There was a time when everyone wanted to be on various social platforms, and LinkedIn was the place where you could dump your resume. I was one of those people, but I decided to be active on LinkedIn due to a comment someone made at a time. I was transitioning slightly from my sector during that period, and I was open about it with my contacts. One of the people I told was intentional about helping me make the switch that I wanted, and one day, she said to me, “Jane, there’s a small challenge; you are not visible.” I asked what she meant, and she said the top-notch organisations I had my eyes on would need to see a credibility track. She suggested I worked on my LinkedIn visibility. 

Many women believe that “your work speaks for you,” so they do not intentionally spread the word. They are doing the work but not sharing them on platforms that give access to more resources and connections to advance. 

“Do the work, spread the word.”

— Jane Egerton-Idehen, 2021. 

There are many advantages of LinkedIn. Outlined below are opportunities LinkedIn gives you and how to harness them.

1. Share Your Story, Use your Voice.

After the discussion, I cleaned up my LinkedIn profile but started actively engaging when I began writing in 2016. I discovered that LinkedIn is more than just a tool to create visibility; it goes beyond that. You can use it as a platform to share your voice, network, recruit, and do so many other things.

Sharing your voice may be awkward and uncomfortable initially, especially if you are not used to being out there. You may even question the need to share your story, and here it is: if people do not hear your voice, hear what you have to say, or understand your why, they cannot connect with you at the level they should. Resumes are static; they talk about your skills, educational background, and work history. As a person, you have a personality, you evolve, and that’s what resumes don’t capture; hence, the significance of LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to showcase how you are investing in yourself, and more importantly, your thought process, and that’s what recruiters and collaborators are looking out for. Your brand is the perception of others about you. People can deduce your core values and message from the content you post and your engagements.

Continue reading: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-visibility-why-how-jane-egerton-idehen/