participants - this opportunity is also provided on LinkedIn. Groups can be either open or closed (participation only with the permission of the administrator). In them you can consult with people on various issues, help others using your experience, and learn something new and useful. In this way, you can both get help from more experienced colleagues and draw attention to your knowledge and interest potential employers.

If you would like to find a job in the USA, consider the geography of the group. The desired country must be specified in the filter.

Search for vacancies

This is precisely why many people register on this network – looking for a good job or part-time job. The service itself will select and offer available vacancies, according to the data specified in the profile. Just go to the “Vacancies” section located at the top of the page. If you don't find anything interesting, you can set your own search using certain criteria. To make sure you don't miss out on new exciting options, set up email alerts.

If you are interested in an employer, you can go to his page, read about the company, and look at the list of employees. Some of them may be familiar, which will allow you to learn more about the potential place and team.

Be careful when looking for a new job if your current employer is also registered on the portal. Changes in profile status, activity and tracking of other companies and vacancies will be visible to everyone. The option can be disabled in the “Privacy and Settings” section.

Recommendations work well to attract the attention of employers. These are the reviews and characteristics that colleagues and acquaintances give. You can start receiving them yourself - by writing a recommendation to someone you worked with. In return, you can get feedback about yourself.

The same is true with the skills that are indicated during registration. The more they are confirmed by other people, the more attractive the profile is to the recruiter.

To get your own approvals and confirmations, start rating others.

If you want to expand your opportunities, get in touch with people who have 500 or more connections in this network. Such participants are called LIONs (LinkedIn Open Networkers). Their acquaintances are the whole world business connections and unique opportunities.

You can get attention by:

• publishing useful and interesting information at least once every few days;
• adding your skills, showing growth;
• actively participating in group discussions to be included in the list of the five most active for the week;
• liking and sharing others' posts;
• by organizing your group.

Paid account

The network offers advanced functionality upon purchase paid account on the portal.

Its capabilities:

• you can see who viewed the profile;
• advanced search filters;
• saving participant profiles in folders;
• adding notes and additional contact information to saved profiles;
• more details about other users.

The cost of premium access is several tens of dollars or euros per month (from 24.95 USD). For ordinary person this amount may be high and the features offered may not be that important. But companies, recruiters, and hiring agents will appreciate them fully. It will be more convenient and easier to find the right candidate among dozens of others.

LinkedIn for Business

The social network is used not only individuals. Enterprises can also register in it and create their own page. In some ways, this is reminiscent of Facebook business pages. But the goal is not finding clients and advertising the brand. Here you can find information about the company: employees, news, vacancies and requirements for candidates. Unnecessarily frequent updates pages may lead to blocking or deletion from the portal.

1. It is unrealistic to spend time on entertainment - no personal photos and information, advertising or spam.
2. The filter system allows you to find candidates with the required parameters. You can view them, select them as favorites, see activities and recommendations from other participants.
3. The likelihood that the information provided in the account is true is much higher than in a regular resume or other social networks. This is explained simply - the system tries to select contacts for the specified place of work and study. And the facts are confirmed real people. It is difficult for professionals to deceive this service.

Knowing how to use LinkedIn increases your chances of being found interesting offers about work, partners and colleagues for communication. This social network, unlike others, will not take away time for extraneous activities: viewing photos, advertising, cats and other time-consuming content.

How many social networks are there now in the world? Odnoklassniki, VKontakte, Facebook , Twitter , Instagram . Progress does not stand still. People are increasingly moving into the world of virtual dialogues. We even begin to communicate with our neighbors Skype or write to a friend In contact with about new discounts in your favorite store. The network has firmly entered our lives. Some people become sociable only without seeing the eyes of their interlocutor, although in real life they are clamped and constrained.

LinkedIn - network of professionals

Unfortunately (I’ll explain why below), I just recently learned about another social network - LinkedIn. She has a special status among the above-mentioned communities. People come here not to have fun and wag their tongues, but to find business contacts. This international platform was created to search for workers and employers. More than 220 million people around the world are already registered in it. It helps to more effectively use the labor of qualified specialists.

Where do we start?

First you need to fill out your profile. However, as in any network. But it’s better to do this in as much detail as possible, so that the future employer has a clear picture of what you can do.

* Experience, professional skills, possession computer programs, knowledge of languages ​​or the ability to conduct Internet marathons - all this will have a beneficial effect on your reputation. U LinkedIn there is even a “Profile Effectiveness” indicator. For a user with full professional biography to receive a job offer several times higher.

* Photo. As you understand, there is no place for cartoon avatars here, separate parts body and crooked images, as allowed in others in social networks. According to requirements LinkedIn the face must be “high quality”, that is, real. And this is understandable. Imagine yourself in place recruiter, who selects personnel for a reputable company. It is unlikely that you would want to hire a person for the position of general counsel whose face is replaced by a green mask or a dog with bows. Therefore, leave childishness in " Odnoklassniki" and show employers your true colors. The network administration, by the way, may refuse to post your photo if it is not submitted close-up, will be blurry and unclear. That's how serious it is.

* Education. Its description will be needed in order for the system to come as close as possible to finding a vacancy for your position. A few days after my registration in this network, I received several offers in my specialty. But since I decided to radically change my profession, I politely ignored these offers.

* Interest groups. Here you can also create groups based on interests in the professional field. People of the same specialty examine thematic issues, share advice and knowledge in the industry.

* Contacts. To be one step ahead of other applicants for the position you are looking for, you need to have many contacts. Let me explain. What helps us find a job? First of all, this is the circle of communication. After all, first of all, we turn to our friends who have other acquaintances who may have information about open vacancies in a particular company. IN LinkedIn- the scheme is the same. You can import contacts from your email and invite them to your network in LinkedIn. If the recipient accepts your invitation, he becomes your 1st level contact.

What opportunities does it provide?LinkedIn?

Since this is an international network, you have a chance to get a job in a foreign company. Knowledge of a foreign language is, of course, valued. But there are many representative offices and Russian companies abroad, where linguistic abilities do not play a big role, but professional skills are important. By the way, salaries in such companies are much higher.

Well, we briefly looked at several aspects of an interesting service for finding employees. The network is not easy, demanding, but a good bait for those looking for work. If you are interested, take a look there, maybe luck will smile on you too.

LinkedIn is a social network for finding and establishing business contacts, launched in 2003 by Reid Hoffman. The site currently has more than 380 million registered members representing 150 business sectors. The resource is available in 24 languages, including Russian.

LinkedIn is an unusual social network. This is not Facebook or VKontakte. There are no cats, funny videos, “life” statuses or debates in the comments. This is a purely business space where you can post a vacancy, install useful contacts with partners and clients, as well as just to chat about interests - business interests.

Using your LinkedIn profile, you can make something beautiful or create. We’ve already talked about how to promote your LinkedIn resume. Today we will talk about how to create a profile that allows you to present yourself as a super professional and earn respect in business circles.

Why fill out your profile?

According to statistics, only 51% of LinkedIn members have a 100% complete profile. And in vain. After all, the less information, the lower the effectiveness of the profile.

Profile efficiency is an indicator showing whether there is enough information about you and your professional qualities to establish new business contacts. The corresponding icon is located on the right side of the profile and is measured as a percentage: from initial to “star” level.

The search algorithm on LinkedIn is such that profiles with the highest performance scores are displayed first. Therefore, it is recommended to fill out your page as accurately and thoroughly as possible. Otherwise, recruiters and potential partners simply won’t notice you.

For maximum efficiency, you need to install a photo (more on the intricacies of its selection below) and indicate:

• field of activity and place of residence;
• current position (with description);
• two previous places of work;
• information about education;
• skills (minimum three);
• interest groups (at least a couple).

You also need to establish at least 50 connections with LinkedIn members. Read below to learn how to properly form your network and receive recommendations.

Basic settings

Do you want to stand out among millions of users? Please pay due attention to completing your profile.

Name

LinkedIn - business network, nicknames and humorous nicknames like “sales star” or “development ninja” are not appropriate there. Please indicate your real name, surname and patronymic.

Professional header

This is the most important element on your page. His maximum length- 120 characters. Be brief but creative. The title should make it clear who you are and what you do.

The professional title, as well as the job description, should be optimized for search engines. But you shouldn’t stuff these fields with keywords like a duck with apples: two or three relevant keywords are quite enough.

Use standard job titles and professions: not “copywriting guru,” but “copywriter.” However, it is acceptable to include any academic degrees you have in the title. For example, not a psychologist, but a candidate of psychological sciences. This not only speaks volumes about who you are, but also indicates how successful you are in your field.

Be sure to indicate your field of activity to be more visible in searches.

Link to profile

It should be simple and short so that people can easily find you. Your URL is in the light gray box below your name and title.

Click on the "Change your public profile settings" button and update your LinkedIn address to a readable format. It must contain from 5 to 30 characters.

Correct: linkedin.com/in/jameseaton.

There is no shame in placing a beautiful LinkedIn address on your business card.

Contact information

Be sure to fill out your contact information: number mobile phone, email, Twitter and so on.

General information

In this block, briefly (maximum 2,000 characters) describe career achievements you are proud of and your business ambitions.

Education

This block is most important for those who do not yet have work experience. Some HR specialists are interested in graduates of certain universities.

Member profiles with educational institutions viewed seven times more often. Be sure to indicate the name of the university (up to 100 characters), years of study and add a description (maximum - 1,000 characters), that is, provide several details. For example, “graduated with honors”, “defended a dissertation on the topic...”, “published in a scientific journal...”.

experience

68% of participants use LinkedIn to connect with former business partners. Be specific in your descriptions of past and current projects.

Be sure to include your position (up to 100 characters), company name, and period of employment. Don’t neglect the “Region” and “Description” fields either. Why miss the opportunity to highlight your mobility and the profit you brought to this or that company?

When describing a position, you should avoid pompous words and superlatives. Fewer adjectives, more verbs. Instead of writing “I am an excellent salesperson,” list your sales awards and performance in numbers.

Media content will also add loyalty points to your profile. Add links to presentations, videos, podcasts, blog posts, quotes, and more. This will allow recruiters to understand who you are and what you are worth. In addition, the longer users look at your profile, the higher the chance that you will collaborate.

Projects

Regularly update information about projects you have worked on. This great way demonstrate your competencies.

Essentially, this is your portfolio. 66% of companies hire employees based on their past projects. Don't forget to put links (if any) to the projects you participated in. Users viewing your profile should have the opportunity to get to know them in more detail.

Skills and their evidence

Profiles of members with skills are viewed four times more often. State what you can do and ask friends in your contact list to confirm those skills.

Tracked Content

Follow topics that interest you to stay up to date with developments in your industry and get involved thematic groups and company communities.

In groups you can ask questions and give advice, communicate with industry colleagues or people from your alma mater. The group can be open, that is, anyone can join it, or closed - you need to submit an application and receive approval from the administrator.

A group should not be confused with a company page. Many corporations, especially international ones, have their own pages on LinkedIn. But, unlike pages on other social networks, this is not done to promote a brand. On the company’s page you can see a list of its employees (maybe some of them are your friends?) and learn about its news. By monitoring company page updates, you will be aware of open vacancies.

Profile blocks can be moved. Highlight what you are proud of and what might be of interest to potential employers.

Profile Pictures

“You're greeted by your clothes” - this saying is completely true when it comes to your profile pictures. So that it pleases the eye and loads quickly even for users with slow internet, use high-quality pictures of the correct sizes.

Background image profile should have a resolution of 1,400 × 425 pixels, in JPG format, PNG or GIF. The size should not exceed 4 MB.

Profile photo(avatar) must be 400 × 400 pixels, minimum 200 × 200 pixels, format - JPG, PNG or GIF. Maximum size- 10 MB.

If you are a Business Page Administrator, review acceptable and recommended image and logo settings. Everything is described.

Special attention You should pay attention to choosing a profile photo. Browse through the avatars of other users in your industry and put a photo that they and your customers will like.

Good avatar for LinkedIn	Bad Avatar for LinkedIn
Professional photography. A well-composed photo with good lighting is a long-term investment in your professional image. It can be used on many resources. How better photo, the more views your page gets.	Selfie in the bathroom. LinkedIn is not Instagram. Your profile photo should show you as a professional, not as a cutie.
Representative look. A stupid smile is as bad as a “brick face.” Ask your friends to tell you which facial expression makes you look most presentable.	Mister official. Wearing a sharp suit and a suffocating tie won't make you look smarter. Your appearance simply must match your position and preferences.
Portrait. Your face should be in the center of the frame and occupy most of it. Above, below and on the sides there is just a little framing background.	Photo with a cat. It's terribly cute, but it's better to leave cats, dogs and other animals out of the picture when it comes to your LinkedIn profile photo.
True photo. Your avatar should show you as you are in everyday life. Do you wear a beard or glasses? Don't shave or squint for a profile photo. Be yourself!	Photo against the background of the carpet. What is behind you should not distract anyone looking into your beautiful eyes. Choose neutral backgrounds. For example, just white.

Network of contacts

Without networking, it is extremely difficult to achieve success. For a LinkedIn profile to be effective, you need to add at least 50 contacts to your network. In general, it is recommended to have at least three hundred, but not more than three thousand friends. Otherwise, it will be difficult to manage communications.

So how do you replenish your network? First, import contacts from address book Email. At the same time, send invitations to those who can really be useful to you in business.

In LinkedIn, you can not only import, but also export contacts: menu “Network” → button “Export contacts” in the lower right corner of the page. This function allows you to create backup copy contacts to protect your business connections.

Secondly, use search to expand your network of contacts. Moreover, it is an expanded version: this way you can find people who are part of not only the first, but also the second or third circle of acquaintances.

When the first contacts appear in your network, the system itself will offer you new friends. On home page in the right top corner there will be a block “People you may know.” These recommendations appear based on your profile data. Most likely, these will be your classmates and colleagues.

How else can you expand your network?

• Meet through friends of friends. A second-level contact is a friend of your friend. If you need to start communicating with such a person, go to their profile page and see if you have mutual friends. If so, send a request for an introduction or click on the “Ask to meet” button.
• Take advantage of groups. You can send private messages members of the group you are in, even if there is no direct contact between you.
• If a member's profile is open, you can send him a message - InMail. Perhaps you will start a dialogue, and then friendship.
• Check who has viewed your profile. If these people are interesting to you, try to establish contact with them.
• Monitor news feed. It also helps you develop your network and interact with potential partners.
• Link your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. Then you can post your updates on LinkedIn to Twitter.
• Do you want to attract the attention of someone? Mention her in your posts using the @ symbol.

Offline employment in nine out of ten cases occurs through patronage. Employers ask their partners to recommend a smart employee, and the latter, in turn, ask their partners to put in a good word for them.

The role of recommendations on LinkedIn is also very high. They should not be confused with skill confirmations (Endorsements). The latter simply state the facts: “Yes, he can do it.” Any person from your contact list can confirm this or that competency in just two clicks.

A recommendation is a detailed review of your past and present colleagues, partners and clients about you and your work. The more recommendations, the higher the level of confidence in the data specified in the profile. Recommendations are displayed in the appropriate section of your profile (menu “Privacy and Settings” → “Manage Recommendations”) and are only available to registered LinkedIn users.

• Five to ten recommendations in your profile are enough to interest recruiters.
• Ask for recommendations from the most reputable people in your network.
• Try to get at least two reviews of your work in the company that you consider most meaningful.
• When recommending someone, indicate how you know the person and provide specific examples, demonstrating his professional strengths.

Show mutual respect. If someone validated your skill or gave you good recommendation, don't forget to thank him for this.

How to protect your profile

To take full advantage of LinkedIn, your profile must be public, that is, visible potential clients and partners.

Public profile is created automatically when registering on LinkedIn and published in the user directory. Google and other search engines periodically check the LinkedIn directory so that public profiles can be found online.

However, you can set individual settings privacy. For example, hide the display of websites, current position and other parameters in the profile from unregistered users.

You can also adjust your profile to suit your purposes in the “Privacy and Settings” menu. For example, if you are looking for new job and you don’t want your current bosses and colleagues to know about this, exclude them from the list of those who can see your activity feed.

There you can also specify who will see the list of your contacts, information about your rank, your photo, and so on.

To protect your account from hacking, you must:

• come up with complex password(at least 8 characters, capitals and lower case plus numbers and other characters; the password must not include vocabulary words and your name, as well as used on other resources);
• enable two-step login verification: “Privacy and Settings” → “ Account» → “Manage security settings”.

6 Secrets to Using Your LinkedIn Profile Effectively

1. Create posts on LinkedIn. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your professional knowledge and present yourself as a leader in your field.
2. The best time to post on LinkedIn is Tuesday and Thursday, between 7 and 9 a.m. local time.
3. Enter self-censorship. Don't say anything on LinkedIn that you wouldn't say out loud on .
4. LinkedIn can be integrated with . Then your business cards, resume and notes will be in one place.
5. Users who regularly update their LinkedIn profiles receive more collaboration offers.
6. Install a LinkedIn button on your blog or website so that your followers and readers can share your posts on their LinkedIn profile.

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From time to time questions come to me: What do you eat it with? What are the pros and cons of this network? How to use LinkedIn effectively, and what can you use it for? I decided to collect all the questions and answers in one place, I hope this series of articles will help you understand everything.

A short introduction, or why you need this at all. LinkedIn is not a fancy social network. Not bright. Not noisy. “The sleeping giant of social networks” was dubbed in the English-language press. However, despite this "quietness", LinkedIn is exerting more and more influence, connecting headhunters and job seekers, recruiters, colleagues, competitors, brands and entire industries.

The average LinkedIn user spends much less time online than the average FaceBook user or VKontakte. You won’t find here humorous videos, photos of cats, reposts of graffiti, heated discussions of the status “It’s raining outside, how to live on?” This workplace. People come here to do business. LinkedIn directors have said more than once: “We don’t have a goal to keep users on our site as long as possible. We want a person to come in, do what they need to do in a few minutes, and continue with their work day.”

LinkedIn has been growing slowly but surely since 2002, already works in 19 languages ​​(Russian included) and is approaching the mark of 200 million users. I think the globalization of the Internet space, as well as the current crisis with free-lance.ru, and the lack of decent alternatives will push many freelancers to register on this resource. And this is good. Well, I was planning a short introduction 😉 It’s time to get down to business.

First steps after registering on LinkedIn, or a Manual for beginners.

1. Profile.

Yes Yes. Like any social network, on LinkedIn it all starts with creating your own profile. When filling out your profile, we remember that we are here on business, not here to have fun. To make the most of LinkedIn, it is very important to fill out everything in detail and give maximum information to potential employers about your knowledge and skills.
LinkedIn has a metric "Profile Effectiveness", measured as a percentage from 0 to 100. The higher it is, the more seriously they will take your profile. In addition, if you noted in “Skills and Qualifications,” say, copywriting or SEO or SQL, then the higher the effectiveness of your profile, the greater the chance that a potential employer looking for workers for these keywords, will view your profile.
Here is a list of all the fields that LinkedIn recommends filling out for maximum efficiency:

• Photography (choose wisely 😉)
• Industry of activity and geographical location
• Current position - title and description
• Two previous positions
• Education
• Minimum of five skills in “Skills and Qualifications”
• Minimum 50 contacts (more on this later)
• Two or three groups of interests (more on this in the continuation of the post)
• General information

2. Contacts.

So, in order to reach the aforementioned “50 contacts,” you need to start building your network on LinkedIn. If this seemed complicated to you, don’t be afraid, I’ll tell you how now. So there are two ways, I recommend using both.
Method one. Notice the old traditional search at the top of the screen? Great! We enter the name of a person we know, find it among the results and “establish contact.” When you land on the results page, LinkedIn shows additional search filters. By default, they are all set to “show all,” which is what we need at the initial stage.

After you have added several contacts, refresh the page and go to your profile. In the top left corner you will see "People You May Know" with several photos. If you click on the inscription, it will open full list people, some of whom will probably actually be your acquaintances. We establish contact with them and continue :)

Where do "people you might know" come from on linkedin? Based on the information you entered (place of work, study, etc.) and already existing contacts algorithms make assumptions. The wider the circle of your contacts, and more information You have entered, so these assumptions will be more accurate. After all, it’s logical to assume that if you work with someone in the same company and you have ten mutual friends, you might know him?)) But we digress, let’s continue:

Method two. Any modern service has the “import contacts” function. Of course, LinkedIn also has it (how can you work effectively if you manually search 100 people one by one?). Top menu >> Contacts >> Add contacts.

As you can see, you can easily and automatically transfer and add your contacts from Outlook and any email account. Be careful at this stage, and carefully look at what boxes are ticked where during this process. It is not a fact that you will want to add everyone with whom you have ever corresponded to your contacts.

After you've added your email contacts, you can go back and look at what people appear in your "people you might know" list. After adding new contacts, the algorithm will offer more options.

3. Groups.

Groups on LinkedIn are gatherings based on common interests. Places where people ask and give advice, look for jobs or employees, communicate with industry colleagues, etc. Groups can be created as groups of graduates of a university or department, or groups of former and current employees of the company (not to be confused with the official page of the company!), or broader ones - say, groups of employees of the Nth industry.

The group can be either open - i.e. Anyone can join it, or it is closed. In the second case, the group administrator must approve your application to join. Most often this occurs among groups of graduates, and in very narrow professional groups.

4. Company pages.

Many companies, especially international ones, have their official pages on LinkedIn. Unlike similar official pages on other social networks networks, they do not serve for communication with the audience, branding, etc. LinkedIn even officially warns those who like to engage in self-promotion: “Posting updates too frequently may also be subject to legal action by LinkedIn, which may result in the removal of your company page.” On the company page you can see a list of employees, important corporate news, press releases and often hiring announcements are published 😉 You cannot “connect” with a company on LinkedIn, but you can “follow” its updates.

Following a company page can be useful if it is important for you to be aware of what is happening there. Observe the industry leader or competitors, take a closer look at potential partners. Well, most often - to receive notifications about the opening of new vacant positions)
Also, if you are going to send your resume, or are already going through an interview, it is useful to see if someone you know works in this company, or has worked, or is a friend of an acquaintance. It may turn out to be a valuable source of information at the right time, because a spoon is dear to dinner))

5. Vacancies, or Job Search.

The ability to find a job (or workers) through LinkedIn is one of the biggest advantages of this network, if not the very best. By clicking on "Vacancies" in top menu, You will see “Job vacancies that may interest you,” which LinkedIn algorithms have selected for you based on your personal data and open employer offers. At the very least, it's interesting to watch. Write the name of the desired position in the search bar, and you will be taken to a page with results and additional search filters. If someone in your network of contacts (direct contacts, or contacts of your contacts) works for a company that appears in search results, it is immediately visible. There are currently 80 open manager positions in Thailand. Anyone interested?

This was an introductory tour of LinkedIn. I hope this article will help you understand the basics, take your first steps, and effectively use LinkedIn for your purposes.
I will write about other services, elements and applications of LinkedIn in the future, so if you have questions or topics you want to know about, leave a comment.