How to “do LinkedIn” for people who don’t “do LinkedIn”
OK, so without your help this blog post is not going to reach the person who really needs this info. This is for people who have half-filled profiles and check LinkedIn 4x a year. Forward it to your colleague, friend or family member who is in that category.
Do I really have to do this? Yes.
I will confess that I low-key despise social media. I technically have Instagram and Facebook accounts but don’t check them regularly and don’t have the apps on my phone. And yet, I have found LinkedIn to be incredibly powerful. To go a step further, I can say with certainty that if you are a professional, engaging on LinkedIn will benefit your career exponentially. It makes you visible, keeps you informed and connects you with people who can support you and your career. There's a clear use case for people navigating career changes but it's also great to raise your profile in your industry, become a thought leader, promote your charitable causes and stay open to new opportunities. And engaging with your network on LinkedIn is a great way to support your colleagues, friends and family members in their endeavors.
OMG, fine. What do I have to do?
Make your profile passable. Don't make perfect the enemy of good. Here’s what that means:
Decent profile picture. Not a selfie. Not with someone next to you cropped out. Have someone take an iPhone picture in good light in portrait mode. Done.
Choose a banner (not just the blue/grey standard one). If you want extra credit, go to Canva and make one. It’s actually kind of fun. And that’s the secret of all this – make it fun! I currently have a “mage” emoji (🧙) in my headline because it makes me smile when I see it. (And I think it’s a good reminder about the transformational magic of coaching.)
Take out your year of graduation unless you are a pretty recent graduate. People don’t need to know your exact age. Let 'em guess.
In the Experience section, make sure to select the “Company name” of the relevant organization. This will pull in their logo. When you filled this out 5 years ago, some of your prior employers weren’t on LinkedIn. Likely, they are now and having the logo rather than the blue/grey filler thing makes your profile look more profesh.
For job descriptions, if you can’t face coming up with descriptions, just leave them out for now. At least describe your current job. Also, look up former colleagues and borrow from how they described the role. Make it easy.
Fill in all the sections even the ones that seem unrelated to your current role. Add your non-profit boards, your experience as a volunteer, where you did your abroad semester, certifications you earned, languages you speak, etc. More details will help people remember you and understand the breadth of your experience.
If you are thinking "I am too senior/experienced/cool" to fill out a LinkedIn profile, take a minimalistic approach. Be like those VCs firms whose website is just a landing page. A minimalist profile reads as a thoughtful design decision rather than thoughtless neglect.
OK, that wasn't so hard. What else do I need to do?
Now, it’s time to engage. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to post anything just yet.)
Connect with everyone you know from college, graduate school, former colleagues, current colleagues, people you meet at conferences, the person who coaches your kid’s soccer team. LinkedIn makes this easy. Go!
Follow organizations and people in your field. This will fill your feed with relevant content.
You can lurk for a little bit but to get the most out of it, make a commitment to engage daily for 5 minutes. Like a few posts that you genuinely like. You can work up to commenting on posts and eventually posting stuff. If you have a marketing team at your organization, ask for help. They would be thrilled to connect you with content you can repost.
