You’ve heard of LinkedIn, right?
It’s the world’s largest and most popular online professional network, and it’s undoubtedly the place to be if you’re looking for new and exciting job opportunities in your industry.
From fashion designers to construction workers, it pays to be on LinkedIn. But it’s not enough just to create a profile and leave it to stagnate.
It’s absolutely crucial to regularly update your LinkedIn so potential employers can find you and connect.
But we know that updating your LinkedIn isn’t the easiest thing in the world! And that’s why we’ve put together this helpful guide so that you can make the most out of this exceptional global professional network.
What is LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. You can connect with people and grow your network, find jobs, and look for new and exciting opportunities in your industry.
You can also share your portfolio, update your status, and even publish articles that your professional connections may find interesting.
Ultimately, LinkedIn should be your go-to platform if you’re serious about your professional development.
Why Should You Be on LinkedIn?
There are so many reasons why you should be on LinkedIn. Here are some of the most compelling:
- To help you find a job
- To look for new and exciting opportunities in your sector
- To expand your professional network
- To appear relevant in your industry
- To separate your personal and professional life
Although LinkedIn’s primary purpose is to enable you to connect with other professionals, it does so much more than that. But to really make the most of the platform, you need to dedicate time to update your LinkedIn profile regularly.
But why is that the case? What are some of the benefits of keeping your LinkedIn profile current and active?
We present eight such reasons below to help you realize the importance of the world’s largest and most influential professional network.
8 Reasons to Regularly Update Your LinkedIn Profile
1 – To be Taken Seriously in the Professional World
Globally, more than 225 million people have a LinkedIn profile. The network is so popular that many professionals and companies merely assume that everyone they connect to and work with should have a LinkedIn profile.
If you’re applying for a new job or looking for an exciting opportunity within your field, you will almost certainly be asked to share your LinkedIn profile. It gives potential employers the perfect opportunity to suss you out and decide if you’re a good fit for their company.
While it may not be a dealbreaker in every instance, not having a LinkedIn profile could cause you to lose out on potential opportunities that you might otherwise have been well suited to.
2 – To Expand Your Professional Network
Did you know that 80% of professionals believe that career success can be elevated through professional networking? And this is certainly not a baseless assumption. Connecting with new people will increase your opportunities and boost your future job prospects.
When you update your LinkedIn profile, you’re showing your fellow professionals that you’re ready and willing to engage with them. A profile that has been lying dormant for years doesn’t look particularly inviting to prospective connections.
Ensuring your roles, experiences, and skills are current is an important place to begin, but you should also consider adding regular updates to your timeline. Occasional posts about industry-specific topics will encourage people to connect with you, which will, in turn, increase your professional network.
3 – To Appear on Google
If somebody Googles your name, the first thing that is likely to appear in your LinkedIn profile. This is a seriously attractive proposition when it comes to discovering new professional opportunities!
But if you neglect to update your LinkedIn profile, the information that people see will be out of date and inaccurate. Although this isn’t necessarily the end of the world, it does work against you when you’re keen to find new and exciting roles within your industry.
After all, if your LinkedIn profile states that you’re currently working in a junior role that you obtained five years ago, you’re unlikely to attract potential employers looking to fill more relevant, senior vacancies in their company.
4 – To Give and Receive Recommendations
One of LinkedIn’s best features is the ability to give and receive recommendations. LinkedIn recommendations are akin to reviews, but some potential employers treat them as references.
Regularly updating your LinkedIn profile and reaching out to co-workers to swap recommendations will help you in the following ways:
A recommendation backs up what you say about yourself in your LinkedIn profile and builds trust with potential employers.
Giving a recommendation is an excellent way of being generous with feedback and complimenting the skills of your colleagues.
The exchange of recommendations will strengthen your relationship with your connections and improve the likelihood of future collaborations.
When you act to update your LinkedIn and enhance your profile with a few verifiable recommendations, you will appear as a much more attractive hire to potential employers.
Although slightly different from recommendations, one of our most popular services on GrowMyProfile is the option to buy endorsements on LinkedIn to boost trust with your clients. You can find out more about it here.
5 – To Tell Prospective Employers What You’re Looking for
LinkedIn provides you with an invaluable opportunity – you can essentially search for new job opportunities without actually looking for a job. What do we mean by this?
Well, by carefully crafting your headline and selecting your availability, you can enable employers to find you, not the other way around.
Of course, it’s crucial to update your LinkedIn regularly to reflect your current job aspirations, as these are likely to change over time.
But optimizing your LinkedIn profile and being explicit about the current or future opportunities that you’re looking for is an excellent way to get noticed and will stand you in good stead when you’re keen to start a new project.
6 – To Follow Influencers and Stay Current
While many of us flock to social media sites to follow our icons and celebrity role models, LinkedIn is the perfect platform on which to connect with influencers within our industries.
Following people that you aspire to is an excellent way to consistently receive inspiration to achieve your goals, and you can even interact with those you follow by leaving generous comments on their LinkedIn statuses.
To have the best opportunity to engage with influencers, you need to update your LinkedIn profile to reflect your current working situation and rationale. Often, before or after an interaction on the platform, influencers will reach out and connect with other users to build their networks.
If your profile is outdated, influencers are less likely to reach out and connect following an interaction.
7 – To Build a Personal Brand
In an increasingly competitive digital world, it’s never been more important than it is now to build a compelling personal brand. And harnessing the power of LinkedIn is a great way to establish and grow your personal brand.
When you update your LinkedIn, you can include links to your website, portfolio, and various other professional achievements that you’re proud of. The platform is an excellent way to tie all aspects of your professional life together in one place while promoting your skills and services to potential employers.
No matter the industry or role you work in, regularly maintaining and improving your LinkedIn profile will stand you in good stead and open many doors that can lead to further opportunities.
8 – To Highlight Your Skills and Achievements
Although we’ve touched upon this throughout, LinkedIn is the perfect place to document your skills and highlight your professional achievements. You can list the skills that you possess and receive endorsements from your network.
There is also a section to list your publications and awards, which further builds your profile and contributes to your personal brand.
Taking the time to update your LinkedIn profile enables you to effortlessly highlight your skills and achievements to your network and ultimately increases your chances of being noticed by prospective employers.
How GrowMyProfile Can Help You Update Your LinkedIn Profile
At GrowMyProfile, we understand that updating your LinkedIn profile isn’t easy. It also takes considerable time, which many of you probably don’t have! That’s why we offer you the chance to build your LinkedIn profile more quickly with followers and endorsements.
In no time at all, we will help you build an attractive and compelling LinkedIn profile that will attract potential employers and help you find your dream job opportunities.
If you have some questions or would like to chat with one of our friendly team members about our exclusive LinkedIn growth services, get in touch with us today.
