Have You Made the Most of This Popular Career Asset? The Benefits of LinkedIn for Allied Health Professionals

LinkedIn is the largest online network for working professionals with over 550 million users and over 3 million active job listings. More than just an electronic copy of your resume, LinkedIn gives you access to four important career assets:

1. A place to showcase your experience
2. Network with other health care professionals
3. Job search
4. Keep current on industry trends

It used to be that health care professionals were sparsely represented on LinkedIn, but that has changed. The number of healthcare professionals on LinkedIn and their use of the platform is growing, as is the number of hospitals and other health care providers. A quick search on LinkedIn shows more than 500,000 medical assistants, for example.

But you can set yourself apart in your field with a polished, professional profile on LinkedIn. And it’s not hard to do if you follow the tips in this article. Start by opening a LinkedIn account. You can do that on a computer or by downloading the LinkedIn app on your phone.

Show off your professional achievements

Once you open an account, LinkedIn is a great place to gather all your professional achievements and create a positive online professional image.  You can choose to display your education, work experience, training courses, and certifications in a single location that is specially meant for this purpose.

One of your greatest career achievements, your AMT credential, should be shown directly following your name. For example, Joe Smith, RMA(AMT). LinkedIn doesn’t give you a place to put your credentials after your name, so we suggest adding them after your last name. This way, they will be prominently displayed at the top of your profile.

Network and make connections

Making connections and professional networking is what LinkedIn is all about. You can form connections with current and former co-workers, supervisors, professors, mentors, and industry leaders. Connections lead to opportunities, and building your professional network is important no matter what point you are at in your career.

Your connections can help you by giving you a recommendation or endorsing your skills. A recommendation will display directly on your profile and tells others how your connections feel about your work. Don’t be afraid to ask your connections for a recommendation, especially if they were your superior, such as a professor or supervisor. Your connections can also endorse the skills you have added to your profile, displaying a form of social proof that you have those skills.

Another type of connection you can form is to follow companies and organizations on LinkedIn. You can follow the hospital you work for, the school you attended or your professional association such as American Medical Technologists. You can also connect with companies you are interested in working for, which shows them you have done your research before pursuing them. Just do a search to find their names.

Look for a new job

If you are planning to move to another city or are ready to make a move to a new employer, LinkedIn’s job search function can help you find local employers looking to hire someone with your credentials. As a bonus, by keeping your profile current, employers may reach out to you if they feel you would be a good fit for a position they are trying to fill.

If you are searching for a job opportunity, consider creating a profile on the AMT Career Center. This is a free service through your association membership that lets you post your resume and search for a job. When creating your profile, be sure to add your personal LinkedIn URL for employers to learn more about you. Many allied health professionals have found great success using AMT’s Career Connection site.

Join groups

LinkedIn Groups provide a place for professionals in the health care industry to share content, find answers and make business contacts. Search for groups of health care professionals that post valuable information and can help you enhance your career. Once you're a group member, you're able to join like-minded members in conversations and ask them questions.

Read and share content

There are many organizations and associations in the healthcare industry that are active on LinkedIn. They will share professional articles and links to industry news. By following these organizations, their content will show up on your LinkedIn newsfeed. This is a quick and easy way to keep current on topics trending in the healthcare industry.You can share these articles on your own LinkedIn newsfeed, showing your interest in the industry for which you are employed.

Connect with your professional association

If you are certified through American Medical Technologists, you belong to a large national professional association. Make the most of your membership benefits to showcase your professional achievements and grow professionally. Connect with us and our 8,000 followers on LinkedIn.

If you decide to use LinkedIn, creating a strong profile and updating it often is important. A quick Google search will produce plenty of websites with tips on perfecting your LinkedIn profile, but here are a few of our favorite tips:

• Use a good photo. If you don’t have a high-quality, professional headshot for your profile, ask a friend to take a photo of how you would look on a job interview in professional dress with a plain background
• Personalize your LinkedIn URL. When you edit your profile, you have the option to create a personal URL which adds a professional look to your resume or cover letter. Your personal URL will look something like this: LinkedIn.com/in/JaneDoeRMA.
• Perfect your summary. Write this in the first person and talk about your strengths, experiences and what you bring to the table as an allied health professional. You can also mention opportunities you’re looking for or the type of people you are looking to connect with.
• Expand your resume. While it is usually recommended that resumes don’t exceed one page, your LinkedIn profile has no limits on space. This gives you the freedom to elaborate on your career goals and bio, to add more details to your job duties and expand on your professional accomplishments.

Professional networking is an ongoing process. A strong LinkedIn profile can help you get noticed, open the door to new professional relationships and enhance your professional presence. We hope to have given you the tools to begin taking advantage of LinkedIn as an asset in your professional life.