LinkedIn now plays a crucial role in getting employed. When you apply to jobs, they are very likely to check out your LinkedIn profile, and few recruiters are now looking LinkedIn to try to search potential candidates. At its core, LinkedIn is a basic networking tool – a way to make certain that you keep track of your expert connections, so that you can utilize them to search new careers, get suggestions and endorsements, and more. But increasing your network is not as simple as adding the individuals you has worked with. There are top five networking rules you require following in case to make certain that your network works for you.
Top Five Networking Rules You Require Following on LinkedIn
Do not Add Everyone – but Add Almost Everyone
There is a tendency to add everyone you have ever met on LinkedIn. It is not that bad a tendency – after all, a network is made up of all of the individuals that you’ve met in your personal and private life.
But it is bad form to add people you’ve no links or connection to anymore – people that you’ve lost touch with, no longer like, or have no purpose of ever contacting. If you both hardly remember each other and have little to gain from connecting, it is best to ignore adding them.
Send a Personal Message on Entire Contacts
One of the top five networking rules for a better LinkedIn network is that everyone you contact gets a personal message. This is PARTICULARLY true of cold contacts (individuals you contact that aren’t familiar with you), but should also be true of everyone you add – from those you know well, to those you just know a little bit.
Personal messages assist to make definite that people feel like they are really a value to you, and will make certain that they identify and remember you in their network.
Be Active with All Contacts
If you decided they were worth adding, then you should also remain active with them. That means commenting on anything very intriguing that they post with a thoughtful comment, congratulating them on latest jobs, and making certain they know that no matter how you are connected in real life, on LinkedIn you are close.
Networking Goes Both Ways
There is a tendency to add everyone you can on LinkedIn, and then expect that they assist you to get a latest job or give you endorsements. But networking is a 2 way street. If you’ve a way to assist someone on your network, you should assist them. Many will return the favor by helping you as well.
Do not Spam Your Network
The larger your network, the more you’ve to be sensitive to over-posting. You do not need to annoy everyone in your network by posting too frequently and spamming their LinkedIn feed. Be very sensitive about what you post, posting just the best links and thoughts and permitting your feed time to breathe once in a while.
Make the Most of Your LinkedIn
Your LinkedIn network is a possible source for your next career. But long before you can get that career, you’ve to make certain that you build your network. The above top five networking rules help ensure that you are building your network “the right way” – in a way that will offer you the most impact, without breaking any rules.