Why you need to be eloquent on LinkedIn

Have you planted your professional flag on LinkedIn – the social media platform for business-oriented people? If you have, when was the last time you updated it? The answer is easy. If you Google your name, your LinkedIn profile should show up. If you have no presence on LinkedIn, your profile will not show up on Google.

If you have not updated it in a long time or keep a skeletal profile, your name may be listed further down on your Google search. Your other social media profiles where you are more active may shore up to the top of your search list. 

LinkedIn is not just another social media platform. Do not equate it to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram because its user-base is different. It is meant for businesses-oriented people.

Millions of professionals converge there regularly, each spending about 20 minutes reviewing information and peoples' profiles. Although the US has the most LinkedIn users at more than 170 million, over three-quarters of LinkedIn users are from outside of the US.

As of 2019, there were 2.2 million active LinkedIn users in Kenya. LinkedIn also presents you with the opportunity to tee off a conversation with like-minded people and share professional experiences or give advice. It is more temperate and devoid of distractions that characterise other social media sites.

Marketers advise that we place the best wares in the window to catch the attention of shoppers. Likewise, LinkedIn is a large marketplace. Place your best wares — skills, experiences, and awards — strategically and thoughtfully. It is often the first port of call for many recruiters scouring the internet for top-shelf talent.

Job openings

Many local and international companies post their job openings on LinkedIn, from where you can evaluate, apply or keep track of them.

Tim Sanders, a bestselling author, said, "Your network is your net worth." LinkedIn also offers plenty of opportunities for those on-the-job market to form connections. Peers on LinkedIn can endorse each other's skills and write up recommendations. People searching for networking contacts or candidates for jobs often consider these recommendations.

To catch the eye of a recruiter or increase the odds of being picked by an algorithm set to capture and corral candidates for a job, make your profile stand out. It is your professional real-estate: Review it regularly and remove any kinks that would blur your presence.

By regularly updating your LinkedIn profile, you provide the latest information about new skills you have acquired, blogs, articles, and other professional content you authored recently. You can also use LinkedIn to share content that you deem beneficial to people in your professional orbit.

The importance of your LinkedIn profile to your professional posture cannot be overstated. You should prune it, mulch it, and water it regularly just as you would your garden, with your best plants.

Wambugu is an informatician. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Samwambugu2