Until about 2-3 months ago, you would have never caught me spending more than 1-2 hours on LinkedIn in a week. I found it a) intimidating, b) a waste of time, and c) boring. That's the honest, brutal truth.
My mind has completely changed.
Once I started following companies I was genuinely interested in, following designers who provided insights into the design industry and connecting with inspiring creatives who were passionate about what they did, I saw a whole new side of LinkedIn that was, dare I say, fun?
Here are some folks, groups, and businesses that you should follow on LinkedIn right now, especially if you hate the idea of LinkedIn.
*Note - there are some repeats here from previous Friday Follow posts, so if you notice one, that's your sign to follow them asap.
1. Frankie Kastenbaum
Frankie is a recent bootcamp graduate and was LinkedIn's top voice in design in 2020. If that's not enough reason to connect with her already, know that her content is great for junior and student designers who are trying to get their foot in the door. Frankie is also co-hosting a book club on LinkedIn for design-related books, which I am very excited about.
2. Miguel M
Here's a repeat follow! Miguel rules. Form a relationship with him and he'll be there to hype you up throughout your entire design journey. If you follow him on LinkedIn, you'll be able to stay up to date with all of his design content, from Youtube videos to Clubhouse discussions. Join his community of designers!
3. Sami Gardner
This one might be a bit biased since I am currently in the CareerFoundry UX Design program, but I feel that Sami provides such great content for all designers trying to land their first gig. She is a career coach for CareerFoundry and has extensive experience helping designers find a job, so follow her if you need some tips and tricks.
4. UX Come Up
This group is for people interested in learning about UX design and growing in the field. It's also organized by Miguel, so you know the content is going to be fire.
5. Any and every company you have any interest in working for
Do you have a dream company that you'd do almost anything to work for? Follow them on LinkedIn! Don't just follow the company, though. Connect with one or two employees in the department you're interested in working for. If the saying "it's all about who you know" is true, then shouldn't we be trying to know as many people as possible? Well, here's one way you can start!
6. Any page that inspires you
Sometimes we need some assistance in getting our creative juices flowing. Something that has helped me when I feel like I'm in a funk is finding creative pages that have a style similar to mine. This could be a business, an individual, or a website like Dribble. As I already mentioned, LinkedIn can be fun when you personalize it to what you want to see on your feed.
7. Kaity Meade - that's me!
I would be missing an opportunity to market myself if I didn't recommend myself on this list. Connect with me! I post some fun content and love meeting new people. :)
To quickly note, my obsession with LinkedIn is fairly new, so I still have a lot of individuals, groups, and businesses to discover. Use LinkedIn as a networking opportunity, and curate it so what you see on your feed fits your style and helps you advance as a professional! LinkedIn can be such a great tool if used properly.
If you know of other must-connects on LinkedIn that I didn't mention, please let me know!
- Kaity
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