LinkedIn — it’s not just a buzzword!! I’d say LinkedIn is probably one among the available social media websites that you will end up using A LOT, HELL LOT!
Before I begin, let me highlight the audience of this article. This write-up is targeted towards students who are early in their careers or are college students looking for internships/full-time jobs.
Quickly jumping to the point of networking. Why and how to use LinkedIn to network with folks from the industry.
Let’s address the why first. LinkedIn is a social network for establishing your professional identity. It’s a place to showcase your work, your business, your skills! Other than that, it is used for recruitment (well, very important). Stats state that LinkedIn has over 55 million companies listed with 14 million open jobs! (source). That’s not it! 3 people are hired through LinkedIn every minute. (source). To be honest these numbers are enough to address the “Why”. If you are still not convinced, let me dig a little deeper with an example. Imagine you want a job at your dream company, for the sake of this article, let’s consider your dream company to be Microsoft. While it is your “dream” company, you probably do not know anyone at Microsoft. Even if you do, they might not be the recruiter. So how does LinkedIn help? You can go ahead and look for people working in Microsoft. You can directly reach out to recruiters/hiring managers through LinkedIn. This allows you to pitch your profile directly. While getting a job is not guaranteed you will definitely have an edge! If you network properly, you will probably end up with interviews, or learning more about company culture, role requirements, etc!
Coming to the “How” part! Keep your profile updated. I mean UPDATED. Have a profile picture, a tagline for your profile, work experiences, skill, all of it. Do not sit back unless the profile strength is “All-Star”.
Make sure you write a small bio about yourself in the “About” section (yes, it has to be better than your Instagram bio, duh!) Do not forget to write your job experiences in detail. Also, customize the public URL. This is the URL that you will end up sharing with possible recruiters and hiring managers, so yes, please be professional and use your “first name-last name” instead of using funky Instagram/Snapchat usernames (A big no for usernames like “cool-guy” or “cool-girl”)!
The information you give on your profile is segmented as keywords that are helpful for the right recruiters to reach out to you for potential opportunities. Recruiters will not get to your profile when the data is incomplete. Additionally, when you connect with someone, they will probably gauge you by looking at your personalized messages and your profile. Looking from a different perspective, you’d also accept the requests of people after looking at their profile, right? I guess I made my point. So keep your profile updated at all times.
Now that your profile is configured, start making connections.
The way to go about it is to follow these 7 easy steps:
- In case you already know someone goes to step 6.
- In case you do not know someone and want to reach out to a specific user group of a specific company — Search the company you want to work with on LinkedIn
- Go to the “People” tab on the company page
- You will see an input box saying — “Search employees by title, keyword, or school”. So here, search for the people you want to connect with - Hiring managers, Product Managers, Software Developers, etc.
- You will find a bunch of people, open their profiles, read about them and their experience. Make sure you do your research about who they are.
- Personalize your connection request with a message based on your research about their profile. (More on this below)*
- Send the Request and wait to hear back.
Just 6 simple steps! Easy, right? No! Steps 4 & 5 are make-it or break-it! When I say research, you really need to read what people have written in their profile before you send them a request. I have seen many students reaching out for things that are already posted by the person in their blogs that are showcased on LinkedIn. Not doing research, just gives a sense that you did not care enough to read their content!
*Coming to the personalized message, please never send a connection request to anyone without any information about who you are and why you are connecting with them. You are essentially a stranger for that person, would you not be creeped out if some random stranger approaches you and starts talking without you having any context? That’s how many people feel when someone sends them a connection request without a short personalized message.
Example:
Look at my message to this person. I wanted to know about his Amazon interview but instead of asking him for a favor, I went through his profile, read all his blog posts, and then decided to send him a request with a brief about myself. Also, half of my questions were answered through his blogs. I am sure, if I asked the same questions he had answered in his blog, he would not have entertained me. (Time is money, you gotta use it wisely)
A bonus tip: Network and connect with people to establish a relationship and not just asking for a favor like a referral. Once you have a relationship, who knows the person you connected with might just refer you, or better, might pitch for you if they see a role you fit for in their company. But please, do not ask for referrals in your first message.
If you are a student attending career fairs, make sure you connect with everyone you meet in these events using your LinkedIn App. Use the LinkedIn QR Code feature to connect with everyone right there on the spot!
Disclaimer:
- Despite your efforts, everyone will not accept your request, and that’s okay. I get only 5/10 accepts. However, that should not discourage you. The few accepts you have will be enough for you to learn more about the opportunity you are seeking or the advice you are looking for. Keep building your network and interact with people to build professional relationships. Remember, it is not a one-day thing, instead, it is a one-day-at-a-time thing.
- Do not send requests left right and center. This will get your account flagged. Send requests to relevant people that can help you grow professionally.
Last but not least, the power of InMails. LinkedIn describes this feature as:
InMail lets you contact people beyond your immediate network directly on LinkedIn. Sending an InMail requires 1 credit, but you’ll get the credit back if you receive a response to your message
This feature is available to you only if you have a Premium subscription. In a lot of situations, you will not be able to connect with a LinkedIn member directly (people have customized settings and/or they are your 2nd-degree connections), so you InMail them. Consider this feature like an e-mail without an actual e-mail ID. While I’ll advise you to have your messages short, InMails do not have character restriction and comes with the power to attach files, which means you can share your resume, portfolio, etc. However, use this wisely because you only get 15 credits per month. I use this extensively when someone has posted an opportunity and the job description has certain qualifications. An InMail allows me to express myself on how my profile is matching the qualifications mentioned.
Other than this, LinkedIn has many features that are useful. LinkedIn Learning is one of my favorite segments that comes with the premium subscription. There are a lot of courses for you to learn from. I’d personally advise you to skill-up whenever you get a chance. Use the “Recommendations” feature to ask or write a recommendation. Give skill tests and earn badges to emphasize your strong areas.
Here is another great article about expanding your LinkedIn network. Overall, explore this tool as much as you can. It has several benefits! Use it to your advantage.
