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OPTIMIZING YOUR LINKED IN PROFILE FOR JOB SEARCH

BY GAYLE M. HOWARDWWW.TOPMARGIN.COM

LESSONTWO

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© Copyright 2011

[Gayle Howard, Top Margin]

LinkedIn® is a registered trademark.

01 disclaimerALL RIGHTS RESERVEDCopyright 2011 Gayle Howard

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Why Completing Your LinkedIn Profile Is Important

According to LinkedIn, users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn.

Your LinkedIn home page includes a graphic that tracks your “profile completeness,” encouraging you to add positions, include a summary, list specialties, add your education, include a photo, and ask for a recommendation in order to complete your profile. LinkedIn considers your profile “complete” if you include:

• Your current position

• Two past positions

• Your education

• Your profile summary

• A profile photo

• Your specialties

• At least three recommendations

04 INTROAll Rights ReservedLESSON 2

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In this lesson, I’m going to show you how to get your profile to 95% complete. (Recommendations are addressed in a separate lesson, #7: “Requesting and Receiving Recommendations.”)

Why a Complete Profile is Important for Using LinkedIn For Your Job Search

At this point, you’ve only begun to establish yourself on LinkedIn. Essentially, all you’ve created is a LinkedIn web page with your name, email address, and current job title/company.

A well-written and complete LinkedIn profile is essential to maximizing LinkedIn’s application to your job search efforts. Profiles on LinkedIn are structured like a traditional résumé. The words you use to describe your work experience and education are used by LinkedIn as keywords. So by applying the correct terms in your profile, you can show up high in the search results.

Search results in LinkedIn are also based on your connections. So while it is important to make a lot of connections, you don’t want to spam people. (Don’t connect with people just for the sake of having a lot of connections. That’s like giving your business card to everyone at a party.)

Look at other LinkedIn profiles for folks who have your same job title. See what they’re including in their profile that is getting them ranked highly using LinkedIn’s search algorithm.

How can you find the profiles of individuals on LinkedIn who do what you do? Use a Google search as a fast way to retrieve similar profiles.

1. Go to Google.com

2. Type in this search string: “Site:LinkedIn.com” “your job title.”

3. Replace the phrase “your job title” with your job title or keywords or terms related to your job or industry.

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Leveraging Linkedin for your job search

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Initially you can focus on the top 10 search results (some of them will be individual profiles; others will lead you to a category of professionals). Visit each of the top-listed profiles and take note of how they are representing themselves — in particular, the headline they use to describe themselves, and the keywords they include.

Also, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — a well-written professional résumé will give you most of the content you need to create a compelling LinkedIn profile.

Like on other social media sites, LinkedIn uses search to help connect you with people you know — or people you should know. For this reason, optimizing your profile (so it ranks well in search results) ensures that you are being seen by searchers.

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Editing/Enhancing Your ProfileOnce you have a better idea of what you want to include in your profile, it’s time to add the information. Edit your profile by clicking the “Profile” button and choosing “Edit Profile” from the drop-down menu.

LinkedIn will provide prompts to help you build your profile, or you can click on the blue hyperlinks for each field, which will provide an entry form for that field.

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For example, click on “Add a current position,” and you’ll access this screen:

Clicking the “View Profile” tab at the top of the edit area enables you to preview your profile as you make changes.

Uploading A Picture

Add personality to your profile with a photo of yourself. Be selective about the photo you use. Pick one that is professional in nature, not personal. Lighting, attire, and overall composition are all elements to consider when making your choice. Profiles without pictures are not as effective as those with photos. Business headshots are best.

To attach your photo, select “Profile” from the navigation toolbar. Then click on “Edit Profile” from the drop-down menu. Once on the editing page, choose “Add Photo.” (If you are still building your profile, it may appear as “Add a picture” under the “Profile Completion Tips” section.)

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To edit your headline, from your profile’s editing area, choose “Edit” next to your name.

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Click the “Browse” button to find the photo you want to use on your hard drive. Then click “Upload Photo.” LinkedIn provides a built-in photo cropping feature to capture your headshot.

After saving your photo, designate who should see your image. You can chose to have it viewable by “My Connections,” “My Network,” or “Everyone.”

For maximum exposure in your job search, choose “Everyone.”

Creating Your HeadlineYour LinkedIn headline is the most important part of your profile. How you describe yourself to prospective employers and networking contacts is vitally important. When a search is conducted on LinkedIn, a search box returns a listing displaying only photos, names, and headlines. This is why it’s important to have a good headline. A headline filled with the right keywords is an effective positioning tool.

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It will open a new screen. Scroll down to “Headline” and edit this text.

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The information you put in the “Professional ‘Headline’” field displays as the primary tagline at the top of your profile and is what appears primarily with internal and Internet searches.

Creating Your SummaryAfter the headline, the most-often read section of your profile is the Summary. LinkedIn allows you up to 2,000 characters in your summary. Use them wisely—and use them all!

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One popular format for Summary is the “Who/What/Goals” structure. Using this format, you outline Who you are, What you have to offer or add (what is unique about you or your experience), and what are your Goals for being on LinkedIn or your career.

There are also numerous sections you can add to your Summary.

Filling Out Your SkillsOne of the sections you can include under “Summary” is “Skills.” (From the “Profile” tab in the main navigation toolbar, click “Edit Profile.” Under the main box is a small section that says “Add sections to reflect achievements and experiences on your profile.”)

This is a great way to include more keywords in your profile.

Don’t just include the keywords, though. Include your proficiency level and years of experience. See this example:

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Other optional sections you can include in your Summary include: • Certifications• Courses • Honors and Awards • Languages • Organizations • Projects • Patents • Publications

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Assignments and Power Tips

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According to LinkedIn, these are the 10 most overused words/phrases on the site. Avoid using them in your headline and summary:

• Extensive Experience • Innovative • Motivated • Results-Oriented • Dynamic • Proven Track Record • Team Player • Fast-Paced • Problem Solver • Entrepreneurial

This Week’s AssignmentGet your profile to 95% complete by following the steps above to write your headline, populate your profile with a summary and work experience/education and skills, and upload a photo.

Coming Up Next ...

Lesson #3: “Privacy and LinkedIn”

LinkedIn is a great way to conduct a “passive” job search — that is, you’re not actively applying for positions, but you’re open to opportunities presented to you. The next lesson will outline

LinkedIn’s privacy settings and how you can use them to increase your visibility with an active job search — or keep them just open enough to be available to prospective employers and recruiters looking for new talent.