There are 740 million people on LinkedIn all over 200 countries right now waiting for you to network with them. Using LinkedIn effectively will increase your chance of getting hired, significantly! Let’s take a look at how to network effectively using LinkedIn.
Networking is not a one-time thing, it is a continuous process which consists of 3 stages: grow, engage, and retain. Networking on LinkedIn helps you with all 3 parts including growing your network, engaging with your existing connections, and retaining good relationships.
Grow
LinkedIn helps you grow your network and expand into untapped markets & industries. The best way to expand your network on LinkedIn is through doing a LinkedIn search. You can search up people based on their names, title, company they work for, and many more. Apply advanced search to explore people by the degree of connections such as 1st or 2nd connections.
When making a connection on LinkedIn, best practice is to always send a personalized message showing how you have found them and why you would like to connect with them. This will help set you up for successful interaction.
There are plenty of ways to grow your network on LinkedIn such as attending LinkedIn events, joining LinkedIn groups, and exploring the “People you may know” section.
Engage
Once you are already connected with someone on LinkedIn, it’s time to engage with them. Engaging with someone professionally is beyond having each other on LinkedIn. You will need to spend time building connections & relationships. This can be done through scheduling a virtual / in-person meeting to learn more about them, engage with their content on LinkedIn, or exchange of information.
By frequently adding value to your connections, you will start to build trust and become top-of-mind.
Retain
Lastly, the most important piece of networking, retaining the relationship. Most often, you will not benefit from the one interaction right away. People tend to help someone who they trust and like personally. Use LinkedIn to check in on people you have connections with, further the conversations, and build meaningful relationships.
