Isn’t LinkedIn another social media account? Not exactly. LinkedIn is a professional version of social media where professionals share industry news, tips and tricks, and network with other professionals to create a collaborative learning space. LinkedIn is free to use. It does have a premium option for businesses who are listing jobs and professionals who want to access other features that are specific to job searching.

1. Post your own content
2. Share others’ content
3. Like and comment on posts
4. Follow industry leaders and industry trends
5. Connect/Link/Network with other professionals to learn from and grow with
6. List who you are professionally, what career you are looking for, and careers and skills you have/had
7. Create business pages for your own businesses/organizations
8. Search for candidates that match a position within your company that you are hiring for
9. List job opportunities within you company OR search for job opportunities
10. Join professional networking groups

If you are the type of person who doesn’t use social media but wants to improve your career development, LinkedIn is a great place to begin this.

When you first begin your LinkedIn account, you will be asked to create your profile.

Your profile may list the following:

• About section
• Experience section
• Project examples
• Education section
• Licenses & Certifications
• Volunteer Experiences
• Skills & Endorsements
• Recommendations from others who know you and are willing to write a public recommendation about you.
• Accomplishments
• Interests

This may seem like a lot, but the way we explain a LinkedIn profile is by saying that it is your resume on a digital platform. When you update your resume, update your LinkedIn profile as well. Copy and paste. Your profile is a chance to showcase your talents and skills to other professionals. Your profile is accessible to those who you link with and those who are part of the LinkedIn community. “Linked with” means you become part of their professional network and are able to send them messages and see the content they post.

Creating your profile, linking with other professionals, and following industry trends are large parts of how you can use LinkedIn to advance your career dreams. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone who is an industry leader if you have questions about a certain topic. Send them a message, introduce yourself, and explain that you are trying to learn more and would love to gain professional advice from them. Most of the time, people are flattered that you want to learn from them, and occasionally, you may not receive a response. But it never hurts to try.