Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn

Like any social media, LinkedIn is about the sharing of self, only on a professional level. The passion you have for your chosen career, your level of engagement with people within the industry, and your awareness of current happenings should all shine through.  

This is where you champion colleagues, yourself, and procurement, provide thought leadership and highlight your experience. Polishing your profile, nailing the techy stuff, adding to your connections, and getting your voice out there will market your skills, your expertise, and maybe even help bring you that next great opportunity. 

Let’s cover the absolute basics (which we wouldn’t have to if everyone were getting it right), and then we’ll get on to the good stuff.

Profile Tips

Profile Photo

Check out what industry leaders are doing and follow suit. In procurement, I suggest you keep it professional but friendly. 

Background Image

Changing the background image on your profile will help you stand out. Again, keep it professional. LinkedIn suggests an image size of 1584 x 396 pixels, and it must be a GIF, JPG, or PNG file less than 8MB.

Headline  

Your headline is your elevator pitch and should highlight your specialties and include your value proposition, or your differentiators. Set yourself apart from the next profile, but make it short, sweet, and punchy.

Summary/ Work Experience

Much like we laid out in “The Do’s and Don’ts of a Compelling Procurement Resume,” this is where you pull out your big guns and spotlight your best accomplishments and most impressive results. What did you do, how well did you do it, and what was the impact? Be as quantitative as you can. 

Groups

Think of LinkedIn Groups as the breakout sessions at your latest networking event. They are specialist forums for individuals interested in the same topic, where everyone convenes to discuss hot topics. Join relevant groups (we suggest the right mix of big and small groups), bring a smile, meet some new people, share, and learn. 

Status Updates

The more active you are, the better. We suggest posting a minimum of once or twice a week. Share articles that piqued your interest and add a comment, or better yet, a question. And don’t forget to leverage those @mentions to grab some attention.

Publish

Fancy yourself a writer? Go the extra mile and share your perspectives, knowledge, and writing skills by publishing your own articles. Keep them reasonably short; we suggest no more than 600 words, and make sure they are relevant/informative as well as engaging. 

Extras

Go the extra mile and share presentations or videos you feel are especially valuable, and highlight your technical knowledge or area of expertise. You can also keep an up-to-date resume in your documents.

SEO your profile

If you aren’t familiar with SEO (search engine optimization), it’s the science behind how Google, or other search engines, find you, and thereby show you in results when people search. Adding keywords in your headline, summary, and work experience will help people find you, so be very specific in your intent and ensure to use the right keywords. 

I also suggest updating your status to “open to opportunities” and changing your privacy settings so that recruiters know that you’re on a job hunt. Don’t worry, your colleagues and manager won’t be able to see this.

Endorsements

References are less likely to be requested during the interview process these days, but adding some to your Linked profile is unquestionably still a good idea. A good endorsement from the right person also goes a long way, so take advantage of LinkedIn’s Endorsements feature and ask for them from your connections.. While you’re at it, you may want to OFFER your endorsement and a reference or two as well.

Customize your public profile URL

It may seem like a small thing, but for the mere moments that it takes, customizing your profile URL makes it easier for people to identify you. And it just looks better. 

Once you’ve set up your profile, getting the most out of LinkedIn is just about incorporating it into your daily routine. Check for updates and news from those you follow, like, comment, and share. Check-in on your groups. Grow your connections, engage, and be engaging. When you love what you do (and if you’re in procurement you should), your actions should be authentic, if perhaps not yet habitual. 

And of course, share your updates on Twitter too. This is a great, easy way to drive traffic and increase your reach.