Have you ever thought of tapping into your LinkedIn connections to help others and help yourself?

Our LinkedIn connections are the lifeblood of our LinkedIn experience. However, much of the time we neglect to utilize their full potential. There are countless ways to use them to help yourself as well as others you know. The instructions in this blog post are geared toward using LinkedIn on the computer.

 

Search Using a Key Word or Phrase

Type a key word or phrase into the search box at the top of the screen.

Let’s say you are searching for people with “CPA” in their profile. After you enter CPA into the search box, you will see the words “search all results for CPA” at the bottom of the list of drop-down options. Click on it.

The search filters will show at the top of the screen. Click on Connections. Then click on 1st and Apply. Now you will have a list of all your connections who have CPA in their profile. I’d be happy to show you how to use this and other filters in a short Zoom session.

 

Reasons to Tap into Your LinkedIn Connections

  • Grow the membership of a business or community organization. I recently used search filters on LinkedIn to find people I wanted to invite to one of my Toastmasters clubs and to one of my business networking groups.
  • Help a job seeker find a person to do an informational interview with. Let’s say a friend of yours is thinking about going into a new line of work. You may have LinkedIn connections in that field. By using search filters, you can find LinkedIn connections your friend can contact to arrange such an interview.
  • Identify possible referral partners to help grow your business. Let’s say business coaches refer you more business than other professionals. Search the term “business coach” in the search box on LinkedIn. Click on “Search all results for business coach” which is at the bottom of the drop-down options. Then click on Connections, click on the box next to “1st” and then click on Apply. Now you will see a list of all your connections who put “business coach” in their profile. Reaching out to them may lead to the two of you creating a referral relationship that benefits you both.

 

How About You?

Do you use these search techniques to find people within your LinkedIn connections who can help you or help others? What’s been your experience doing that?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel – 8/13/14

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.