Establishing a solid LinkedIn (LI) profile is the first step to managing your overall professional online profile. If you are in the market for a new job, it is helpful to know that recruiters are all over LinkedIn looking for talent. Not being present at all on LinkedIn is a big mistake in today’s technical and connected world. But almost as bad as not showing up is having a mediocre or shoddy profile. It screams of a lack of professional effort. So, to make the most of your LI profile building time here are some tips that will leave you looking sharp.
Before starting enhancements, you should know about a couple of privacy controls. If you are like most busy people, you may be thinking that you will chip away at your profile improvements piecemeal when time allows. But as any LinkedIn user knows, you get periodic updates that show the activity levels of your connections. Now there may be occasions when you do not want your LI world to know that you are upgrading your profile too frequently. It can give the impression that you are looking for other work, which may be off-putting to your current colleagues. If this issue is one of yours, then look for the “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts” link in the Privacy Controls sections of Settings.
You also have the option of selecting who can see your activity feed in the same Privacy Controls area. You can choose from everyone, your connections, your network (connections plus group members), or “Only you”. The latter essentially eliminates anyone from seeing your editing activity.
With activity viewing determined, you are ready to start tinkering with your Introduction field:
- Headline: This is important. It should begin with a short description of your professional expertise rather than just listing your current job title and employer’s name. Make this headline searchable by selecting key words that home in on your specialty.
- Picture: Do not just crop a decent looking detail from a larger JPG. Get a headshot taken by a professional photographer.
- Connections: Sure, the more you have the more connected you look. But do not just invite anyone to be a connection. Choose from people who you respect and vice versa. Quality professionals provide more opportunity than a stuffed ballot box. And I must admit that I have a gripe when one’s contact list is closed. Shouldn’t a viewer be able to see who your connections are? After all, networking is what LI is all about.
- Recommendations: Try to get at least three. These do not have to be essays either. Well written and complimentary short paragraphs can be just fine.
- Website links: You can include up to three. Your employer, a professional organization that you belong to, or better yet, your own website can all be included.
- Public Profile link: Go into settings and customize this to show your name without any of the trailing digits. Consider placing this link in the contact data section of your resume.
- Twitter feed: Short timely tweets interfaced with your LI account keep the Profile fresh.
Once your Intro field has been polished it is time to tackle the meat of the profile:
- It is good to have a look that more closely resembles a well written resume, i.e., including quantifiable accomplishments. Collecting and communicating quantifiable achievements should come through strongly in your Summary and Experience sections. Always be careful to avoid just very basic responsibilities and tasks, but rather include accomplishments and results as much as possible.
- There are some great additional sections that can be included such as Skills, Honors and Awards, and Volunteer Activities, among many others. Try to at least add a Skills Section.
- Blogging or micro blogging with Twitter can keep the Profile even more dynamic and show your connections that it is being frequently updated. It also adds to the impression that you are a subject matter expert. It is not that hard to have your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages all updated simultaneously.
- Do you like to make PowerPoint presentations? You can design one about yourself and post it for viewers to play.
- Groups are one of this tool’s most powerful networking features. Joining and participating in groups allows you to learn from and influence others. It is a great way to get known by others.
- The Education section is straight forward enough, but if you are 45 years old or older be careful of the rampant age bias going on in today’s world of work. You do have the option of not including your graduation date.
With a good LinkedIn profile in place, you will find that it is easier to promote yourself in a competitive employment climate.
