There are 3.96 billion people use social media worldwide, and everyone has a favorite. If you prefer watching short videos, there’s TikTok, if you prefer shopping online maybe you use Facebook Marketplace or Instagram. But are you using social media to advance your professional career?
LinkedIn has been around for a while now- 19 years to be exact. Chances are high that you have an account or you at least know what it is. But are you actively using it for its intended purpose?
Here at NCW, we leverage LinkedIn tools more than many of our other platforms on a daily basis. We thought we could share s
ome of our own tips and tricks for how to use this digital platform to further your career and have some fun along the way.
Tip #1 Have fun with it!
LinkedIn gets a bad rap for being too “corporate,” as it is the most widely used B2B social platform that exists. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make your profile or your posts your own and make them fun.
How would you describe yourself?
Check this out:
You can see here that one of our own, Pete, has more than just his professional title in his description. This is a creative way to show people you are more than your 9-5 job. It gives everyone a sneak peak of your personality! You can try this out for yourself by asking yourself the age old questions, “How would you describe yourself?” and adding some of it to your description.
Banners can make or break your profile!
The default profile banner isn’t necessarily your friend. They make it editable for a reason! Create your own with some personal branding or simple graphic artwork to highlight your skills, show your personality, and make your profile stand out. Here are some of the banners we have used as a company in the past:
But what should I do on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn can be used for so much more than searching for jobs. Yes, this is an awesome feature of LinkedIn but you could also do things like
- Write a story that inspires someone in your network to keep at it even when you fail sometimes
- Experiment with your own personal branding
- Connect with others beyond just hitting the button and adding them to your network
Check out this post from Kayla. She uses casual/conversational language to brand herself as relatable and fun.
All this to say…
Your LinkedIn profile should reflect who you are as a human, not the “robot” that you might think people want to see. Showing your true self on LinkedIn is important. At NCW, we strive to be “More Than a Voice Behind a Call”, so we want to ensure our social media posts give you an inside look into who we really are. It’s one of our core values, and it extends beyond physical phone calls and into everything we do, including what we post on LinkedIn.
“Employers want to know that you are qualified for a position, but they also want to see that you will fit in with the company culture. The only way to assess this is to get a sense of your personality,” said Susan Peppercorn, CEO of Positive Workplace Partners and author of “Ditch Your Inner Critic at Work: Evidence-Based Strategies to Thrive in Your Career.
Having some fun on LinkedIn and showing off more of your personality is a game changer when it comes to your professional success, try it out for yourself! And while you’re on the platform, give us a follow. We share company updates, employee achievements, and blog content every week. We’re constantly updating our profile, so there is always something new to look through. Looking for a place to start? Check out our What We Do and Jobs tabs.
