Use LinkedIn for jobs and professional networking

Author: Zuzana Kocáková

Career

8 reading minutes

LinkedIn is a place and a way to network with professionals in your field to learn about job opportunities and expand your industry knowledge. LinkedIn Slovakia is just emerging, so take advantage of this opportunity and network on LinkedIn!

LinkedIn for students

You can use Network on LinkedIn effectively to make useful connections with current or former classmates, connect with fellow professionals, or browse job listings by location and work area for future collaboration with companies. It is an opportunity how to find job on LinkedIn and kick-start your professional career, while you are still at university. A properly filled out profile with a photo is essential, and don’t forget your LinkedIn motto.

Create a network on LinkedIn

If you’re new to LinkedIn, you probably don’t have many contacts apart from a few acquaintances. And that’s the problem. Networking on LinkedIn is the essence of this social network. The “starter” contacts are therefore also useful for getting you started. The social network on LinkedIn is also designed for the business community to create LinkedIn business networking. The goal of this LinkedIn networking community is to allow registered members to create and leverage a network of contacts who know and trust each other professionally.

Create LinkedIn business networking

LinkedIn platform or LinkedIn company profile is used to showcase a company’s brand and business activities online.

• Overall, LinkedIn business networking is a tool and platform for companies looking to connect with other professionals. It’s an opportunity for companies to connect with like-minded individuals and potential clients, expand their reach and establish themselves as leaders in their industry.
• It is an opportunity to network with other professionals and groups. As a business owner, you can connect with other professionals in your industry, potential clients and even competitors to build relationships and expand your LinkedIn professional networking.
• As a business, you can use LinkedIn networking to share content such as blog posts, IT industry news and updates about your company. This can help you establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and attract potential clients or partners.

The use of advertising on LinkedIn and marketing can be used to target specific audiences based on job title, industry and location. As a business, this can help you reach the right people and promote your brand, products or services such as job offers and so on.

LinkedIn and marketing

• If you’re a business or individual, use LinkedIn profile marketing to promote your profile.
• Look for specifically targeted customers and connections.
• Grow your email marketing list.
• Use sponsored updates.
• Publish high-quality content.
• Think about how to go viral.
• Give your employees a face.
• Join groups and stay active.
• Use sponsored updates.
• Create your own LinkedIn group.
• Make sure your company’s website is up to date.
• Complete the summary section in your own company profile.
• Start network on LinkedIn and build relationships.

Create and share valuable content related to your expertise or industry on LinkedIn. Use of LinkedIn for networking is about building connections and long-term relationships, helping you establish yourself as a mindful leader and attract like-minded LinkedIn contacts.
Identify your target audience: determine the people you want to connect with on LinkedIn based on your professional goals. Identify professionals in your industry. For example, if you are in the IT world and looking for job opportunities as Java Developer Senior, join groups relevant to your industry or interests. To companies you’re interested in, or to people in jobs you’re interested in.

What levels of LinkedIn networking do we know?

The social network LinkedIn distinguishes three levels of connection between users. You will always see the connection level next to the name of the specific user. When asking for connections, LinkedIn connections that have an active profile and a greater number of first-degree connections are more valuable to you.

• 1st-degree connections: Contacts that are directly linked to your account and have confirmed your connection request. That is why you are in direct contact with them.
• 2nd-degree connections: Contacts that are directly linked to your 1st-degree connections.
• 3rd-degree connections: Contacts that are connected to your 2nd-degree connections.

How to reach people and connect with them?

LinkedIn networking allows you to reach selected users via a message, invitation or even a paid InMail message. By accepting an invitation on LinkedIn, the user in turn indicates that they are interested in communicating with you. One of the most common mistakes when making new connections and reaching out to new contacts is sending generic invitations to connect. Whenever you ask someone to connect, take the opportunity to write them a personal message as part of the request. It gives you the opportunity to explain who you are and why you want to be connected. It is good to show a professional approach from the very beginning.

In addition to patience in making relevant contacts, you need to consistently create quality content that will entertain your network of contacts and ideally encourage them to interact positively. It will also make you more visible to others if you engage in interactions too, so don’t be afraid to like, but especially comment on, other users’ content. Try to generate discussion on topics that are part of your working life and don’t be afraid to communicate. However, think twice about every step you take and stick to your professional goals. Good and helpful comments help increase the reach of your LinkedIn profile.

Use groups to make connections

LinkedIn Groups are a useful feature and a great way to build a network that is relevant to you and others. When you join a group, you’ll see a list of members and who’s most engaged in the conversation. From there, you can send connection requests to users who suit you. Of course, we are referring to groups that deal with issues in your field or are very close to it. Think about a LinkedIn Premium account too, which will give you many more options.

LinkedIn networking strategy

If you’ve already synced all the relevant contacts and found a few others that interest you, LinkedIn allows you to use the “People you might know” feature. This feature helps you reach other contacts that might be relevant to you. The wrong approach is to “rush head first” and connect with everyone you come across. Therefore, always act in accordance with your predetermined intention and connect with people who are:

• potential employers,
• experts in your field, mentors and inspiring people,
• potential employees or new members of your team,
• business partners for your company.

If you choose to associate with people outside of your work area, it is likely that these contacts will not be of any benefit to you and the connection will not last long.

LinkedIn networking tips and mistakes to avoid

Like any social network, LinkedIn offers the ability to connect with anyone in the world, which is a huge advantage in today’s online world. However, if you want to get the most out of your connections, it’s a good idea to avoid the most common networking mistakes.

1. Set clear goals before selecting contacts. Are you requesting a connection because you’re looking for more information in your industry? Do you want to learn something new from the profile? Or is it your potential employer, business partner or client?
2. When contacting them, don’t send the same automated messages to connect, but write each user a few lines addressed directly to them. Here it is also important to maintain the right tone. If you see that your potential contact communicates with others in a rather informal way, try to adapt to that.
3. You need to be able to be naturally persuasive when you address them. It will help if you are direct and make your request as specific as possible. For example:
   • Dear Mr/Ms XY, I have just finished my studies at university and I am pursuing programming. Since I was impressed by your work and want to further my education in this field, I would appreciate it if I could add you to my LinkedIn contacts.
4. Think about the fact that time is precious to all. Try not to be unnecessarily wordy and keep your connection requests as brief as possible. Also, don’t bother potential employers with questions like: are you currently looking for someone new to join your team? Respond only in response to existing job offers. Rest assured that employers will seek you out if your LinkedIn profile is valuable and you are an ideal candidate for them.
5. Don’t expect everyone to accept your connection request. Every user has different goals on LinkedIn, so don’t take it personally if someone rejects your connection request.
6. Don’t spam people. If you contact everyone in line and send them the bulk messages to connect, you will disqualify your profile as a spammer, and you certainly don’t want that. So choose your contacts carefully.

You need plenty of time to build your network on LinkedIn as well as to make contacts. But if you’re serious about LinkedIn and follow the rules, it’s certain that sooner or later you’ll build a successful profile with lots of connections who respond to your content. Just avoid a few common mistakes, be constant and persevere. It’s up to you how much time you’re willing to devote to LinkedIn, but generally speaking, you only get back what you put into it.

Be honest, helpful and professional. In your interactions, focus on building long-term relationships with your connections. Remember, networking on LinkedIn is about building connections and relationships!

Share article

Use LinkedIn for jobs and professional networking

Zuzana Kocáková

At msg life Slovakia I take care of the company culture, events and I am part of the marketing team. I like a job where I can be creative and contribute to making my colleagues at msg feel good. I regularly prepare for you not only news and interesting things from the world of information technology and insurance, but also from behind the scenes events at msg life Slovakia.