Yeah, this platform can be a bit scary and confusing at first if you don’t know how to navigate LinkedIn. Let me confess that it intimidated me when I first created my account. You see I’d just found a job in a company and they asked for my LinkedIn ID. When I told them I don’t have an account, it was like I was saying that I’m homeless. Everyone was like “what the heck? Is that even possible?”
So I was asked to create one. Everything was fine at first, I uploaded every information required and selected a good picture but then, the trouble began.
It was like I was lost in a huge and populated subway station. The problem was I did not know how to navigate LinkedIn.
That was not really a good experience for me. I am a confident woman, sometimes too confident, but for a second I thought maybe I’m not smart enough for LinkedIn.
For one or two weeks I minimized my LinkedIn activities to necessities and since I don’t like other people to experience the same confusion, right now, I am going to talk about LinkedIn basics.
All right, let’s begin. This is the basics, for the tricks and professional use, please read our many other related articles in our LinkedIn tips section.
On the top bar of your LinkedIn page (after signing in), you will see some sections: Search, Home, My Network, Jobs, Messaging, Notification, and Me. They will help you navigate the platform. We are going to introduce them one by one.
The search box
You can use this little box on the top left corner to find anything on LinkedIn including people, posts, companies, groups, courses, schools, events, services, etc. Just type in the Keyword or any other terms and click on the magnifying glass or tap enter on your keyboard. Then select one of the categories and narrow down the suggested results using many filters LinkedIn provides for you.
The Home
The homepage, AKA feed is the first page you will see after signing in. you can see recent updates and posts that your connections published and also some sections that let you navigate a lot easier on LinkedIn. Also, you can post updates of your own on LinkedIn from this section as well.
My network
This section is dedicated to your connections and people and hashtags, groups, events, etc. that you might like to follow. Do you have another email and want to sync its contacts too or even want to sync other people’s connections with yours? Do this in the Add personal contacts box.
Jobs
Click on the job icon and use LinkedIn job’s search tool to look for the vacant positions which are looking for a new candidate. You can narrow down the results by filtering the location, company, and contract type which lets you track different positions.
Messaging
Do you want to message your contacts for free? Use the messaging section. You can also manage your InMails and spam. If you receive a lot of messages this section is so helpful. Manage, respond and compose new messages.
Notification
This section is where you will get notified that your connections recently posted an update or shared something on LinkedIn, you will get notified if someone commented or reacted to your posts or a comment of yours. The not reviewed notifications have a green dot next to them.
Me section
This section is where you can select to see your profile, manage your company pages, change the basic setting of your account, etc.
Wrap-up
These were the very basic concepts of LinkedIn, but still, they are enough to survive in this huge community. But if you want to go beyond how to navigate LinkedIn, maybe you also want to go on and read our other articles about LinkedIn in the CUF website blog section. As they say, knowledge is the key to power.
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