You either really love LinkedIn or you question whether it is even worth your time.

Well, I am here to tell you, if you are a professional or want to grow your network, then it is worth your time! According to LinkedIn’s About section, “LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with more than 562 million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.” That means there are 562 million professionals ready to connect with you. That’s a lot!

Use the network on LinkedIn to help you move forward in your career path or change professions. Not sure how to do this? Here are some key steps to help you get the most out of your LinkedIn account:

1. Use your dashboard: If you go on your profile, you will find your dashboard right under your summary. Here, you will find three features: Career Advice, Career Interests, and Salary insight. Career Advice allows you to connect with leaders in various professions and get advice to help you progress in your own professional life. Career Interests gives you the power to let recruiters know whether you are currently looking for job opportunities. Salary Insights helps you compare salaries. To get the most out of these features, all you have to do is turn them on!
2. Search for jobs or internships in careers you’re interested in: Click on the “Job” icon and in the search bar put in keywords that are related to your aspired career. For example, if I am interested in education, here are some of the things I would type in: Department of Education, college assistant, college counselor, or education. Related jobs will appear. When you click on a job post that you are interested in, Linkedin will generate a list of similar jobs for next time.
3. Receive emails about jobs and other career opportunities: If you’re busy, you won’t be checking your LinkedIn account every day. So let LinkedIn inform you when they have generated a list of jobs and opportunities for you. To turn this feature on: Settings & Privacy-> Communications-> Email frequency-> check “Jobs and opportunities.”
4. Find other people who are currently in the field you want to be in: Go to My Network-> in the search engine, type in the field you’re interested in (ex: college advisor). There will be a section “People results for college advisor.” Click “See all.” Now you have access to a more extensive network of professionals in your aspired field. From here, you can look at their profile, see the experience they have that may have led to their current career, as well as their education. You can also send them a professional message to ask questions.
5. Don’t be afraid to message professionals to learn more about their position and how they got there: Again, you have access to “more than 562 million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.” Use them to your advantage! Contact that professional who is in the same position that you want to be in! People love talking about themselves and their experiences, so there is a good chance that the professional will respond. The worst that can happen is that they don’t get back to you, but you will never know unless you try. *PLEASE NOTE: Do not message professionals asking for a job. When you message a professional, you should show interests in their career path and strictly ask them questions to help your professional growth.

Before doing any of these steps, it is essential to have an up-to-date, well polished LinkedIn page!

Need help? The Career Advising Hub can help you! To learn more, check out the services we provide.