Professional Development: Link Up on Linked In

Professional development is rarely accomplished alone—you might enlist the help of a mentor, learn a skill from a teacher, or even go to an event to network with other professionals. In addition, LinkedIn, the largest online professional networking site, is another great tool to help you further your professional growth. We’ve touched on this in previous blogs, but we wanted to give you our tips to help maximize its value to you as a job seeker and a professional.

Building Your Profile


Building your profile page is the first thing you’ll do when you set up a new account on LinkedIn. We suggest you complete your profile page carefully as it will be the first page people see when they find you in the network. Think of it like an electronic resume because our recruiters do. We look at the following areas of a profile when considering a candidate for position at fresh&easy:

• Employment history
• Education
• Specialties and skills
• Accomplishments
• Passions and interests
• Contact settings
• Links to your other social media accounts and blogs

In addition, we look for candidates who display creativity, have a positive attitude, and use professional language and tone. Your profile on LinkedIn is not a place to air grievances or complain about a past employer. Finally, avoid revealing company secrets or private information to protect yourself and your employer. Learn more on completing your profile.

Interacting with Others


Once you’ve completed your profile, LinkedIn will prompt you to connect with coworkers, employers, friends, and family. Connect with people you know well or who are trusted business contacts. In addition, check LinkedIn regularly to see new contacts added to your network. If you find someone who may be beneficial to have in your network, ask your existing contacts for an introduction using the site’s introduction function. Learn more on how connections work in LinkedIn.

Another great way to meet people via LinkedIn is by joining groups. You can find discussion groups dedicated to sharing information for an industry, company, professional organization, and university alumni association. Here are some of our favorite groups for fresh&easy-related business, including groups for the food industry and for specific professions:

• Food Industry Marketing & Communication Professionals

• Organic Food Industry

• Retail Industry Professionals

• Retail Management
• High Powered Food, Beverage & Hospitality
• Recruiting Professionals Network
• Global Retail Merchandise Buyers
• Fruits & Vegetable Business

Further Reading


For more tips on how to use LinkedIn to achieve your professional goals, here are some resources we recommend:

• Guy Kawasaki’s 10 Ways to Use LinkedIn
• Chris Brogan’s Use LinkedIn Effectively
• Business Insider’s How to Use LinkedIn
• LifeHacker’s How to Use LinkedIn to Increase your Hirability

Once you’re on LinkedIn, connect with us on our fresh&easy LinkedIn group. You’ll connect directly with our human resources team and learn a lot!