LinkedIn is so much more than a “resume repository” advised Dean Guadagni and Susan Hanshaw in a presentation to Marin Professionals.
The two social media marketing strategists outlined a host of ways that online networking on this Web platform can play a significant role in your professional life.
One tip sent me home to update my profile . . .
But, first, three facts for you:
1 – LinkedIn provides a pathway for users to connect with the right people beyond their own network connections.
2 – A large network increases your ability to rank high in searches.
3 – 75% of employers are checking out LinkedIn profiles on prospective employees.
Below is my LinkedIn profile page:
I’ll show you what I changed — and how:
The “change” was on the bottom of the profile page — the SUMMARY portion:
My summary had only been a few key words until Dean & Susan told me what to do:
FIRST PARAGRAPH: Communicate quickly and clearly the type of opportunities you are seeking.
SECOND PARAGRAPH: Highlight 3 or 4 key career accomplishments that demonstrate your qualifications. [Don’t use bullet points. Make it a friendly narrative.]
THIRD PARAGRAPH: Answer the question: How are you UNIQUE? How are you DIFFERENT?
Finally, there is the SPECIALTIES section which is hugely important. Here you put the KEY WORDS that employers are looking for when they search the LinkedIn site.
When you draft your own LinkedIn Summary, think about this quote from Susan:
“Consider your career as a tapestry of different threads of activities and jobs that you have had.”
Sheesh Shari
I want to copy and paste your summary.
Maybe if I acknowledged my sources?
Didn’t some poor hack at the New York Times have a plagiarism issue last year. That’s the problem with t’interweb, there’s no escape, no hiding place and no point trying to pass off the work of others as your own.
Just found it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayson_Blair
On a related note. I was proof-reading a extremely turgid brochure for a senior exec in my last company. After pages of irrelevant business buzz words I suddenly found myself reading flowing, intelligent prose. You’ll know what I did next. Yes a quick copy and paste into google found me reading the same text in wikipedia.
How we laughed when he was fired
Regards, Lorne Hamill Director
Lorne,
Too bad I didn’t keep your old summary, Lorne, because your new one is Awesome!
Here it is folks:
Summary
So you are using LinkedIn, Twitter, FaceBook, blogs, Youtube, e-newsletters and telepathy. But are you actually making money out of your social media efforts? Or maybe your are not really sure which platform, if any you need to be on. What I do for organisations is firstly understand their current business model. Next put together an appropriate social media strategy. Then we get the first platform up and running and working properly before we move on to any other social media.
I’ve been a trainer for nearly 20 years and have worked with everyone from senior executives in FTSE companies to SMEs and individuals, to help improve their effectiveness. I truly believe that social media is tremendously powerful, if used properly.
I am passionate about bringing about successful change and so provide my clients with on-going support 24/7 to ensure that they get the most out of their investment
I could go on, I’m sure you get the picture.
Tel: 07725648089
Specialties
Social media consulting, High Level Coaching, Sales Training, Recruitment Training, Management Development, Communication Skills, Marketing Strategy
Another profile tip for you – don’t forget to put common misspellings of your name, like Wiess (or other common misspellings you see), into the Summary field of your LinkedIn profile. That way, if people look for you with that misspelling, they still find you. More at http://www.the-linkedin-speaker.com/blog/2009/01/27/missing-linkedin-tip-%E2%80%93-misspell-your-last-name-in-your-linkedin-profile/
@617patrick on Twitter
Hey, Patrick, thanks for the tip. I passed it along on Twitter AND I’ll be using it myself to enhance my own LinkedIn profile.
The Answers area on LinkedIn has enabled me to add connections with many people who share similar goals.Thanks for the useful suggestions.
LinkedIn will be helpful for me in the future because I am still a student in the college. I will save and remember the website. One day, I will have my profile page in LinkedIn!
Thank You for the presentation 🙂
Shari,
Thank you for such kind encouragement! We hope that when we present information that each attendee takes home one of the following:
*New perspective(s)
*At least 1 tip
*A outline for a plan or strategy focus
*New enthusiasm for the subject
Our challenge is to come as close as possible to making the subject material applicable for audience members despite the different levels of understanding.
Thanks again for your support!
dean
Thanks for acknowledging our presentation, Shari. You’ve turned your great notes into a very informative post!
Keep up the great work!
Susan, the “perfect” thing about your presentation was your clear Focus — and the exact right amount of information. As I said in the post, I was so excited about your content that I went right home to connect with you AND follow your directions AND write the post. Again, thanks so much for the supremely helpful information. I believe we will be helping lots of people with this information. Looking forward to future presentations. In addition, if there is anything I can do for you, please let me know.
“75% of employers are checking out LinkedIn profiles on prospective employees”
That statistic is astounding, only mom and pop stores might not be looking at LinkedIn.
Personally I have never given LinkedIn much thought but now I think I might have to work to make my profile stand out.
Fantastic, I’ve been looking for some direction on writing a stronger opening summary. I’m going to craft something right away.
COOL, Chelsea, that was exactly the way I felt. I’ll have to make certain to “advertise” this blog post tomorrow since not EVERYONE is up this late. 🙂