You have an hour or so till the end of your day. There are several projects you could start . . . but why not use the hour and devote it to something you’ve been meaning to get a handle on for years: Your LinkedIn network.
Here are five really worthwhile actions you can take right now, today, before you leave the office.
- Upload your email addresses from Outlook or by exporting your contacts and importing them to LinkedIn for a quick, simple way to find out who in your network is already using LinkedIn.
- Take a self-portrait or have someone else take a photo of you and post it to your profile. It doesn’t need to be a fancy headshot but the image there should be you, your face should be visible and recognizable and recent (no fair posting that gorgeous photo from your early 20s.)
- Edit the title field in your profile to include keywords that represent what it is you do — Vice President or Manager doesn’t really tell me that you’re a logistics expert, or a manufacturing specialist. What else do you do? Are you a trainer, a speaker or maybe even a blogger? Get it in there!
- Recommend someone you’ve worked with. It doesn’t have to be long, or gushing — just do it. Share how pleased you were with the work and in doing so, make someone’s day.
- Ask someone else for a recommendation. Have you just finished a project or provided a good lead or referral to a contact? It’s time to ask for their endorsement.
Start chipping away at tasks like these and soon, you will be reaping the value of a robust LinkedIn presence.