Sure, you can use it like a resumé, but then you’d be missing out.
LinkedIn is also not your business website, nor is it where you will actually ‘do’ business. It’s important to think about these things because it shapes our strategy and how effective this platform will be for us to build and sustain our businesses.
Perhaps we could look at it like this: LinkedIn is a trade fair (trade show, trade exhibition, or expo). It is an exhibition organized so that professionals in any specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities.*
But it’s not a regular expo, it’s like an expo on steroids. Think big – think huge! It’s a trade fair like the Stark Expo! It runs all year. Every year. And your stand is free.
Ironically, as Tony says in Iron Man 2 – ‘It’s not about me‘.
This is why LinkedIn is not simply a resumé. Traditionally, a resumé is all about you and it’s (largely) a one-way message. If you only use this platform as a resumé, it’s like putting a pamphlet out on a table in the expo.
Of course, people will see it. Perhaps some will even pick it up.
But let’s think about it. When you’ve been to an expo – what do you do with all of the papers handed to you and collected along the way? If you’re anything like me, they get messily-filed in the bin on the way out.
Expos are not about the pamphlets, lanyards and branded water bottles, they’re about the experience, the vibe and energy. They’re about connecting, growing and communicating.
The same applies to LinkedIn; LinkedIn success is all about the conversations and relationships you’re able to forge, build and sustain.
I’d love to hear about your experience – please share your thoughts if you have a moment in the comments below!
