When LinkedIn first launched in 2003 it was seen as just a place for your resume and there wasn’t a great deal of quality content being posted. Fast forward to 2022 and LinkedIn is one of the most powerful career growth resources available. Unfortunately, many people still view LinkedIn as a tool for just one aspect of career advancement—job search.

LinkedIn is so much more!

LinkedIn has evolved into a platform that allows people to research and discover products or services, connect and network with others, find new jobs and other professional opportunities, build community and thought leadership, and much more.

Through LinkedIn, it is easy to stay on top of industry trends and news. You can follow people and boards to gain the latest information on what is happening in the industry. This information can be also used to expand your knowledge and is a way to learn about other industries.

Another benefit of LinkedIn is its ability to return a result in a Google search. Most of us want to be found online when potential clients or prospects are looking for us by name or by our capabilities. This is where LinkedIn really demonstrates its reach as it has a very high SEO ranking with Google. This can be clearly evidenced when you conduct a Google search of your own name – it is very likely the search will go directly to your LinkedIn profile (as my done below).

However, one of the most common mistakes anyone can make is to create a profile on LinkedIn and then continue to ignore it. It is essential that your profile is regularly updated and complete. If you haven’t touched it for years, then it’s very likely in need of a major overhaul.

What steps will you take to enhance your LinkedIn profile?