How to build your network on LinkedIn
There’s inherent pressure with any social media to “prove” your worth by having lots of connections. Try to resist that pressure on LinkedIn. In the beginning, be selective about adding people as a connection.
Here’s a slow and steady approach to building your new network.
- Start with people you know professionally. Include bosses, professors, and co-workers that you respect.
- Be judicious with people you know socially. Not everyone in your social group is going to align with your career goals.
- Hold off on reaching out to people you don’t know yet. Start off as an observer on the platform.
Once you have your profile and a general idea of how the platform works, you’re ready to grow your network beyond people you already know. The kind of network you build on LinkedIn should align significantly with your career goals.
When you start connecting on the platform, look for people:
- In your industry
- With similar roles but in other industries
- Whose content you’ve enjoyed
- Who are where you want to be in 5 or 10 years
- Connected with people you know and admire
Play around with the platform, look at people’s profiles, and see what resonates with you. Like any social media platform, there are scammers. If someone says they have an opportunity that seems too good to be true, it probably is.
When connecting with people you don’t know, our best piece of advice is to send a personal message with your connection request. Something simple and friendly like this is very effective:
“Hi, (First Name)! I saw your post today and really liked what you said about (X). We work in the same field, so I thought I’d reach out and see if you’d like to connect.” You’d be amazed how often this leads to a phone or Zoom call.
What kinds of content should you post on LinkedIn?
People early in their careers often feel intimidated by LinkedIn. There are very accomplished people on the platform—C-Suite executives, founders, and industry leaders—so you might wonder, “Who am I to speak up here?”
Let us reassure you, if you’re a person who works, or wants to work in the future, you belong on LinkedIn. We all have something unique to share with the community—our ideas, our perspectives, our life experiences. That’s enough, even if you’re just starting out.
The content you share is one of the main ways that people who don’t know you can get to know you. You can find hundreds of prompts to help you come up with content ideas for posting on LinkedIn. To get the most out of the platform, be strategic in how you use it. In other words, have a game plan for how you want to present yourself.
What do you want people to know about you? Take some time thinking about that. Make a list of 7-10 things you want your LinkedIn persona to represent. Then narrow it down to 2 or 3.
Say you’re starting out in sales and you have a talent for organizing presentations. Your posts can center around sales in general, sales in your particular field, and the successes and challenges of preparing presentations for a professional audience.
In another example, maybe you work at a non-profit that creates community gardens in urban settings. Share content about working in the non-profit sector, gardening, and building strong communities. Then you become known as the non-profit, community-building person who knows about gardening.
Final thoughts
LinkedIn is an amazing place to meet interesting people professionally. Opportunities abound on the platform, so if you haven’t joined yet, get to it. You’ll be glad you did.
