linkedin | Geoffrey Byruch | Career & Professional Development

While I usually post various ‘how-to’ articles on career and professional development, I felt that it was important to highlight the on-goings within the business sector today. Just recently, it has been reported that the global tech-giant Microsoft was able to acquire LinkedIn Corporations, announcing that they have entered a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction at a value of $26.2 billion dollars. While LinkedIn will still retain its distinct brand, culture, and independence, millions of people across a variety of different sectors are asking the $26.2 billion dollar question: What is next with LinkedIn?

To begin, we have to look at the remarkable growth that LinkedIn has accrued since its launch back in May 5, 2003. Starting off as a simple platform for professional networking, this Web 2.0 social media networking service has taken the world by storm with more than 400 million users to date. For many people, especially young professionals, LinkedIn provides hundreds of millions of users with the ability to connect with the world’s professionals and top companies in order to make more productive and successful growth within their soon-to-be established fields. In addition to networking, overall site allows users to create their professional profile and control their top search results for their name. But with social media becoming an ever-evolving monster, we have to consider the other possible changes LinkedIn will make to its platform in the future.

While Microsoft and LinkedIn do come from two different worlds, their goals and visions for the future are same. Like LinkedIn, Microsoft wants to power people and organizations to achieve more. With LinkedIn’s underlying goal of professional networking, Microsoft looks to leverage LinkedIn’s identity with strong and viable features where users can utilize Microsoft products such as Word, Excel, Skype, and Outlook for their daily use. For them, their idea connects to simple and short phrase, “a single source of truth.” With these new features, LinkedIn can continue to provide a stronger podium that provides definitive features for young professional to further connect and brand themselves in the most professional manner.

Another promising feature that was discussed was their overall enhancement for an ‘intelligent news feed.’ With LinkedIn Pulse (launched back in 2013) being an already great source for professional information, an intelligent newsfeed of this caliber can generate better-targeted content for each user so that they can stay up-to-date with any information or news within their specific fields.

Regardless of how you feel, this partnership between the two tech-companies will be a fantastic opportunity in connecting various users with the world’s professionals. In my opinion, LinkedIn working with Microsoft is probably the best option. With the site undergoing various criticisms the past few years, the new objectives and visions for the future seem highly positive. All we can do now is wait and see what LinkedIn will have in store for us this year.

With more than 380 million members, LinkedIn has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms for professionals and career like-minded individuals. The potential it has allows both young professionals and season veterans to network and connect with top-level talent and big business firms all around the world. With that being said, the one question comes to mind when you are using your LinkedIn account: Are you using LinkedIn to its fullest potential?

For many people, the answer is no. It is not because they do not understand how the site works. Instead, they underutilize their profiles that can later be an extremely powerful tool when leveraging that new career for your work trajectory. First and foremost, you need to know the basics.

What is LinkedIn and how is it used?

LinkedIn is simply a Web2.0 social media network that allows daily visitors to professionally brand themselves in the most efficient and effective way. Think of this concept like the other popular social media properties out there such as Facebook or Twitter. The only difference is that LinkedIn is primarily focused on careers and professional development. That type of style and theme enables users to connect, share, and search for informative information that can help bolster their professional image for jobs or career advancement.

While the site itself provides users with a user-friendly platform, LinkedIn does provide other features to help brand your professional image in the best possible way. Below, I have provided five vital tips that you should implement into your LinkedIn profile. This will allow you to gain more traction with your profile and structure your social media presence for visitors and potential employers.

1. Customize your Public Profile URL

To make your LinkedIn profile look more professional, customize your public profile URL domain with your name or key phrase. Usually when you create a LinkedIn profile, the URL will be associated with a combination of numbers and letters at the end of the site’s URL. To change this, go to the settings page and customize your URL to something more simplified. To learn more, please follow the directions here.

2. Create a Bio

The best way to shape your profile is by adding a 500 to 1000-word bio on your educational and professional experience in the summary section of LinkedIn. This is usually the first thing future employer and visitors see when they visit your profile. Make sure to stick with the theme of professionalism. Be informative and highlight various accomplishments in quick short sentences. Try not to dive too deep on any personal information. Leave that for Facebook.

3. Expand on your Work Experience

To help optimize your profile on LinkedIn, try to dive deeper and provide a strong and informative synopsis of your educational background and work experience for each section. Highlight various accomplishments and try and stay quantitative. Think of this section as your resume. The more ‘numbers’ driven your profile is, the strong it will be to read. In addition, try and set a theme for the career trajectory you are trying to portray. For example, if you are going into a field of finance, it does not make any sense to add information about you working at a summer camp five to ten years ago.

4. Show Work Samples

Whether it is an article to showcase your writing or a video or presentation that highlights high profile projects, try and add a variety of media (images, documents, links, and presentations) that visitors and future employers can see. This type of content can enhance those successes you are trying to persuade in your summary and experience descriptions.

5. Create Skills and Get Endorsed

In the early 2012s, LinkedIn launched a feature called ‘endorsements,’ which enables users to endorse their skills through various connections. Start off by expanding on your skills. Use key words that are relatable to your previous jobs and projects. Then try and engage with other LinkedIn accounts so that those specific individuals can return the favor back. To get this started, try reaching out to coworkers and friends. Then build upon your shared networks.