Everything you need to know to get a job with LinkedIn

Contacts on LinkedIn are reciprocal, i.e. a contact request must also be accepted before a contact is linked. So either contact is established by sending a request, and the person who received it accepts it. Or you will receive a contact request that you choose to accept. No contact will be established if you do not accept a contact request or decide to reject it. There are also other types of connections on LinkedIn. You can, for example, follow someone without being contacts - but it is the contacts that are the backbone of LinkedIn.

A fundamental principle is that you are more visible and see more yourself, the more people you have contact with. For example, if someone writes "dental hygienist" in the search field on LinkedIn, the probability is higher that they will find you, the closer they are to you in the network. So if the person has contact with you (1st-degree connection), you will probably end up at the top. If you do not have contact with each other, but on the other hand, have common acquaintances (2nd-degree connections), you will probably be seen, but a little further down. And for people who know your common contacts (3rd-degree connections), you will be seen even further down. This means that each contact (even if it may seem remote) increases your chances of being seen exponentially, and you increase the effectiveness of your presence on LinkedIn.

Your "network" on LinkedIn consists of your contacts at the first, second and third level, as well as the people in the same groups that you are part of, even if you do not otherwise have contact with each other. Therefore, groups also significantly affect how you are seen on LinkedIn.

Remember that the effect on LinkedIn is a factor of profile strength and outreach. Profile strength x Network Outreach = Effect. If you have a firm profile, you will affect even without reaching out so much. And if you have an assertive outreach, you can have an effect even if your profile is not so strong. It is always best to work with both aspects, but it is often good to focus on one or the other.

There are different strategies for how to handle incoming contact requests. The first is to accept all requests. Of course, it is, in a way, simplest. There are also benefits to using it because you can access more peoples networks. When you are relatively new to LinkedIn, there can be reasons to be quite generous and let most people into your network. The more people you have contacted, the more people in their network you can also see in, for example, searches. At the same time, your profile becomes more complete and credible. As in many other contexts, a person with many contacts can be perceived more positively and credibly.

The second strategy is to have a more limited view where you choose more carefully which contact requests you accept. The advantage here is that it can be easier to build a strong network if the starting point is a few fewer but more relevant people. The people you have contact with also give an image of you and who you are - going too wide can make that image inexplicit. One principle you can apply is to accept requests from people you have met or see a reason to meet. Accept requests from people you know, have met, have contact with; or who you want (or can imagine) getting to know, meet or have contact with.

If you apply the first, broader strategy, you can try to reach up to 200 contacts as soon as possible when you are new to LinkedIn. Then you can move on to the second strategy, start being more restrained and focus on the relevant people.

Use the same principle as above in selecting people you want to look up. That is, look for people you have met or who you would like to meet. Start with the people you work with and have worked with. It is a way to stay in touch or at least make it easier to resume it and easily know what people are doing now. You should also make contact with suppliers to maintain the contact and the relationship you have created.

When it comes to contacts on LinkedIn, the most important thing is to be personal in any context. Here, most of the functions on LinkedIn are deceived and send out impersonal standardized contact requests. You should avoid this.

Contact requests from people you have no idea who they are - without them explaining what they want - are common. The only times when you can send a contact request to someone without adapting it, is if you know the person very well, work closely together or if it is a person you have just met - then it will be a bit like handing over a business card - the introduction is already done. In all other cases, we recommend introducing yourself and talking about why you want to make contact.

The most important means of communication on LinkedIn is InMail. Its simply LinkedIns messaging system. InMail is effective as a means of communication. You have a direct communication channel to people you find on LinkedIn and do not have to look for other contact information. On the one hand, InMail generally has a good response rate. LinkedIn themselves say that the response rate on InMail is 2.6 times higher than on regular emails, which is partly since you can receive reminders when you have not responded.

Open the persons profile and click the send message button to contact someone.

InMail is one of the features where it may be appropriate to consider using the Premium version of LinkedIn. You can always write to a premium member who has chosen to be contacted, and they can always write to you. You can also always write to people you have first-hand contact with. But then it stops if you are not a premium member. You can not send messages to people further away than first-hand contacts, nor can they contact you (unless they are a premium member in turn).

In Sweden, it is often quite easy to find contact information for people by just googling them. Still, if you are looking for contact with someone abroad, it is usually much more difficult outside LinkedIn. You can also keep in mind that recruiters can generally send messages to you, and you will then be able to respond, even if you are not a premium member. Therefore, it may be wise to get the Premium version if you want to take the first step to reach others, but it may not be as worth it if you do not want that opportunity.

Join groups that are relevant to your profession and your industry. Follow discussions that are going on in the different groups and feel free to contribute to them. Dare to show that you have an opinion worth sharing with others. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions and get help if you need it.

However, avoid selling in groups - it generally doesnt work. Sentences such as "Check out our new super product", "now you get a 50% discount", or "Företaget AB in a new deal with Bolaget AB" are ignored and damage your trust rather than benefit the company you are trying to sell to.

Another strong reason to join groups is that the people in the same group as you will see larger parts of your profile, and you will come further up in searches that these people and their contacts do. You thus end up in the same network, even if you do not have any shared contacts. By joining groups, you expand your network, in addition to the opportunity to follow and participate in exciting discussions and take part in interesting information.