Why NHS Workers Should Be Using LinkedIn
Our Founder, Rachael, has her say on what those in the healthcare sector could benefit from by using LinkedIn
What is LinkedIn?
Reid Hoffman first launched LinkedIn in 2003, with the vision of creating employment opportunities for individuals across the world. It has grown to nearly 740 million users and is one of the largest platforms for professionals to network, find work and find new recruits.
The use of LinkedIn has been evolving in recent years, providing a space for individuals and organisations to build brands, create awareness and even drive movements, such as the push for equality, equity and inclusion. It has somewhat morphed into a professional version of Facebook, with the increase of individuals and companies demonstrating vulnerability, dropping elements of the ‘professional’ image and being more real and relatable – all accelerated by the socially driven, authentic Gen-Z. The platform has also been a real driver of awareness in matters such as burnout, equality and stress management, whilst sharing and demonstrating solutions.
The perception of LinkedIn amongst healthcare workers may well be very outdated, viewing it as exclusive to the private sector and seeking work, preferring Twitter and Facebook. They are therefore missing out on the power of the huge wealth of knowledge and connections available to them through the platform.
At Just R, we use LinkedIn daily to source news, connect with people and share information, and we believe the NHS could substantially benefit from workers across all areas regularly using LinkedIn.
Here’s why:
To find and be found
Companies stand out from their competitors through building a strong brand. The same can happen for people and organisations through the creation and development of a strong personal brand.
This doesn’t mean you need to become a caricature of yourself, the best personal brands are authentic, using it to differentiate from others. It’s about being real, demonstrating to the world who you are, what you do and why. This is to help others identify the value of connecting with you. LinkedIn can play a huge role in the development of a personal brand, you just need to be creative and use the platform effectively to make your personality stand out.
For example, it could be that you are particularly interested in a specialist area such as taking care of Elderly Patients with a certain condition. Through the development of a LinkedIn profile you could regularly post content on what you do, why you love it and insights which you think would be helpful to others. In doing so you are creating something of value to your target audience. If you consistently create and post original content you will develop an engaged audience who will learn from the information you share, while simultaneously widening and deepening professional networks, opening you up to learn from others.
Just make sure you are authentic in whatever you do – reflect your personality and give yourself a voice. After all, people love engaging with the profiles of real people with whom they can relate to.
Networking opportunities
LinkedIn is all about building connections. Whether these are with colleagues, friends, or people from your field— LinkedIn has excellent search functionality, enabling you to build specialist networks of people you know, admire or want to learn from, offering an excellent opportunity for people to network with those they already know or don’t know yet.
All you have to do is figure out who you want to connect with. Once you know that, you can include specific keywords in your profile to attract visitors who align with your interests.
For example, if you are a Renal Nurse interested in research you would ensure that you include these words within your profile. Be specific in order to reach people who you share interests and opportunities with.
This means that people searching for Renal Research Nurse profiles or for profiles with a specific set of skills, your profile will instantly show up. It’s a great way to ensure that your connections are relevant to your profession.
The easiest way to build your network is to search for profiles which align with your interests and simply click request – the more personal you can make the request by adding a personalised note, the more likely the person will be to accept your request.
If you don’t know them personally, you can try saying: “I have read some of your posts, and we have similar interests, so I thought it would be great to connect with you.”
This could result in you landing your dream job or connecting with potential mentors!
To promote the NHS to passive jobseekers
LinkedIn provides the opportunity for brands to be built for individuals and organisations, building audiences of people who are interested, to whom the narrative is controlled. In time, this could result in reaching thousands of people! Through the use of storytelling, education and smart networking it is therefore possible to reach, engage and attract people into a career in the NHS, whether your position is in Administration, Nursing or Medical. By telling your story or the story of your organisation through LinkedIn, you have the ability to communicate what working within the health service is really like in order to attract more people to want to join you.
Develop your career
If you’re looking for a job, LinkedIn can make things quick and easy for you.
How? Most recruiters and hiring managers are already using LinkedIn to hire talented people for their companies. By maintaining an active and well put together profile, you can easily be discovered by hiring managers looking for people with specific skills, experiences or qualifications.
And if they think you’re the right fit for their opening, they won’t mind getting in touch with you directly. This means that with a good LinkedIn profile, you no longer have to go looking for jobs anymore.
For that to happen, you need to make your profile strong. Make sure that you keep your profile up-to-date, add all your skills and expertise, highlight recent experiences and update your headline. This will help recruiters get a quick overview of who you are and what you do.
Conclusion
Different people use LinkedIn for different purposes, but no matter what your goal is, LinkedIn can help you achieve it. Here’s a summary as to why…
1. To find and be found
- Stand out from your competitors
- Inspire with authenticity
- Create original content that others will connect with
- Widen your professional networks
- Learn from others
2. Networking opportunities
- Build connections with those you know, and others you don’t yet
- Reach specific networks – to hire or be hired!
- Build connections with profiles that align with your interests and values
3. Promote NHS to passive job seekers
- Build your brand
- Control the narrative
- Communicate what it really means to work in healthcare
- Squash the myths and speak the truth
4. Develop your career
- Connect with and be discovered by recruiters and hiring managers
- Build your personal brand – essentially, an “online CV” – a space to tell your story and attract recruiters rather than search for them!
