LinkedIn is a social media website for career professionals. Not only is it a site for finding work, but it also is a place to connect with other professionals for conversations and career growth. It is free to sign up and use, but also gives you the option of buying a Premium membership. Often the standard free membership works well for most people.

Getting Started

1. It is important to read about the LinkedIn account privacy and settings. If you are concerned about privacy, read about how your data online is protected. More extensive information is also provided in the LinkedIn Safety Center.

2. Read about the LinkedIn Professional Community Guidelines.

3. If you are concerned about your employer seeing you use LinkedIn, you shouldn’t be. Although you can find jobs on LinkedIn, it is also a social network for professional development.

4. The LinkedIn blog gives you fantastic information for using the social networking service.

5. The LinkedIn Help Center is here to help you find answers to generic questions you have.

Setting Up Your Profile

Employers will not consider you unless you have a complete profile setup. Create a profile and resume that stands out to job recruiters.

On your profile page, LinkedIn will give you step-by-step instructions on how to set up your profile. To create an excellent profile, do the following:

1. Create a sufficient summary of your expertise and skills.

2. Add Skills and Expertise to your profile. Ask those you have worked with and who know your professional abilities to endorse your skills.

3. Get at least three professional recommendations from professionals you have worked with who can give a clear account of your skills.

4. Add your experience with good sufficient explanations of your expertise. Some employers have confidentiality agreements, so only list what you are able to list.

5. Upload work samples to your LinkedIn profile portfolio. You add this to your summary or to your experience and expertise.

6. Word your profile header with dcition that address your professional title, but that also stands out.

7. Add certifications, education, professional organizations you belong to, publications, volunteer experiences, and additional information to customize your profile.

If you have questions about setting up your profile or anything else related to using LinkedIn, you can start a forum discussion and receive feedback from members and the public.

With LinkedIn you have the choice to make part of your profile public searchable with an Internet search engine. Determine which information you want viewed on your “public profile” and which information you only want to be viewed by those people whom you connect with. Your public profile has a URL. You can customize your profile URL to whatever you’d like as long as it is still available.

Further Profile Resources

After you have set up a complete profile you can use these resources to help you with your profile.

1. Check this out for information about editing and customizing your profile.

2. Check out whether your profile is strong. If it is not, then learn how to improve to make it stronger.

3. Learn which LinkedIn members can see your profile, how and when.

4. Look and see who has viewed your profile.

5. Promote your LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn has many resources available to help get you started. You can also take advantage of the “LinkedIn Learning Webinars” to learn about setting up your profile and the basics of how to use LinkedIn effectively for you needs.

Take advantage of the many resources LinkedIn provides to get you started with a strong online professional profile.