What is Linkedin? Tips to use it Better

What is Linkedin?

That is, Linkedin is the network in which to establish business and work relationships, the one in which to show our best professional face , and not a thousand calorie breakfasts or the Saturday concert. But, in view of how some people use it, it is clear that what Linkedin is is not well understood and the short answer is not enough. So let’s see what Linkedin is and what it is not. So we will really understand how to be successful with it.

Many times, to fully understand what LinkedIn (or anything in general) is, it is first convenient to clearly define what it is not.

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Linkedin is not Info Jobs

So don’t shoot your resume like a gunman at anyone you see.

Although it is not a website to find a job, what is Linkedin is an excellent tool to find it . We have dealt with it several times in this blog, let me recommend reading on this topic:

• Linkedin jobs or how to change jobs without your boss knowing
• How to use your presence on Linkedin to find work (if you want, of course)
• Linkedin Job Search is the Linkedin App useful for job search?

There is an important difference between these two concepts that seem the same. The focus on Linkedin is building relationships and demonstrating value beforehand . Without that, you will not be different or they will want to offer you anything.

Linkedin is not a Network of Bar Friends

So debates with (too much) beer about football, politics or religion are best left behind.

There is no quicker way to ruin a relationship and give a bad professional image than that. For starters, because you show that you don’t know how to handle yourself in professional environments . To continue, because you never know which foot each limps from. Linkedin is NOT the place to talk about these topics.

And please leave those Facebook chain messages or the bad Twitter joke, or you will never get your professional image back.

Linkedin is not about Finding a Partner

Nothing more to say, it is a big NO in any circumstance, if it ever happens to you you can always block that person and report them to Linkedin.

Linkedin is not a Market for your Product

We know that your company is the best and your revolutionary product, that you will be crowned king of Silicon Valley. But that huge network that is Linkedin is not a market where you shout “buy me” from everyone you see, nor is it a mailing list where you can promote without being asked.

Many professionals come up with the wrong mindset that Linkedin is a great market. Linkedin is a relationship game, not a sales game . If you understand this, you can take advantage of the full potential of Linkedin companies .

Understanding Well what Linkedin is and How it Works

Being clear about what it is not, let’s better understand what Linkedin is.

We have already said that it is a professional social network, but to fully understand all the value it can give us, it is essential to understand human relations in its professional aspect .

For starters, the most basic rule of thumb for Linkedin to work for you is to establish genuine relationships with people who share professional concerns and interests .

Above all, it will be relationships with potential clients, partners or employers, but even if that is the case, we should not focus on relationships so that they buy or hire us .

Because it does not work and again we show that we do not understand what Linkedin or business is. I recommend reading the post How Linkedin really works and how to get results

How Linkedin is like a Bar

Let’s take an example to illustrate this.

Let’s imagine that we are reading quietly in a bar. Someone comes up to us and tells us that the book seems interesting, that they have seen us from their table and have not been able to avoid coming to meet us and chat a bit.

After two or three minutes of conversation, in which you begin to think how nice the other person is and that his subtle compliments have made us smile, he suddenly says that he is dedicated to selling something and that if you want to buy it.

What happen?

That we feel cheated and manipulated because that person did not have a genuine interest in us, but in our money .

And as soon as we give it to him, he will go where he came from, to repeat the same thing to the next.

That is not a genuine relationship and it will never connect with what Linkedin is because, even if it is about establishing professional relationships, we cannot forget that they are human relationships.

Although the end product is money, we have to cultivate the personal part.

So establish the genuine relationships that you would if you had nothing to sell .

Cultivate them and let the opportunities grow in that new field, in due time. Sometimes they will come soon, sometimes a little later and sometimes they will arise where you cannot imagine.

Paradoxically, not having an approach based on selling whatever and whoever, but on creating relationships and helping others, will be what gives us more professional opportunities.

So what is [Linkedin]? A place in which to create a wide network of professional relationships based on a real interest and the contribution of value .

Fundamental Tips to take Advantage of Linkedin

In addition to cultivating genuine professional relationships, there are two fundamental tips to show that we understand what [Linkedin] is and that we show the social intelligence to use it well.

Really focus on giving value.   Through the creation of content, participation in debates, providing information and helping to solve problems or doubts of others. Make yourself valuable or you won’t get anything .

Make a perfect [Linkedin] profile . When we establish a relationship, the other will want to hear from us and will visit us. When it does, let our profile shine with its own light.

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