While golf is fundamentally a social sport, LinkedIn serves as a platform for professional networking. Mastery in both realms requires strategy, understanding the rules, and patience.
In golf, you play on a course, whereas on LinkedIn, your activities are on a digital platform.
ADHERE TO GUIDELINES
Both golf and LinkedIn come with their own set of rules and penalties. You can visit the United States Golf Association’s official site for golf rules.
Similarly, LinkedIn has a User Agreement that must be followed, and you cannot go out of bounds. Breaches can result in temporary restrictions going to “LinkedIn Jail” or you may even be permanently banned from LinkedIn, often with no second chances and no mulligan.
To avoid divots, hitting the sand traps, or hazard areas, maintain professionalism and ethical conduct in all interactions. Be considerate of others, have integrity, and follow a proper code of conduct.
Before the upcoming elections, familiarize yourself with LinkedIn’s advertising policies, which prohibit political advertisements.
SELECT THE APPROPRIATE TOOLS
Success in golf depends on choosing the right equipment, from clubs to gear, which impacts your performance. Are you using a wedge, putter, iron, wood, or hybrid?
Similarly, a standout LinkedIn profile requires a professional photo, a custom banner, an engaging About section, and detailed descriptions of your experiences and skills. Stay tuned for next week’s article with a detailed LinkedIn profile checklist.
ENGAGE ACTIVELY
Observing golf as a spectator differs vastly from playing it. Although I started as a mini golfer, my firsthand experience with “real” golf clubs improved significantly when my daughter began working at TopGolf. I could analyze my golf swings with advanced technology.
While I don’t play full 18-hole games due to a knee issue, I actively support my local charity golf event as a volunteer.
If you are local to Chester County, PA, take note of the May 15, 2024, early bird deadline for July 15, 2024, charity golf event through the Paoli Business & Professional Association.
You can be an individual golfer, team, sponsor, or participate in a pickleball tournament!
Similarly, active participation on LinkedIn is crucial! Create content and interact and engage with others’ posts.
FOCUS ON PRECISION
Have you had performance anxiety in golf, experienced yips, and missed your shot? It happens when you are trying to putt, so ask your comrades for a gimme!
Use precision with the right keywords on LinkedIn and align with the database, and not necessarily the vernacular that pops out of your head. The right keywords will help you get found, optimize your profile, and enhance your visibility. Don’t forget to personalize your LinkedIn URL too!
FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS
Golf often facilitates networking and deal-making on the course.
LinkedIn aims to forge and expand professional connections through strategic networking, serving over one billion users globally.
PRACTICE PERSISTENCE AND RESILIENCE
Improving golf requires continuous effort, practice, and learning from past errors. You can have good and bad rounds on the golf course, so be resilient to keep playing.
The same principles apply to LinkedIn – regularly update your profile, engage with others, and fine-tune your strategies for sustained visibility, credibility, discoverability, and relevance.
Manage your career successes and setbacks, celebrate achievements, and learn from rejection.
CONCLUSION
Both golf and LinkedIn rely on understanding the rules, effective use of tools, active participation, precision, relationship building, diligent practice, and resilience.
Approach your LinkedIn strategy with the same discipline and patience as a skilled golfer. Once you’ve fine-tuned your approach and optimized your profile to get in the zone, you’re ready to advance to the next level of professional networking, and you can join the others and head to the nineteenth hole!
NEXT STEPS
- Subscribe to my newsletter on LinkedIn™ for bright ideas on how to manage your career.
- If you need a resume or LinkedIn™ profile to get you to your next step, book a call to chat!
- Join as a member at https://greatcareers.org/membership of the #1 business networking association on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Book of Lists four years in a row!
- To support our charity at KeepOnSharing.com use the referral code Career
- Follow #GreatCareersPHL
AUTHOR BIO
Lynne M. Williams is the Executive Director of the Great Careers Network, a volunteer-run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides career development and networking connections for 1) job seekers in career transition, including veterans, and 2) employed and self-employed for career management.
Aside from writing keyword-focused content for ATS resumes and LinkedIn™ profiles, Lynne is writing her doctoral dissertation on LinkedIn™ for Job Seekers. She is a contributing author on “Applying to Positions” in Find Your Fit: A Practical Guide to Landing the Job You Love, along with the late Dick Bolles, the author of What Color is Your Parachute?, and is also a speaker on career topics.
