Recently I met an incredibly gifted and accomplished professional and in our conversation many people came to mind that I wished to connect her to. When I got back to the office I logged into LinkedIn pulled up her profile. I was prepared to share it with the connections in my network with a note suggesting how they might benefit in meeting.
(TIP ONE) Did you know that you can share any member's profile within your network with any of your connections by simply forwarding it? Well, I went to the professional's profile. She was moderately well-connected with 180 connections, that reflects well upon her when sharing a profile, but then to my dismay I learned that her profile was poorly completed. It shared no details about her roles, skills and achievements in her career and community. Poorly crafted and incomplete are commonplace. That experience has prompted this writing.
So, what makes for an effective profile? Your profile should be comprehensive, robust, catchy and include the following:
Who you are - your roles at work and in community organizations
What you do - your skills, talents, interests, and achievements in career and community including awards and honors
Where you belong - career, academic and civic history; your employers all of them, schools attended and groups (faith-based, fraternal, professional and community)
Let's get to your profile right now and update it... Oh, you're not yet compelled to do so. Consider this. LinkedIn is the preferred tool for recruiters and hiring managers everywhere. Why? They can access 33 million candidates any time of the day at no cost or low cost. When looking for new employees, employers know they can find talent at competitors. They will search by job title, employer name, skill and relevant professional organizations. They can find passive candidates, those not listed on the job boards. If you are self-employed and employment opportunities are irrelevant, consider this. You can find prospective clients, business partners, employees or investors. If you are going to be "out there," why not benefit fully. There is no spam and there is security and privacy protection.
Let's take it from the top.
Name - This is pretty obvious. If you have had multiple surnames, list your primary first and others in parentheses afterward. Know that If your name is David, you will not be found as Dave and Judith won't be found as Judy.
"Headline" - This is how you wish to be known. It will appear beside your name in search results. Making it catchy might compel someone to browse your profile. Managing Email Addresses
Location - this is driven by your zip code.
Industry - Be careful here. If you are an IT professional in healthcare, you might toggle your choice here alternating between your industry healthcare and your career field Information Technology. There is no best answer.
Photo - Sure. Put up a photo. A picture is often worth a thousand words. People will remember a face and that matters. It's lame to use your cat's photo.
Status - Share what you are working on. Keep it professional. While this micro-blogging capacity is Twitter-like. Your network does not want to know the household, social life, familial conditions of the moment and day. Whatever is entered here will reset to nothing in 5 days if not updated. Update this often. Once or twice a day is NOT too often.
Employment History - Be thorough and inclusive it's to your advantage. Include ALL the buzz words that use to search on career opportunities. Include ALL your previous employers. This facilitates making connections with former colleagues.
Education - Include all schools and training you've attended. You need not have graduated from the school. This facilitates connecting with former classmates. Include your high school if you wish. You'll have to add your school since only colleges are included in the drop lists.
Summary - This is your elevator speech. Keep it crisp. It's your marketing and personal brand statement. Make it count. Craft it carefully. Don't ignore identifying your specialties.
Additional Information: Don't miss this portion which includes the following sections!
Websites - You can include three here. One might be to your personal website, another to your Google or Yahoo page that posts your resume, another your business.
Interests - Include both professional and personal interests here.
Groups & Associations - include again your professional (AMA, Bar Assoc), community (Rotary, United Way), and personal affiliations (faith-based, neighborhood, alumni). Some will be LinkedIn Groups which are listed in the LinkedIn Directory. Others will not be registered and therefore are not in the Directory. Those that are listed in the LinkedIn Directory have an owner who may elect to moderate an approval process for members.
Honors & Awards - Include again professional, civic, and personal. You might note certifications achieved here.
Contact Settings - Write a narrative here explaining how you prefer to connect and what you find acceptable reasons for being approached. You might offer your phone number here or your email address, if you like. You might share times that you are easiest to reach, time, day of week etc. You might be out of the country or on vacation. You can change this setting at anytime.
Public Profile
You determine what will display in your profile when viewed by those beyond your network and LinkedIn. LinkedIn is indexed by Google. It's a good idea to "View Your Public Profile" upon completing it.
It's also a great idea to do a search on your name in Google to see the results. Why not search your name in LinkedIn to see if you've become schizophrenic in the network. Many members unknowingly have multiple profiles. See "Multiple Accounts" within the Insights to learn how to resolve such.
Additional Insights
Below you'll find insights and solutions that will assist you in resolving your LinkedIn challenges or will accelerate experiencing the benefits of social networking.
Groups & Their Benefits
Your LinkedIn Profile and Google
Who to Invite - Processing Invitations
Multiple Accounts & the Side Effects
Researching Companies
Sharing your Status