As we are in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, online networking has never been more important to stay top of mind and build connections – whether you have a job or are looking for one.

There are three essential building blocks of LinkedIn – your profile, your connections and your interaction on the platform. I find that many professionals focus on the first one – creating a strong profile, but they don’t take it to the next level by strategically building their network (meaning sending and accepting connection requests) and maintaining a consistent presence through liking, commenting and sharing posts.

Here are some ways you can fire on all cylinders when it comes to strengthening your LinkedIn presence. Remember that LinkedIn is where business professionals gather, do research and look for information especially now.

Please join me for the Association of Legal Administrators, New York City Chapter virtual program on April 21 at 12pm ET on how to market your firm and your lawyers

While we all have to do our part by staying apart physically, online networking and content marketing are tools that every professional and company should use to market themselves (in an appropriate way) and their company. The worst thing you can do is to do nothing right now. We will all be relying on social media more than ever before in the foreseeable future, so it would be wise to embrace it now.

The most important question you should ask yourself right now is “how can we support our clients and our profession during this time”? Let that be your guiding light.

Here are some ways you can build relationships during the era of social distancing and quarantining. They just require a more human and online touch.

The world in which we live in today is extraordinary, with mass layoffs happening each week.

When you lose your job due to circumstances that are out of your control, such as your company just cannot afford to keep you, it’s difficult to process, because it’s not that you did anything wrong.

The current pandemic has brought U.S. unemployment to an all-time high, and has put our economy and so many lives on hold.

Because the coronavirus happened so suddenly, it was a crushing blow for many who were unprepared and who live paycheck to paycheck. Those who are lucky to still have jobs are finding themselves dealing with salary cuts, no bonuses and sometimes reduced hours or furloughs. The employers that will emerge stronger are those that treated their employees with care and empathy.

The bright side is that you can emerge from these situations as a stronger, better version of your professional self and use this time to propel you to greater success and work situations that are a better fit for you.