Social Networks have boomed in the last four years. Names like Twitter and facebook which were unheard of what seems like yesterday are now everyday utterances. Networking socially is by no means limited to personal lives on the web; business has picked up on social media in a huge way. Have a look at any large website today and you will find links to their social media sites. We are becoming more and more connected online in both our personal and business lives and here at Mise En Place we have already adopted Twitter, facebook and this blog to communicate with our candidates and clients alike. One social networking tool we had previously overlooked though was LinkedIn.

With over 85 million contacts LinkedIn is a network for professionals and businesses and focuses on linking people with contacts they know and trust within business (connections). Building connections is what we do at Mise En Place so LinkedIn seems perfect for us to not only find high calibre candidates but also connecting with clients So how did we go about setting up out LinkedIn account to maximise its cast network of connections?

Building a carefully crafted profile is the foundation of your Linkedin account. Your profile acts as your face to the Linkedin community so make sure that you pay special attention to your Headline, Summary Statement and Specialities sections, also include a link to your business website and/or personal blogs or portfolio sites. Upload an up to date CV/resume. Use a professional photo which best represents you. Proofread your profile, and make sure you have included all your relevant skills, positions and employment/education history in detail. If a potential employer finds your profile you don’t want a simple typo or grammatical error to lose you an opportunity!

5 ways to kick-start your LinkedIn account

1: Join Groups:

You’ll get more traffic to your profile if the community knows you exist. One of the best ways to maintain a highly visible presence on LinkedIn is to join groups and take part in their discussions. You can join groups in you chosen field and participate in the discussions that are taking place. By frequently adding replies to questions and discussions within the groups you will build connections with people in your same industry and could even be noticed by industry leaders. Here is a great link to a list of groups within the hospitality industry hosted by Gary Mcgill http://www.garymcgill.co.uk/Networking/LinkedIn/index.html.

2: Get Connected

Once you have started interacting with people in your industry or who share similar interests you will find that start building ‘connections’. Connections are to LinkedIn what Friends are to Facebook and Followers are to Twitter. By building a network within your industry’s LinkedIn community you will make yourself seen. You do not need to wait for others to connect with you either, you can send out invitations to connect with people you feel will be of mutual benefit to you. A major advantage of being connected to someone is that you can message them for free instead of having to pay for an upgrade.

3: Take Part in the Q&A.

Another great way to get seen and make connections similar to joining group discussions is taking part in the Linkedin Q&A section. Here you can ask the whole LinkedIn community questions on almost anything, and can place your questions within categories to pinpoint the right people to answer your query. Maybe more importantly is answering questions; this is a great way of drawing attention to your profile. It also is a way of showcasing the skills and knowledge you have outlined in your profile.

4: Recommendations

There is the facility on LinkedIn for your connections to post a small recommendation about you (similar to a reference on a CV). This feature can be used for a previous employer or co-worker to share their thoughts on you. For example. ‘Mr Jobseeker and I worked together on several high end projects during 2007 at ABC Company. I found him to be reliable, quick witted and have a great deal of skill in etc’. There are two ways to get recommendations, you can write one for someone else and it will then ask them if they want to reply or you can just invite people to recommend you. Don’t be shy, you are trying to build a three dimensional picture of you on your Linkedin profile.

5: Be Active

As with facebook and Twitter you can post status updates which let people know what you are up to. Make sure you keep these fresh and even link them to your twitter and facebook accounts to keep your latest information flowing freely. You can also link a blog you may have to a group you have made, every member of that group will then receive the headlines from the latest blog posts.

These are just a few tips to getting yourself started on Linkedin, we are still in the process of building connections ourselves so please feel free to connect with us or if you are looking for a job within the hospitality industry please visit us at Mise En Place Hospitality Recruitment