23 Things You Should Be Doing on LinkedIn in 2023

The start of a new year often brings new personal and professional goals. If your goals for the year include personal growth, networking or exploring new career opportunities, here are 23 things you should be doing on LinkedIn entering 2023.

Start by curating a LinkedIn profile that portrays who you are.

Often, a LinkedIn profile is created when we first join the platform but can be forgotten about throughout the years. A good place to start is to ensure that your profile is up to date and includes as much relevant information as possible.

1. Ensure all relevant jobs and roles are listed on your profile and include a summary under each position title
Check that all relevant experiences are listed on your profile. In the Experience section, LinkedIn provides space under each position to include details of your job. In this section, make sure to include key responsibilities, skills used, accomplishments and projects you have worked on. Often recruiters search for qualified candidates based on key words related to the opportunity, so the more relevant information you include in your profile, the more likely you are to get noticed.

2. Wording of your job title
When including your position’s title make sure to include as much detail as possible. It is recommended to include what is on your job description, but you may want to add a general term as well so that it is clear to those external to your company what your position entails. For instance, some companies add jazzy words such as guru or ninja, that wouldn’t translate well. In this case make sure to also include industry terms. If your role is a mix between two positions add this as well.

3. Include keywords in your profile
Make sure to highlight your specialties and showcase what makes you unique. Not only in your experience section, but there is also a spot on LinkedIn to list your skills. Make sure to take advantage of this by listing your soft skills such as time management, leadership, communication, and hard skills such as Microsoft Office and project management. Think about the skills you have that make you great at what you do and be sure to highlight this!

4. Include education, certifications & skills
LinkedIn also provides a section to list your education, license, certifications and courses. Make sure to add this information. Recruiters often search based on certain education or certifications required for the position so including this will help to ensure your profile comes up in their search. Even if you are currently pursuing a certification, include this as well and list your anticipated graduation.

5. Include a summary
View your summary as your elevator speech and capture who you are. In this section include a few sentences highlighting your skills, experiences, what opportunities you’re interested in, who you are and what value you add.

6. Set your geographic region
Be mindful of your geographic region. Often this is something we set up when first creating an account but sometimes gets forgotten. Recruiters will often search within specific geographic regions, so update your location to ensure you get noticed in your desired region. If you are open to relocation, there is even a setting to add this so recruiters know they can approach you about an opportunity outside of where you currently reside.

7. Add features
Another great way to highlight your skills is by showcasing some of your past work. You can do this by including links, articles and posts with some of your work.

8. Add volunteer experience to your profile
Adding your volunteer experience is a great way to showcase who you are outside of the workplace as well and what you care about. Many socially responsible companies would like to see that you are modeling their values and this can help you stand out.

9. Contact information
Check that the contact information you have listed is accurate. For confidentiality, it is recommended to include your personal email and phone number rather than your work information. LinkedIn will set up a generic email if you don’t set it yourself, double check that all listed information is accurate.

10. Professional profile picture
Your LinkedIn page is often a recruiter’s or hiring manager’s first introduction of who you are. Ensure that your page represents you and include a professional picture of yourself to leave a good first impression.

11. Background image
View your LinkedIn page as your personal website, imaging portrays your personal brand. Include a professional image. LinkedIn has many stock images to choose from or you can also add something that is personal to you such as your company logo, or images specific to your sector.

12. Make sure your LinkedIn profile matches your resume
Once you have all relevant information added to your LinkedIn profile it’s a good idea to cross reference your profile with your resume. A resume that has different dates in a role, different job titles or entire jobs that are missing can be confusing. To make things easier and to avoid being questioned on these differences it is important to ensure that the information matches.

13. Adjust your settings to open to work if you are looking for other work
If you are actively looking for new opportunities, you can express this on LinkedIn. If you are worried about connections at your current employer noticing, there is a way to set it so that only those external from your organization can view this.

Fully utilizing LinkedIn
Ok great, you have just created a stellar profile. Now what?

14. Personalize your LinkedIn URL
Now that you have a great LinkedIn profile you want to make it as easy as possible for recruiters and hiring managers to access it. LinkedIn has an option to personalize your URL. This also looks much better listed on your resume and it makes it easier to get to.

15. Accept all invitations from recruiters
It’s always a good idea to build your network and connect with recruiters. This suggestion applies even if you are not interested in new opportunities at this time.

16. Be active on LinkedIn
Recruiters love to see what their connections are up to and being active helps to make sure you are top of mind when a new opportunity comes up. To start, comment, like and share posts. Once you feel comfortable consider writing your own posts as well. Even if you aren’t looking for a new position, its highly recommended to stay active on LinkedIn to build your network and ensure that you don’t miss out on a great opportunity. Recruiters work fast, so if you don’t notice a message until a week or two later, it may be too late.

17. Build your network
Connect, connect, connect! The more connections you make, the more your profile will appear in Recruiters’ searches and the more opportunities you are likely to come across. A good place to start is connecting with colleagues, alumni from the school you graduated from and those in your industry.

18. Connect with professionals in your field
LinkedIn allows you to connect with individuals in similar roles located around the world. This is a great way to learn more about the sector you work in. You can also follow individuals who hold titles that you want to grow into.

19. Take an opportunity for a phone call if a recruiter reaches out
Never turn down an opportunity to connect with a Recruiter. Even it’s just for a 5-to-10-minute phone call to see if the opportunity is a good fit. Worst case scenario, the position isn’t for you but at least you are able to explain what you are looking for so that they can keep in touch. If declining the opportunity, let them know what you are looking for. This can include industries, job titles, salary, location, etc. so that they can tailor the type of roles to connect with you about in the future.

20. LinkedIn learning
Take advantage of the various free opportunities to continue learning that LinkedIn offers. This is a great way to learn a new skill and also demonstrate your interest in learning. Don’t forget to add this to your profile!

21. Join a group
There are many groups on LinkedIn to join. Joining a group is a great way to connect with professionals in your field, gain different perspectives and learn more about your industry.

22. Referral
See a posting that sounds interesting? Or maybe you are approached by a recruiter for a position that doesn’t align with what you are looking for? Think of those in your network who may be a good fit and pass the information along. Not only are you able to help someone in your network find a good opportunity, but many times employers and recruiters offer a referral bonus as well.

23. Follow us
Follow the team at Logic Executive Search & Workplace Solutions to stay up to date on new opportunities.
www.linkedin.com/company/logic-executive-search-workplace-solutions/

Written By: Alex Smith
Note: This article is written as an opinion piece from the perspective of a Recruitment Specialist