“To me, LinkedIn is documenting my journey, growth, and most important success/failures.”
LinkedIn was first introduced to me in my first year of college, although it took time to understand and get to know the use of LinkedIn. Still, with each day passing, I started scrolling more through my LinkedIn feed and exploring people and their posts out there.
I realized it is very different compared to other social platforms I have witnessed till now, here almost everyone posts about their work, success, accomplishments, failures(very few), or journey. I found it a little motivating as well as heart-rending.
As of now, I feel that I am well aware of my audience at LinkedIn and how its algorithm works. Having more than 2700+ connections with 50k+ post impressions, I found LinkedIn one of the best social platforms for growth, exploration, and opportunities. Believe me, in my first post on LinkedIn from a single-line emoji to 100+ lines of content in posts, I have learned a lot. The way of posting, what to post and what not to, how to keep your profile updated, and much more. Honestly, I grabbed many opportunities in my career till now through my LinkedIn although there is no white-and-black proof of this but yes, people look at and judge you through your LinkedIn from career prospects no one going to look and stalk your Instagram if it’s not a private account.
There was a time when my usage time of LinkedIn was more than any other social platform and I was somehow addicted to it as it puts up infinite things at your doorstep that we can actually do as people out there are actually doing it that’s why they are posting it. As of now, I have seen diverse use cases of LinkedIn although its main objective was to get people jobs and connect them with industry and corporate people but today as time passes people here are using it in many efficient ways like blogging, content creation, teaching, daily news, polls, and what not. Being one of the world’s largest professional networks on the internet, it came way longer than other social platforms. The algorithm of LinkedIn works way better than other platforms.
Like the majority of social media platforms, LinkedIn has its own algorithm that can be used to connect users, identify jobs, surface relevant material, and surface any other information a user would be looking for on the website.
But there is another method that this algorithm functions.
Similar to how Google helps visitors find your website, the LinkedIn algorithm likewise aids in other users finding you.
In other words, LinkedIn may be a terrific tool for increasing awareness for your company or personal brand, regardless of whether your aim is networking, lead generation, audience growth, or something else.
Little Tech Knowledge:
LinkedIn Engineering heavily relies on machine learning technology to improve our products. For instance, they rank search results, adverts, and updates in the news feed, and recommend users by pointing them in the direction of people, jobs, articles, and educational opportunities. A knowledge graph, which gives input signals to machine learning models and data insight pipelines to power LinkedIn products, is a crucial part of this technology stack.
The knowledge graph on LinkedIn is a sizable knowledge base constructed from “entities” on the site including members, jobs, titles, skills, businesses, places in the world, schools, etc. In order to improve its recommender systems, search, monetization, and consumer products, as well as business and consumer analytics, LinkedIn makes use of these entities and the relationships between them, which together make up the ontology of the professional world.
The process of creating the LinkedIn knowledge graph includes graph representation, edge (entity relationship) inference, and node (entity) taxonomy building. Additional insights are provided by aggregates on top of the graph, some of which can be used to further the graph’s completion. The sharing of our experiences doesn’t finish with this post; there is still a lot we want to cover, including knowledge graph applications and insights, cutting-edge machine learning methods for object classification and representation, and back end infrastructure.
Source: https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2016/10/building-the-linkedin-knowledge-graph
Let’s chit-chat about the making your LinkedIn Profile :)
Content Relevance
The algorithm used by LinkedIn determines how pertinent a user’s content is to your interests.
It “reads” the hashtag, post, page, and profile kinds that you have interacted with most frequently. Please don’t flood your post with hashtags now.
Again, based on your prior online activity, LinkedIn may even provide you with stuff that is not related to your immediate Connections. Try to use the search bar if you want to find something.
You can find pertinent subjects, job openings, persons, and more in this way.
Engagement
Engagement is a crucial indication for identifying what a user likes and wants to see on a platform, as it is with many others. The likelihood that you will interact with further content is calculated by the LinkedIn algorithm using your likes, shares, comments, Connection requests, and other engagement indicators. In addition, LinkedIn takes into account the content’s “virality” and timeliness when deciding what to include in other users’ news feeds. In the event that a post “takes off,” LinkedIn is even more likely to distribute it to a larger network.
Prioritizing relevant content according to the audience
The LinkedIn algorithm prefers relevance over recentness heavily.
Its objective is to present readers with information that they are interested in, even before more current updates.
This enables LinkedIn to show users the articles, videos, job ads, and other content that most closely matches their search criteria or that they are most likely to find interesting.
Promoting user engagement and interest
This brings us to the algorithm’s second objective, which is to promote user involvement.
Users are encouraged to use the network longer, share material more widely, and even spend money on LinkedIn advertising by being presented with pertinent content.
At one of my posts, where we invited Miss Shraddha from the Apna college team I got almost 40k post views despite the fact I was having connections around 2k, you see people connected to our posts also matter. how her popularity and audience made me most popular.
The degree of some LinkedIn posts’ virality never ceases to astound me.
Despite the fact that you only have a few connections, your posts could potentially reach a much larger audience and receive thousands of views, likes, and comments.
Connections and followers
When deciding who or what is most relevant to your interests, LinkedIn takes into account the several “degrees” (first, second, third, and fourth+) of Connections.
Simply put, on LinkedIn, your network is extremely important.
More connections on LinkedIn equals more possibilities to digitally rub shoulders with other professionals. Now beware, don’t send connection requests blindly to anyone to grow your network. Try to limit your request count up to 10–20 per day otherwise, LinkedIn may block you for a certain period of time as it may find your account spam.
This allows users who are not in your first-degree Connections to see your material and vice versa.
The LinkedIn algorithm also takes into account the LinkedIn users you have interacted with through comments, likes, shares, and responses.
Due to the content (and users) you have previously interacted with, LinkedIn is likely to present you with stuff from outside of your immediate network.
Let’s make your LinkedIn Profile the best.
Profile Picture
It is one of the first things people look at your profile, and it’s the time when people try to connect with you mentally. It is highly recommended to keep your profile photo formal and clean in terms of quality, and the face must be visible properly. Don’t put your random selfies:)
Headline more than your job title
There is no requirement that the job title appears as the only description at the top of your profile page. Use the headline field to elaborate on your perspective on your job, the motivations behind your actions, and what makes you tick. Try to keep it crisp and clear. Take a look at the headlines on their profile pages if you have sales representatives at your organization that is adept at social selling. They almost definitely won’t just list their job titles.
Your network is everything
Connecting your LinkedIn profile to your email address book is one of the fastest and most relevant ways to expand your network on the social media platform. This makes it possible for LinkedIn to recommend connections for you. Amazingly, this can surface appropriate contacts for you to get in touch with, and since no connection requests are sent without your consent, you have complete control over all prospective connections. Additionally, make it a habit to send LinkedIn connection requests after meetings and talks; this will maintain your network active and current.
LinkedIn Learning and Skill assessment
An online test called a skills assessment gives you the chance to show off your proficiency level and display the Verified Skills badge on your profile. Data indicates that applicants with confirmed capabilities are about 30% more likely to get hired for the positions they apply for; additionally, providing evidence of your expertise improves your personal brand more broadly. You are under no obligation to share the results of your skills assessments, and you are free to retake them as many times as necessary before declaring success. LinkedIn will also prefer you some skills tests based on the skills that you have added in the LinkedIn skills section.
You’ll have the option to add a course certificate to your LinkedIn profile once you’ve finished a course on LinkedIn Learning. You can send updates about your learning to your network from the Learning History section of your LinkedIn Learning account, where you can also complete this action.
Post content and its creation
Your expertise and thought-leadership credentials on LinkedIn increase the more you share and comment on the information. The logical next step is to publish long-form posts. Watching how people react to your comments and shares is a wonderful place to start. Do some topics and opinions seem to be particularly popular among your network? Do you think you could elaborate on any of the comments you made in a post? This maintains your thought leadership authentic and keeps you informed about the topics your contacts are discussing. Be prepared for new dialogues to begin as a result of your lengthy posts. Observe the comments and be prepared to reply.
Do Cold Emailing works here?
Earlier in my post of getting an internship at DRDO, I have mentioned that it was the result of efficient and determined cold-emailing.
Creating a professional network connecting employers, employees, and businesses is often the main goal of LinkedIn.
To access new chances, it is seen to be crucial to stay in touch with people in your network.
Well, cold calling can undoubtedly be beneficial.
However, it’s possible that you are unfamiliar with the idea of cold emailing someone on LinkedIn, let alone know how to do it.
Even though cold messaging can be challenging and isn’t guaranteed to work, there are still many benefits to doing it.
The following are some advantages of cold messaging on LinkedIn:
Scalability and Networking
With just one click, you may send cold messages to thousands of people, greatly enhancing the scalability of your concept or sales presentation.
Not only that, but it may also assist you in creating a powerful and effective network if you focus on the right demographic.
A cold message reaches the right place
Executives and top employers check their messages, inboxes, emails, and other communications frequently throughout the day.
The right audience will be interested in opening and reading your cold message if you send them a proper cold message.
Informative and Attractive
The fact that cold messages are informational and draw readers is one of their advantages.
Visual representations of your product must be attached in order to draw readers.
It enables them to fully understand what we are attempting to offer or request from them.
Additionally, it raises the likelihood of a successful relationship.
Making a unique graphic for your email is quite helpful.
LinkedIn == Resume?
Nothing on your CV that isn’t already in your LinkedIn page should be there.
In reality, the LinkedIn profile offers much more flexibility and variety for narrating your professional journey.
Although custom dictates that the resume should still be the primary career document, I can assure you that every hiring manager will be looking at your LinkedIn in the moments leading up to the interview.
Maximize your use of it.
Although there is room in each LinkedIn work experience area to be more detailed than your resume, I don’t recommend doing so.
When reading your profile, the hiring manager or recruiter will want to quickly review each position, therefore focus on the main achievements and core competencies you used in each position.
Again, bullet points are a helpful stylistic tool. However, you should alternate them with a line or two of free-flowing text so you can explain your value in your own words.
Of course, the majority of the information on your LinkedIn profile should be pertinent to the positions you are applying for.
Believe me, you cannot share your resume or fax it to every recruiter, or any job giver. The only source people can judge you is either you apply at their job portal and upload your original resume or they may look for you on LinkedIn. As, your one-page resume is limited to very concise and crisp information but if you have followed all the above-mentioned points, LinkedIn tells the journey of you and your growth.
Describe your roles and accomplishments in as much detail as you can. Outline your successes using action words, and then add a few soft skills to show how you made things happen. Allow the hiring manager to picture working with you.
The last option is to include media that is pertinent to each job role. Avoid overdoing it and only include links that actually help your application.
Key takeaways:
Making ensuring your LinkedIn profile is up to date is important because it is a crucial tool for job hunters.
Make care to customize elements like your header image and URL. Making your title as compelling as you can is also a good idea.
Don’t forget to put keywords in your profile, which will make it easier for employers to find you.
Use it wisely since a LinkedIn profile can help you build your personal brand and tell your professional story better than an online resume.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it and please share your feedback with me.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aadijain7102/
