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On Tuesday 12th May, in the 4th episode of the FRS Recruitment ‘Pause and Prepare’ series, we held a webinar around the subject of ’Showcasing your Professional Brand with LinkedIn’

Dara Bradley, Team Lead for the Life Sciences Division (Pharma, Biopharma and Medical Device recruitment nationwide) and Thomas Kennedy, IT Recruitment Consultant were joined by special guest Mark Valentine, Account Director at LinkedIn to discuss the topic.

The main purpose of the webinar was to show how people can get more out of the platform and create awareness of the many excellent functionalities that LinkedIn has. 

LinkedIn and its purpose

LinkedIn at its heart, is a professional network with a mission to add value to its members by connecting the worlds professionals to make them more productive and successful using this business platform.

Different type of members on LinkedIn

• Those at the start of their career and starting their ascent into the professional world, such as in college or doing an apprenticeship etc. These people will utilise LinkedIn to secure their first job, build their network and showcase themselves to prospective employers.
• Those currently employed but potentially uninspired by what they are doing or who they are working for and would like a change. LinkedIn can help them find their dream job by showcasing opportunities to them that are relevant and introducing them to learning courses to help individuals acquire the right skills to get the job they really want. LinkedIn connects these people to recruiters and companies to gain access into these organisations.
• Those who are currently happy in their current jobs but use LinkedIn for accessing professional information, keeping abreast of what is going on in their network, Industry knowledge and updates.

Top tips when building out your LinkedIn profile

• LinkedIn Photo- Be authentic and professional. Good first Impressions.
• LinkedIn Profile summary- How do you want to market yourself? Who are you, what do you do, what impact have you made within your professional roles
• and what motivates you. Avoid buzzwords and list out your skillset and transferable competencies. Personalise and keep it authentic, give some insight into you as a person, passions and interests. Differentiate yourself, try to make yourself more memorable.
• Experience- List details of Companies, each role title and core responsibilities but also what impact/success did you have and key achievements in each role where applicable and progression.
• Education details- Include all qualifications achieved-Degree/Diploma/Certifications/Trades/Licences/training etc.
• Location, Industry and skills-List all to make it easier for your profile to be found by recruiters/talent acquisition
• Recommendations- Great way of a third party endorsing you. Contact previous Managers/Customers you worked with and ask them to recommend you.
• Get inspiration from other LinkedIn professional profiles within your sector, see how they phrase their profile and experience and tailor it to create your own unique profile.
• Check for any spelling errors – Keep your profile clear and concise

How many connections should people have on LinkedIn?

• There’s no ‘magic number’ but we recommend to connect with someone that you deem valuable and relative in terms of a professional relationship so that you can get back in touch and easily access them in the future and help each other out, your network will then grow organically and quickly.
• Relevant connections can "add value" and increase chances of attractive opportunities coming your way. One connection can make you available to their second / third connections.
• Target your audience with relevant connections. You never know who might see your post, comment/share/referral.
• ‘Connections in common’ more likely to connect and trust you if you have people in common.
• Personalise LinkedIn invite message when connecting.

How can you use LinkedIn to be more productive in your job search?

• Ensure an effective built out LinkedIn profile as mentioned above to make it easy for recruiters/talent acquisition to find you.
• Sign up for job title alerts on LinkedIn.
• Connect with relevant recruiters in your field.
• Look up similar profiles/connections that are doing a similar role as you in a different company, it's a good way of identifying other organisations and opportunities that would suit you and identify potential people that could introduce you to these organisations.
• If you see role advertised on LinkedIn that really appeals to you- reach out to the recruiter directly on LinkedIn, personalising your messaging and expressing your interest in the position.
• Profile Settings "open to opportunities’’ -recruiters usually will review these profiles first.
• Keep an eye on the career/jobs section on relevant company pages and relevant posts that are shared by the company.

How can you use LinkedIn to be more productive in building your professional network and staying abreast of what is going on in your network and sector?

• Download the LinkedIn mobile app. Your newsfeed will update information on what your connections are doing i.e. connection posts a job/changed employer/ Industry update or interesting content.
• Follow hashtags so that it will come up on your newsfeed for what’s trending.
• Follow target organisations to receive updates and educate yourself on these companies.
• Checking notifications to keep abreast of what is happening in your network re updates on connections/companies/ trending editorials and news, events, emerging technology etc.
• "LinkedIn Learning’’ platform- a lot of upskilling courses available across all specialities and areas – some free and some subscriptions.
• Sharing, liking and commenting on interesting articles on what is going on within the industry and engaging with relevant connections.
• Join relevant discussions groups.

How can people build out their professional brand on LinkedIn?

• Have your voice within your network, especially if you have specialist skills. Showcase yourself and the knowledge that you have. Write about what you are passionate about and share your ideas and experiences.
• If you attend an event, share some pictures and outline your key takeaways in a post.
• Reshare information that is specific to your industry. Share qualitative market knowledge back to your own LinkedIn connections and network.
• Share trends, blogs and articles about topics that you have genuine interest in.
• Getting involved in relevant discussions and express your opinion

Rewatch our webinar on Showcasing your Professional Brand with LinkedIn below! 

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