If you consider yourself a social media Queen or even a novice, it is vital for
your career to have a completed LinkedIn profile. The long and short of it, is that recruiters at firms and recruiting firms are using LinkedIn religiously to find candidates.
In fact, according to the 2012 Bullhorn Reach and Social Recruiting Activity Report1:
98% of the 35,000 recruiters interviewed use LinkedIn and 48% of those use LinkedIn exclusively.
If your profile isn’t complete with searchable key words and your amazing accomplishments, then you are literally hiding from new career opportunities.
Wait Lindsay, what if I am happy with my current firm and am not looking for a move?
Well, to be blunt with you, that is a very short-sided, naive way to look at your career. You should have both short- and long-term goals of what type of position and what responsibilities you want to have. This can be at current firm, if those opportunities are available or at another firm. Either way, you want the appropriate decision makers (recruiters and managers) to be able to view your accomplishments at any time.
LinkedIn is the perfect way to display your accomplishments and skill sets because it’s FREE; you don’t have to be a tech wizard to design your profile; and you can interact and connect with other members who are at the level you want to be.
LinkedIn becomes part of your personal brand and attracts your ideal opportunities to you. {Tweetable – click here to Tweet.}
Now that I have you on board, go through the following list and complete each step.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Once you have completed each step below, I will review your LinkedIn profile for FREE and provide feedback and any recommendations. Send a link to your profile to [email protected] or leave the link in the comments below.
- Full Name – You must display your first and last name. No excuses. No compromises.
- Picture – Upload a tasteful headshot. It does not need to be professionally taken, but we need to be able to see your beautiful face clearly. It also goes without saying that is should be appropriate for work.
- Headline – Most people use this section to show their current position and firm. A better practice is to highlight your unique skill sets or competencies, like “Marketing Coordinator with Four Years of Indesign Experience” or “Marketing Manager who increased win rates by 15%” Think of this as the slogan for your personal brand.
- Summary – This is a great section to give viewers a glimpse into your expertise and personality. I suggest beginning with a personal positioning statement that lays out who you are, what your key skills are, and a unique differentiator.
- Experience – This is the section that you outline the role and responsibilities of the jobs and/or positions that you have previously held. You should focus on your key achievements using the methods from your value-added resume. If you have held different positions in the same firm (for example a marketing intern and then marketing coordinator), you can separate them into two different “jobs” on LinkedIn. Just go through the same system of highlighting not only your role and responsibilities, but listing your key accomplishments.
- Education – Beyond just listing your degree and university, add any specific accomplishments, awards, recognition while attending college. This is especially important if you are new in your career and don’t have too much work experience.
- Skills & Expertise – This section allows you to add up to 50 keywords to highlight your skills and expertise. This can be from writing and editing to specific software familiarity. Don’t skip this step and/or worry if you can’t list 50. List the skills and expertise that you truly feel comfortable with, not just ones to get you to 50.
- Organizations – List all of the professional organizations that you belong. Also list the years and any positions you have held or any subcommittees you volunteered.
- Recommendations – LinkedIn makes it very easy to ask and receive recommendations for any job and/or organization experience. There should be no excuse for you to not to have at least one recommendation. Ask for at least one recommendation for each experience you list. You do this by clicking on the “Ask for Recommendation” option at the top right hand side of your profile page. Then answer the questions: 1) Choose what you want to be recommended for; 2) Decide who you’ll ask (must be a contact); 3) Create your message (LinkedIn provides a default message for you); and hit “send.”
- Public – Make sure that your profile is set to public. If it is not set to public, then only your connections will be able to see your profile. This doesn’t help you when recruiters and firms are trying to review your accomplishments.
- Customize your LinkedIn URL – Your default profile link will be long and full of random numbers and letters. To customize your LinkedIn profile URL, click on “Edit Profile,” then “Public Profile.” Select “edit” and type in something that has to do with your name.
Not sure if you’ve got it? Go through these steps and email me the link to your profile and I will review it for FREE!
In the past, I have taken my value-added resume {see how to make yours here} and uploaded that into LinkedIn. I update both at least once a year or after major accomplishments.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Start updating your LinkedIn profile today. Leave any questions, a-ha moments, or suggestions in the comments below. If you want, I’ll even review and provide recommendations for you. Just email me a link when you’ve gone through the steps above.
1 http://www.bullhornreach.com/content/resources/reports
