LinkedIn is not just any other social networking site. Well it is social which helps with networking, but most of all it helps you grow. Profiles created on LinkedIn are ranked high on Google, and thus it is a great portal for individuals looking to connect with other professionals or recruiters.  According to Times magazine, “Companies are paying big bucks for the right to look at your profile.”Many job assistance providers charge heftily to create impressive LinkedIn profiles. So if you haven’t made your presence felt on LinkedIn or if it isn’t yielding much, the following tips will help you make the most of your experiences and skills.

Profile

Your profile is your window to over 175 million LinkedIn users and a way to connect with the most influential people in your business. The place is not only an ideal platform for job seekers but can also help in getting a better one. As companies or forever going through the sea of profiles on LinkedIn to locate individuals who can yield better business for their companies.

Be sure to update your profile from time to time and include anything and everything that you believe can be useful to a recruiter. Be sure to put your picture, as having a face to a profile makes it more real and human. You are more likely to be taken seriously if you have a picture with your profile.

SEO Optimization

Google can only help you as long as you help yourself. So in order to make yourself easily accessible to people searching for you or the skills and expertise you provide you need to be SEO compatible. Change your URL from a computer generated one to a URL with your name. Another way to optimize SEO is to use specific keywords based on the companies or services that you wish to target. Especially in the summary which is a full text section that Google indexes.

Recommendations

Recommendations on the profile serve the same purpose as recommendations otherwise written for job hunts. Ask your employees, bosses or even friends to write recommendations for you. It is an easy process- you can send people online requests to write a recommendation for you. This will greatly help build a more well rounded and professional profile.

Networking

This is the most important aspect of your profile, without good networking your profile is as good as not having one. So start adding people to your networks. Look for old school mates, college mates, fellow employees and relatives. Pretty much add anybody and everybody available on LinkedIn that you may even remotely know. You can also search for people working in the same company or industry as you and start connecting. Another good way is to ask questions or answer them through the “Answers” medium.

You can also form groups, and link up to 3 websites on your profile. So if you have a personal website or a blog then do make sure that they are linked. LinkedIn may be a little confusing at first or you may not be able to find many ways to increase networking, but if you keep an active profile, you are bound to make your presence felt. LinkedIn is your ultimate free source to an ocean of bigger and better opportunities, so make the most of it.

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