Your first task is pretty easy: make sure your LinkedIn account reflects the network you already have. In fact, if you’ve done the steps in build your LinkedIn, you’re already partway there.

Try to think of everyone you know and could connect with:

• friends and family
• current and former coworkers and supervisors
• classmates, teachers, and other school contacts
• neighbors and others from your community
• people you know from activities, clubs, or volunteering

You can go to the My Network tab and/or search for people, schools, and workplaces to get suggestions.

Sometimes when you click connect, a window will pop up asking if you’d like to add a note. We recommend using this option if there’s any chance that the person won’t immediately recognize how they know you. For some great ideas about how to word these notes, check out this article.

LinkedIn uses a “degrees” system to map out each user’s network. Your 1st degree network includes people you have “connected with” on LinkedIn. Your 2nd degree network is the people connected to your 1st degree connections. (LinkedIn shows 3rd degree connections, too, which is interesting but not generally useful info.)

Your 1st degree connections are a powerful resource for several reasons—one of which is that they can help you connect with their 1st degee connections (your 2nd degree connections). That means that they’re a major foundation from which to grow your network.

As you browse LinkedIn, keep an eye out for people with the “2nd degree” tag. You don’t have to take action yet, just start keeping a list of 2nd degree connections who seem like promising contacts. We’ll come back to this in step 5.

In addition to getting connected to people, you’ll want to connect with groups and orgs. Those are other sources of common ground with potential contacts, and you can also learn a lot about industries and careers by following relevant LinkedIn profiles.

LinkedIn works like many social media, with similar kinds of interaction options. You can:

• like/react and comment on posts
• follow companies, individuals, and hashtags
• join groups

Make sure to follow your schools, past and present. Doing so will also give you info about what alumni of your school(s) are doing professionally—and another source of connection.

How do you decide what to join and follow? Remember, the whole point of LinkedIn is to cultivate your network and advance your professional life. But many people’s careers emerge from spontaneous connections, too, so explore possibilities! For example, you can follow companies related to your hobbies.

One of the best ways to explore careers is to read job descriptions and get a feel for what kinds of activities are associated with a given field. Under the jobs tab is a vast, searchable database of open positions. Try typing in some keywords and browsing what comes up. You’ll also see positions ranging from entry-level to executive, which can give you a sense of how career paths progress over time and what you can expect.

While you’re on this tab, take some time to review LinkedIn’s best practices links for tips on how to make your profile stand out to potential employers.

You’ll also find tools here to enhance your profile like skills assessment that enable LinkedIn to vouch for your abilities.

Now that you’ve done a lap through organizations, groups, and jobs resources on LinkedIn, you’ll have a more refined sense of what your next steps should be in engaging with and expanding your network.

This is a great time to follow up about 2nd degree connections who seem especially valuable or exciting. You can circle back and ask your mutual connection to introduce you, or you can reach out directly to the 2nd degree connection.

If you reach out directly, make sure to mention your mutual connection (“I see that we’re both connected to …”) and why you’re messaging (“I am exploring a career in … and I wonder if you’d be available to talk with me on the phone for 20 minutes in the next few weeks”).

Whether you’re researching jobs, participating in discussions, or making new contacts, as long as you stay engaged and authentic, you’ll discover new things about yourself and your career path.