Are You Using LinkedIn Efficiently?

Finding work can be entirely dependent on you and who you know.

That’s why using websites like LinkedIn give you great chance to not only meet people in your industry, but also find people that could lead you to more work.

Are you doing everything you need to be doing to make use of your time on LinkedIn? Are are you working in the wrong direction and missing out on what the site can offer?

Connect With Relevant People

If you are just connected with friends, family, or other people that are not related to your industry, then you are not going to get much use out of the website.

One of the biggest advantages is that you can specifically find people in your industry and reach out to them.

In this way you can network, get to know each other, and even help each other out.

For a home inspector, you don’t want to just be connecting with other home inspectors, though it can’t hurt.

You always want to connect with real estate agents and agencies. These are the people that can eventually lead you to more work.

These are the people that you want to try to develop a relationship with. A great way to make things more personal is by sending over a short message once you’ve connected with someone.

You can introduce yourself, express your desire to talk more, and wait for the reply.

Join Groups

If you are only using LinkedIn as a place to store your resume, then you are using it the wrong way. The website is all about connecting with people in your industry.

A great way to do this, and therefore meet more people in the inspection industry, is by joining groups.

Groups are separated by categories, and you can simply join groups that you think could be beneficial.

When looking at groups to join, first make sure they are relevant to your field of work.

Then, look at the amount of members in the group. The more members means that there will be more content, and things won’t become stagnant.

And more members also means more people that you can potentially network with and benefit from.

Join local groups for realtors, home inspectors, etc.

Either learn new tricks of the trade, or grow a relationship with the people in your area that can create new opportunities for work.

Search Engine Optimization

You can’t be constantly seeking out others on LinkedIn.

You also want people to come and see your profile, attempt to connect with you, and read through your resume.

And great way to do this is by working on your search engine optimization. Work in the key terms to your profile that you want to be known for.

These words could be home inspection, real estate, inspections, etc.

When people search for these words, whether on LinkedIn or through a related search on Google, it is possible for your profile to pop up.

You don’t want to jam all of these keywords into one paragraph at the beginning of your profile, or list them in a string at the bottom.

This will just make your page unprofessional, even if people do get to it.

You want to spread the keywords out throughout your profile naturally, such as in your headline and in your summary.

You can also make sure these words stand out in the resume portion of your profile.

Show Work Samples

This may be hard to do in the industry of home inspections, but you want to come up with ways to prove to others you are trustworthy.

A great way to do this is by personalizing your page with work samples. If you have any types of videos, images, or presentations, you can easily add them to your profile.

If you have a big project or difficult project that you are proud of, this is the chance to show it off.

LinkedIn is very easy to use when it comes to integrating these features, and all the tools are right at the tips of your fingers.

If you don’t have actual samples that you can provide, think outside the box.

What is another way that you can make yourself seem more trustworthy and reliable. How can you convey that you are in expert in your field?

One way to do this is to ask others that you know, or who have used your services, to endorse you on LinkedIn.

This is where another use can back you up that you are good at home inspections, that you are great at networking, or that your interview skills are up to par.

Don’t be afraid to get creative.

Use Jobs Postings

One of the great features that LinkedIn has, no matter what industry you are in, is that is has a listing of job postings.

You can use the advanced search feature to search for jobs by keyword, title, industry, location, company, function, and so much more.

It is one of the easiest ways to find a job that is a good fit for you.

You can even make sure that the jobs are tailored to your experience level, so you aren’t seeing jobs that require less or more experience.

Since you already have – or should have – your information and work history located on your profile page, you can easily convert that section into a resume, which you can then send to employers. No more messing around with creating and formatting your own resume.

It is all done automatically through the website.

Employers can even go on and check out your profile–which is why it’s a great idea to have samples of your work available for people to see.

You never know who might offer you work based on your LinkedIn profile setup.

Overall, LinkedIn can help you achieve you career dreams in home inspection, all the while never leaving the house.

Efficiently use the site to meet new people, get more work, and move ahead in your career.

Don’t bother with the features that won’t get you what you want–use LinkedIn more efficiently and effectively.