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Chances are, you’re on LinkedIn, but if you’re defining being “on LinkedIn” as posting a variant of your résumé and occasionally seeing what your contacts are up to, you’re missing out on a powerful tool for finding your niche.
“Take a critical look at your profile and really do an assessment: What does this say about my world? What am I doing? What is this profile getting me now?” says Mary Abbajay, president of <a target="_blank" href="https://careerstonegroup.com/">Careerstone Group</a>, an organizational and leadership development consultancy and author of Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed With Any Type of Boss.
From there, it’s time for the big question: Where am I trying to go from here? Once you’ve identified your goalpost, Abbajay says, it’s time to use LinkedIn to help you get there. Here are three steps that will bring you closer to where you want to be.

<h3>Nail Your Profile</h3>
If you already have a LinkedIn profile, give it an honest assessment. Does it communicate where you’re trying to go? Seeking an outside opinion can help, whether that’s a professional who specializes in career branding or asking media-savvy friends to tell you what’s working and what isn’t.
Your profile should be uniquely yours—nobody else has your career, after all—but don’t be afraid to borrow from the people who are doing LinkedIn right. “There’s no need to reinvent the wheel,” Abbajay says. “There are people who are really good at this, so you can use some of their strategies for yourself. How are they posting? What does their banner look like? What’s on their profile?”
As for how your profile actually looks—be sure to include a photo. It makes you look more professional, Abbajay says, and it also affects how your profile is read by the LinkedIn algorithm—meaning you won’t come up in searches as readily if you’re opting for the default gray circle instead of a custom photo.
“Your photo doesn’t have to be done by a professional, but you have to look professional,” Abbajay says. “You’re not going to want a picture of you with your cat.” She also recommends using a customized banner for the background image that shows up behind your profile photo.
Other things to include: a clear-cut title (“Don’t make people guess what you do,” Abbajay says), your contact info, and a descriptive bio.
One last pro tip: Go to your settings, then navigate to “Visibility.” Under “Visibility of your LinkedIn activity,” turn off “Share profile updates with your network.” That way, you can tinker with your profile without blasting your entire professional network every time you try out a new banner photo.
“Your profile is your calling card—it’s almost like a mini personal website for you,” Abbajay says. So treat it like one.

<h3>Find Your Audience</h3>
Remember Abbajay’s advice about figuring out where you’re trying to go? This step is where that becomes must-have intel.
“Who do you want to engage with on LinkedIn?” she says. “Who is it that you’re trying to attract? Really figure out your ‘why,’ and you’ll figure out who to connect with.”
Once you know the type of audience you’re hoping to tap into, get hashtag-savvy. Searching for hashtags that speak to the niche you hope to fill will bring you to people who are already talking about related topics; following them will curate your feed so that you continue to find more people who are working toward goals that are related to yours. (Follow them, too!)
From there, you can reverse-engineer that search to identify hashtags that are the most popular in your field and desired niche, then include those in your posts to help your audience find you.

<h3>Cultivate Your Community</h3>
“You don’t want to be that person who’s only talking about themselves,” Abbajay says. At the same time, some people—particularly women—have a hard time broadcasting their accomplishments for fear of seeming like a braggart.
To find the right balance, Abbajay recommends following the rule of thirds when posting content: One-third of your content should be promoting yourself, one-third should be promoting others, and the other third should be sharing interesting content about your field.
The sharing principle goes for your intake strategy, too. When you read posts from others, don’t just hit “like”; engage with what they’re saying. You can also find ways to bring in that rule of thirds in your commenting strategy—if someone posts about a professional quandary, you can respond with your own experience or endorse someone else in your field to spread the appreciation.
LinkedIn isn’t called YouIn, after all—it’s all about linking with others. Remembering that will help keep you on a rewarding path and lead to more opportunities for connection at your in-person meetings and events.

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Three Steps to Upping Your LinkedIn Game

Celebrate

As a meeting planner, you know stress is part of the job. But burnout doesn’t have to be.
Trouble is, burnout is a harder hurdle to jump than just a string of stressful workdays. It’s a chronic depletion that leaves people unable to fulfill their duties. Thankfully, there’s a reason—or rather, a purpose—behind why planners continue to work in a profession that is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.successfulmeetings.com/Strategy/Meetings-Events/How-to-Avoid-Burnout-in-the-Events-Industry">consistently ranked one of the most stressful in the United States</a>. And if you’re able to connect with this purpose, and then bring it to your day-to-day tasks, you have an effective tool in keeping burnout at bay.
In fact, research shows that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kornferry.com/insights/this-week-in-leadership/purpose-puts-burnout-on-the-back-burner">“living one’s purpose” can increase well-being and help combat burnout</a>. Experts agree: “This is something that you are committing a lot of your waking day to, so if you don’t feel emotionally connected to it, it’s going to be a path of more resistance,” says Laura Capell-Abra, who was a meeting planner before founding Stress Matters, an organization committed to workplace well-being, and No More Ifs Or Buts, a coaching and development company. Capell-Abra has another qualification on the matter: She’s experienced burnout first- and secondhand.
Keep reading for her insights and tips to reestablish this emotional connection and find your purpose.
 
<h3>Understand that your purpose doesn’t have to be grand.</h3>
Some planners might have their purpose cut out for them. For example, if you plan fundraising events for a philanthropic organization, you might already be uniquely aware of your purpose: Your events raise money to help people. For others, “defining purpose” may be harder—but no less important.
Capell-Abra suggests not getting too bogged down by the word purpose. “I think when people talk about purpose, they can get overwhelmed,” she says, stressing that you don’t have to be, say, a monk to have purpose.
“It doesn’t need to be grand. It can be on a really small scale,” she says. “If your purpose is around creating awesome events and having fun and keeping up the spirits of everyone around you, and that’s what you want to focus on, you focus on that. It’s about understanding that you get a choice,” she says.
 
<h3>If you’re struggling with the word purpose, think about your values instead.</h3>
“We all have values that we live by, even if we don’t know them,” Capell-Abra says. If the weight of the word purpose is putting you off, think in terms of values.
Ask yourself: What are my top <a target="_blank" href="https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/core-values">core values</a>? Some examples include teamwork, communication, loyalty, curiosity, growth, family, collaboration, and achievement.
These values tend to stay the same regardless of profession or role. When Capell-Abra was a meeting planner, her tasks looked different than they do now as a coach. But her values haven’t changed. “I still feel like I’m doing what’s right for me because my values are still there,” she says. “It’s about self-reflection and self-awareness and understanding what’s important to you.”
When you understand your values, you become self-aware, which can lead to a greater sense of well-being. Furthermore, adhering to your values can bolster your resilience in the face of adversity, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uab.edu/news/youcanuse/item/12629-experiencing-burnout-here-is-how-to-find-joy-in-your-job-again">limit disappointing events from stealing your purpose</a>.
 
<h3>Learn to take a pulse on your values.</h3>
Start with a pen, a piece of paper, and a few distraction-free moments, and jot down how you feel and what’s going on with you today.
“The idea of not being distracted by anything else is a really good starting point because you start to be more aware of ‘I’m in a bad mood,’ or ‘I’m tired,’ or ‘I’m actually really happy at the moment,’” Capell-Abra says.
Doing this can make it easier to visualize what’s working, what’s not, and whether you’re staying true to your core values. But this is just part one of two, Capell-Abra says. “There’s becoming more self-aware and acknowledging what’s going on for you, but then there’s taking action,” she says.
Monitor your behavior, and if you’re not happy, change something. Adjust your routine to better align to what’s most important to you. It’s not an overnight process; it’s about trying different things and working out what makes you feel good or bad about your work.
“Do more of what makes you feel good,” Capell-Abra says.
 
<h3>Celebrate the journey and the success.</h3>
The day of any actual meeting you’ve planned is usually less work than the months of preparation that went into it, and that’s worth remembering. “Sometimes it’s about the way it’s done rather than what the thing is that you’re organizing,” Capell-Abra says. “It’s more about being a part of a team and seeing something come together.”
So connect with and celebrate what makes you tick, what makes your events a success, and the values you uphold as you bring people together throughout the year. If you make a habit of this, you won’t hear burnout knocking at your door anytime soon.

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