How to build a LinkedIn network that works

As the world’s largest professional social networking site, LinkedIn allows you to promote yourself to future employers on an international scale. It gives you immediate 24/7 access to millions of job opportunities and allows you to follow companies of interest.

It’s easily one of the quickest ways to get yourself noticed – and costs nothing more than the time you choose to invest. Below, we explore how and why you should your LinkedIn network. 

Why is having a LinkedIn profile important? 

Founded in 2003, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with 830 million members and over 58 million registered companies. Available in 24 languages with members spanning 200 different nations and territories, its reach is truly global. This makes it ideal for people interested in international careers.  

Around 50 million people search for jobs on the platform every week and 87% of recruiters regularly use the site too, so if you don’t already have a profile, you could be missing out on valuable career opportunities.  

As a professional social networking website, LinkedIn is all about building connections – whether these are colleagues, current and past employers, potential employers, business partners, business-to-business (B2B) prospects or potential investors. As the popular adage goes, “it's who you know, not what you know” and the right connections can make all the difference. 

Interested in a career in an intergovernmental organisation? Read our guide to the opportunities available:

How can I improve my LinkedIn profile? 

Think of your LinkedIn profile page as a shop window for ‘you’ – showcasing your personal brand and your professional potential. Start with a recent profile picture that portrays you as you’d like to be seen at work, ideally in suitable office attire, and use your LinkedIn summary to give a synopsis of who you are. This should include key skills and experience you possess, so that anyone viewing your profile can quickly digest your capabilities. 

Under any prior or current work and/or education listings, you should also provide a more detailed summary of your skills and achievements, as well as the services you offer, reinforcing this with details of corresponding experience, so you can quickly grab the attention of employers and recruiters.  

Another good way to enhance your profile is from suitable recommendations and skills endorsements, which demonstrate what and how much others value you. Remember that LinkedIn is always adding new features to its profile content, so make sure you regularly check and update your profile. 

How do I start adding appropriate connections? 

If you are just starting out on LinkedIn, the safest connections you can add are those you already know or have an obvious and valid reason to connect to.

Examples include: professionals you already know (in either a personal, educational or professional capacity); people that you have already worked with or for; people with whom you share common connections; professionals within your industry; or profiles with a job function similar to yours.  

Start with an address book import, check out the ‘people you may know’ feature for possible connections each time you log in and after you connect with someone new. You can also search for people you have lost touch with and old acquaintances, for example, from schools, clubs, groups, previous companies and so on. 

Avoid sending out too many invitations to members who do not know you and are more likely to decline you or you could be reported as spam.

Also, try to add a personalised note when sending out invitations, explaining why you want to connect with that individual, why it could benefit you both and, if you already know them, how you’ve met previously. This will increase your chances of being accepted as a connection. If they do accept your request, send a quick note to thank them as a courtesy. 

Remember to include your LinkedIn URL (your profile address) across all your social channels, on email signatures and business cards to help grow your presence with people who come into contact with you over time. You may also want to simplify your URL so that it is more memorable if you didn’t do this when setting up your profile initially. 

How do I identify and add new connections? 

Old fashioned face-to-face networking is still one of the best ways to expand your professional networks. So, whenever you do meet new people in person, for instance, at training events, meetings, trade shows or conferences, make a note of their details or leave with a business card, so you can connect on LinkedIn when you’re next online. 

Joining a relevant LinkedIn group within your industry can offer valuable interactions too and is a great way to virtually meet and connect with like-minded professionals. If you engage with content being posted by the group and post relevant content yourself, members of the group will be more inclined to view your profile and/or send you a request to connect directly. 

Since you can see who viewed your profile (unless they have chosen to view in private mode), you can also regularly check to see if anyone who has viewed your profile could prove a useful connection, then send them a message saying you’d like to connect. 

If you are actively seeking employment opportunities, you’ll probably find that you appear within recruiter search results anyway. However, to improve your visibility, you can activate the ‘open to work’ feature to let people know you are open to new job opportunities. This can lead to invitations from specialist recruitment firms and their consultants too. 

Finally, by far the most effective way to gain the attention of new LinkedIn users and maintain the interest of existing connections is to post and share meaningful content yourself. Writing and sharing your own articles and blogs, as well as other relevant industry news and opinion, increases your chances of engagement and exposure. For inspiration, why not check out LinkedIn’s best practices for posting guidance. 

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