LinkedIn - Top three ways to improve your employability

Professional networking website LinkedIn’s growth has been huge in the last few years both in the UK and worldwide, so we’ve written a guide for you to make sure you are not missing out on networking opportunities in the tax community by building a good size network.

Why improve your presence on LinkedIn

There are a number of reasons you should be active on this resource. It can help you with job opportunities, consultancy ideas, sharing knowledge and creating a bigger profile in your professional community – networking.

If you have yet to register, www.linkedin.com offers you an easy to follow guide to getting your profile online. Our guide will show you what to do after you have registered and created a basic profile.

1. Fully complete your profile

Let’s start with your profile. Firstly, you have to remember LinkedIn is a professional networking site, not the same as Facebook for example, so keep that in mind when completing your profile.

Make sure that your profile is 100% complete; this means that you’ll appear more in searches and have a better chance of linking into relevant people. This includes completing your profile fully, including a photo and getting relevant recommendations. Completing relevant information also makes your profile more attractive to the people you want to network with and link in with you.

2. Build your network

LinkedIn gives you the ability to create a network of professionals through invitation to people you know or would like to know. Linking to an individual gives them access to your network and you to his/her’s. Working on three degrees of separation, your contact’s first level connections become your second level, and his/her second level become your third. The further away a connection, the less information is displayed.

If you want to link to someone, you should send a personalised invitation that addresses them directly with the reason that you would like to link in. This will stand you in good stead of being accepted.

Our advice is to link to professionals that you know or ones in your community that you could share knowledge with. As recruiters, a lot of tax professionals choose to link in to us due to the knowledge we can provide as well as the tax network we can share with them. A well-networked recruiter with a number of recommendations can be a valuable addition to your network, as long as you know them well enough to know they will add value.

3. Join relevant groups

There are plenty of professional groups on LinkedIn where you can share knowledge and contacts. By joining a group, you are generally able to view the details of the other professionals that are members of the group so you can link them in should you wish. Join groups that have a good amount of activity and are specific to your area of knowledge. Be active within groups to increase your profile and make your peers aware of you and your expertise. This will attract others to link in with you.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is a powerful tool to help you network. Completing your profile, concertedly building your network and being active within it are the fundamental steps to improve your presence in the market.

Should you wish to discuss the employment market within tax market or get up to date information on salaries and tax networking events from Pure Taxation, please contact us for a confidential discussion on +44(0)20 7429 4440.