Between Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram, do we really have time to add yet another outlet to our ever growing arsenal of social media pit-stops? The answer should be yes, if that additional outlet is a LinkedIn profile. With more than 200 million members in more than 200 countries and 19 different languages, according to the official LinkedIn blog, this is no longer an unknown outlet.
The biggest problem with LinkedIn isn’t really a problem at all; it’s simply misunderstood. In its early days, LinkedIn was primarily an online resume service; now, it boasts career pages, recruitment ads, company search filters, and job analytics. According to a survey by Bullhorn of a group of staffing professionals, more than 97% say they use LinkedIn as a recruiting tool in seeking out, and hiring, new employees. With statistics like this, you would be doing a disservice to yourself by not having a polished and professional LinkedIn profile.
Here are a few tips on how to create and maintain an effective and professional LinkedIn profile:
- Write an awesome headline.
- In as few words as possible, let readers know who you are, who you help, and how you help them. Make your headline compelling and specific to what types of opportunities you want.
- Create a strong summary.
- This is where you can share your story, your achievements, and who you are as an industry professional.
- Showcase your social proof.
- Be sure to add in colleges/universities you have attended, awards or accomplishments you have achieved, and any recommendations you have received.
- Check your spelling…more than once.
- There is nothing more distracting than a resume with spelling errors. Ensure that your profile has been checked and rechecked for spelling and grammatical errors in every place possible.
- Stand out and get personal.
- With recruiters turning more and more to LinkedIn for potential employees, you must set yourself apart from the rest of the pack in your industry. Link your LinkedIn to your Twitter account or showcase your hobbies and talents in your summary to provide a more personal look at who you are.
- Keep your profile up to date.
- Be sure to include an accurate email address, social media handles, and websites that you maintain or contribute to. Also, having an accurate email address linked to your account will keep anyone from creating a fake account using your name and/or background information and experience.
While most of these tips and tricks seem to common sense, it’s incredible how often you can find users making huge mistakes. Here are some of the most common mistakes made on LinkedIn:
- Not including a photo/Using the wrong photo.
- You are way more likely to have your profile viewed if you have a profile photo. However, it needs to be the correct photo! Do not use a photo of your dog or your baby. While those are great for Facebook and Twitter, this is a place to showcase YOU at your professional best.
- Using the standard connection request.
- Even when reaching out to professionals you have never met, make your connection request personal. Do some research on the person and write about what you found in your connection request. You want to connect with people that are going make you and your profile look good, not just people that increase your connection numbers.
- Forgetting about your privacy settings.
- While it’s best to keep your privacy settings minimal to reach the maximum amount of potential employers, there are ways to tailor your settings so your current employee doesn’t know you’re looking for new opportunities. You can limit your activity feed just to those inside your network, you can turn off the visibility of your connections, and you can even make yourself invisible when viewing other member’s profiles.
- Leaving out previous work or volunteer experience.
- When focusing on a traditional paper resume, it’s important to keep your items relevant and tailored to that specific potential job. However, with LinkedIn, you really shouldn’t hold back. You never know what a potential employer is looking for and having more information about you and your experiences could prove to be quite helpful to your professional future!
- Not completing your profile before reaching out to potential employers.
- If your profile has no photo, no connections, and no relevant information about your experience, you’ve set yourself up for failure. Potential employers want to see a polished, put together, and complete profile when considering you for their company. Be sure to complete as much of your profile as possible (and keep it updated) before ever reaching out to other professionals or potential employers.
We all have so many social media outlets occupying our attention on a daily basis that it’s easy to see why this outlet gets overlooked. Your LinkedIn profile requires time, thought, and serious energy to create and maintain. However, if you’re in the market for a new career opportunity, you really cannot afford to leave this social media outlet on the back burner.
Check out this infograph for some additional tips and tricks on using social media outlets to your professional development advantage.
Questions To Ponder:
- Have you ever been contacted through LinkedIn for a potential job? If so, did you respond and has it worked out for you?
- Do you think that companies should be relying more on LinkedIn (and other social media outlets) to help recruit and hire new employees? Why or why not?
- What do you like most about the LinkedIn approach? What do you find the most frustrating or what do you think needs changed?
Ta-ta for now!
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