{"id":3129,"date":"2015-01-20T11:15:41","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T17:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kbicblog.com\/blog\/construction-recruiter\/?p=3129"},"modified":"2015-01-20T11:15:41","modified_gmt":"2015-01-20T17:15:41","slug":"how-to-grow-your-linkedin-network-to-500-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/how-to-grow-your-linkedin-network-to-500-people\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Grow Your LinkedIn Network to 500+ People"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"networking-300x157\"<\/a>After graduating with my bachelor\u2019s degree in 2011, I applied for numerous entry-level positions in the public relations and communications industry but soon found I was a victim of \u201chard times\u201d created by recent economic setbacks.<\/p>\n

In an effort to get more bang for their buck, many agencies in the Philadelphia area had revised their job descriptions to include qualifiers that created a barrier to employment. More than one agency\u2019s entry-level position listing required\u00a01 to 3\u00a0years of full-time experience in an agency environment\u2014something that\u2019s almost impossible for a recent college graduate.<\/p>\n

To overcome this barrier, I started using LinkedIn<\/a> as my number one professional networking platform in July 2012. I didn\u2019t upgrade my Basic account to Premium or Job Seeker; I simply committed to 15-30 minutes of networking and interaction per day \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>and after five months, I was able to reach \u201cAll Star\u201d profile strength and unlock the 500+ connections marker that\u2019s visible on the profile of power networkers.<\/p>\n

My networking efforts opened the door to recruiters and hiring managers, job opportunities, speaking opportunities and consulting project work with higher education institutions and have produced approximately one new LinkedIn request per day from someone interested in connecting with a power networker.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re\u00a0ready to start using LinkedIn to network and get ahead, here are five tips to help you growyour<\/em> LinkedIn network to 500+ connections in five months:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Actively Network Every Day<\/h2>\n

Once you decide to aim for 500+ connections, you have to commit to actively pursuing this goal or it will never happen.<\/p>\n

Set aside 15-30 minutes a day for networking.<\/strong> In my personal experience, the mornings were the best time for this since it allowed me the opportunity to follow up and respond to comments during the day. You can also use the updated LinkedIn Contacts<\/a> feature to monitor network updates and stay in touch with contacts you may not interact with often.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. LinkedIn Groups Are Your Best Friend<\/h2>\n

You can be a member of up to 50 LinkedIn groups at a time, but you don\u2019t want to simply join groups that focus on your industry \u2014 that will limit your networking opportunities.<\/p>\n

Join at least 10 professional LinkedIn groups<\/strong>, five networking groups, the alumni group<\/a> for your alma mater, groups for your fraternity or sorority, groups for professional associations of which you\u2019re a member (or hope to be) and five groups that will allow you to learn from others.<\/p>\n

While your reasons for joining a group may vary, your activity in each one should not. During your daily logins, you should interact with at least five groups per day. Share original content from your blog or an industry article you found interesting. Read other group members\u2019 posts and give good advice. This will allow you to remain active in discussions and also introduce you to other professionals with similar interests.<\/p>\n

After building such rapport, it won\u2019t be awkward when you send these individuals a request to connect, since they\u2019ll remember you from past discussions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Generic LinkedIn Requests Get You Nowhere<\/h2>\n

You hear it over and over again, but many of us are still guilty of sending that generic connection request<\/a> saying, \u201cI\u2019d like to connect on LinkedIn.\u201d Let me assure you, this is not the way to go.<\/p>\n

When I receive such a request \u2014 where the individual didn\u2019t even take the time to identify if we\u2019re in the same group, we\u2019re alumni or we met at a networking event \u2014 the chances of me clicking \u201cignore\u201d increase by at least 80%.<\/p>\n

Include a short note that either sparks the person\u2019s memory or introduces yourself and your goals.<\/strong> In the past, I\u2019ve used something similar to:<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Mary, I enjoyed our discussion in the X Group and would like to extend you an invitation to connect on LinkedIn and keep the conversation going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary now knows we\u2019re both in this group (which makes this seem less like a cold call) and that we recently had a discussion. Does Mary remember our conversation? Yes. Is she more likely to accept this request over the generic \u201cI\u2019d like to add you\u201d? Yes.<\/p>\n

My recommendation to you? Avoid LinkedIn default templates like your livelihood depends on it. In some cases, it might. (Like this thought? Tweet it!<\/a>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Dominate Searches: Include Keywords in Your Profile<\/h2>\n

This may come as a surprise to some, but your LinkedIn profile isn\u2019t just an online resume. Think of it as your own little SEO factory, where keywords<\/a> in your profile summary, interests section and skill endorsements can lead to an increase in profile views.<\/p>\n

Start by selecting the top 10 skills you want to be endorsed as your \u201careas of expertise.\u201d One PR professional suggested I stop selecting skills that were incredibly narrow and instead use skills that encompass subcategories and tools<\/strong>. This will force your endorsers to relate the tool to your top 10 skills and boost the endorsements you want to appear prominently.<\/p>\n

For example, I\u2019m a public relations consultant. It stands to reason I want to be endorsed for my skills in \u201cPublic Relations,\u201d \u201cSocial Media\u201d and \u201cMedia Relations.\u201d In that respect, industry tools like Facebook, Twitter and press releases would fall into those categories, and an endorsement for my skill using Facebook would conflict with my primary skill that showcases my knowledge of social media in general.<\/p>\n

Your interest section is now hyperlinked for search. This means a recruiter looking for someone to fill an entry-level position can simply search for people who are \u201cinterested in public relations\u201d and quickly produce results. Update your interests section to include your top 10 skills, as well as industry tools and qualifiers commonly found in job descriptions. I guarantee you\u2019ll start showing up more in searches and recruiters will start sending you requests.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Be a Power Networker Who Attracts Other Networkers<\/h2>\n

At this point, you should be power networking for 15 minutes a day. Your growing network will no doubt attract other people\u00a0seeking to grow their networks. At this time, you can choose to be exclusive, to only network with people\u00a0with a certain amount of connections or to be an \u201cOpen Networker\u201d who accepts all invitations.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, your network equates value on LinkedIn, and throwing it around like a party favor implies it isn\u2019t worth much. \u00a0I would suggest you consider the middle option: only network with people\u00a0with a certain number of connections<\/strong>. Your goal is to be a power networker, so set a limit for how many connections a LinkedIn use must have in order for you to connect with them (let\u2019s say 200) and stick to it.<\/p>\n

The more LinkedIn groups you\u2019re a member of and the number of connections you have will have a direct impact on your job search results, so be willing to network with people outside your field of interest. You never know who you may\u00a0inherit as a second-degree connection, so the opportunities are endless!<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0http:\/\/www.careerattraction.com\/how-to-grow-your-linkedin-network-to-500-in-5-months\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After graduating with my bachelor\u2019s degree in 2011, I applied for numerous entry-level positions in the public relations and communications industry but soon found I was a victim of \u201chard times\u201d created by recent economic setbacks. In an effort to get more bang for their buck, many agencies in the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[131,803,453,391],"class_list":["post-3129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","hentry","category-blog","tag-dallas-recruiters","tag-growing-your-brand","tag-linkedin-groups","tag-networking","post_format-post-format-image","column","twocol"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Grow Your LinkedIn Network to 500+ People<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join at least 10 professional LinkedIn groups, five networking groups, the alumni group for your alma mater, groups for your fraternity or sorority,...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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