When I was in college, a Teacher’s Assistant gave my classmates and I an assignment to create a LinkedIn profile. So I did, received my A – yeah, let’s call it an A – and my page stayed dormant for over four years.
Hello, “forgot password” link.
I always wondered why the head of the department said he wished the TA wouldn’t assign that task.
I know now it’s because I was one of many students who just created the page, got the grade, and thought I would never use it again.
Well here I am, writing a blog on tips for people like me who didn’t view LinkedIn as the incredibly useful tool that it is.
LinkedIn is a social media platform designed for professionals to meet other professionals, gain new skills, and learn about or apply for jobs.
However, LinkedIn can be overwhelming to any professional when they first sign up. Additionally, of LinkedIn’s 875 million members, 16.2% log in daily, yet only a small percentage actively post(Social Media Dashboard) (Findstack)
The intimidation factor is real, especially for professionals in buttoned-up industries like banking or higher education.
Here are a few tips to help ease the anxiety while using LinkedIn.
Follow Your Passion, Literally.
For me, I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was growing up (still do, but I assume that ship has sailed). LinkedIn really started being fun for me when I started following paleontologists. It was a simple google search of “paleontologist on LinkedIn”’ led me to follow them, opening up new and interesting connections.
Following users who are passionate about the field that I’m excited about helps keep LinkedIn fresh. It’s awesome signing into my page to see a fossil on my screen and learning about them.
Commit to the Comments.
Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on a post, even if there are already tons of responses. It can be challenging to stand out on posts with many interactions, but the goal is to build confidence. You never know who might see your comment, appreciate it, and connect with you as a result.
Engaging with popular posts helps you feel more comfortable contributing to smaller discussions as well. Interactions drive connections and lead to more engagement. They also put you on the map of recruiters, who love seeing if you play nicely with others.
Use ChatGPT… sparingly.
Don’t make ChatGPT your whole identity. It’s okay to proofread and second-guess your post/comments and head over to ChatGPT to have it clean the message up for you. Chat is a nice tool to help refine your sentences and feel more confident when creating a post or comment.
However, the more comfortable you get posting your own unique content, the better you will be at it and the less second-guessing you will do. Practice makes perfect. Absolutely have ChatGPT in your toolkit, but don’t let it be the only tool in there.
What am I talking about?
Chat wrote this whole blog.
Just kidding..
***
Struggling to build or revamp your LinkedIn profile? We offer LinkedIn services for individuals and corporate teams. Contact us today to get started.