With more than 500 million members, LinkedIn is by far the biggest professional social network. It became the number one platform for recruiters, head-hunters and jobseekers.

Jay Shah from JobsInGTA explains how LinkedIn is the underrated platform for many job seekers. He emphasizes that other social media networks have so many aspects related to the candidate social life, private life, partying, opinions and views. However, the way LinkedIn evolved focusing on the professional experience and career path of its members makes it the perfect ground to demonstrate your skills and get noticed as a professional.

1) CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE

The start is customizing your public profile to make it an adequate representation of your professional life. Choose the right LinkedIn background photo and personal photo that represent you; show your smile and dress appropriately. Never use a picture that is embarrassing.

It is also recommended to utilize all the options provided by LinkedIn to add, remove, or rearrange sections of your profile in a way that will make it easy for recruiters to understand your expertise.

2) DEMONSTRATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE

It is imperative to use the platform to showcase your experience and your expertise. You can write blogs to express your opinions related to your industry, comment on news and developments in the market or share a personal story that shows your approach to solving problems. Also, you can add website links to prove your affiliations or the company you work for.

When possible, seek endorsements from your network for your skills. Ask the people you have worked with to add testimonials to your profile explaining how the experience of working with you was.

3) MAKE YOUR PROFILE SEARCHABLE

You can optimize your LinkedIn profile for search engines. Identify the keywords that highlight your professional expertise and use these keywords within your profile and in your blog. Be careful when you choose those keywords and make it industry-related as much as possible.

Share your LinkedIn status updates on Twitter and share your blogs on other platforms. By sharing on other platforms, you will build your links and increase your profile search-ability.

4) HUNT FOR YOUR DREAM JOB

Be active on the platform and search LinkedIn’s job postings. Save your search and get notifications whenever a similar position is posted. Also, follow the companies you would love to join and receive updates about their activities, new employees, etc.

5) BUILD YOUR NETWORK

You are on LinkedIn to build your network and get noticed, so, join industry groups on LinkedIn, add your new contacts, check updates from your contacts and engage with them. Also, share articles and follow discussions in your groups.

6) USE ANALYTICS

What’s get measured, gets managed. Check who viewed your profile and how many times your profile appeared in searches. Understand who follows your posts and the updates you publish and who reads your blogs. Those numbers will give you an understanding of how you can leverage your LinkedIn profile.