BUILDING A LINKEDIN PROFILE
How Employers use
LinkedIn:- 96% Searching
- 94% Contacting
- 92% Vetting
- 93% Keeping tabs on
candidates
Social Media Drives Hiring
LinkedIn – How Job Seekers Use it in 2018
LinkedIn is where they do most of their
job-seeking activity:• 40% contacts referred me for a job
• 34% contacts shared a job opportunity
• 32% made a new professional
connection
• 32% contacts provided an employee’s
perspective on a company
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/job-seekers-use-social-media-2014-infographic/
What is LinkedIn? Founded in 2003
LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network
It has over 259 million members and growing
Why use LinkedIn?
It’s a great career management tool
Network with other professionals
Helps you find jobs and employers find you
Target audience is college students and professionals
Gain access to experts in your industry:
Use the Q&A to ask a network of professionals questions or
advice
Join LinkedIn groups specific to your industry for group
discussions and news
Why use LinkedIn?
How is LinkedIn Different From Other Social Media Sites?
It allows you keep your private life separate from your
professional life
LinkedIn is information rich and not a photo and
personal sharing system
5-Step Quick Guide For Getting Started On LinkedIn
http://www.careerealism.com/getting-started-on-linkedin-quick-guide/#R460TG3D97gOAEwD.99
How to Get Started
• Go to the LinkedIn website:
www.linkedin.com and create a profile
Creating a Profile• Be detailed about your education, internships,
volunteering, jobs, study abroad
• Be authentic and include a strengths summary
• Use key words in your profile that are relevant
in your industry or desired field
• Check spelling and grammar
Creating a Profile• Your headshot is the first impression
• Use a professionally taken photograph
headshot that shows you in the best light
Creating a profileCreate a Headline to grab the reader’s attention• The headline appears under your name and next to
your picture
• Do not limit yourself to the default job title and employer
• Use the 120 characters to market yourself
• Don’t use a title, be creative & describe yourself
Creating a Profile• Complete experiences and use keywords
• Use key words in your profile and experiences that are relevant in your industry or desired field
• Top 10 overused buzzwords on LinkedIn profiles 2013:Responsible Strategic Creative Effective
Patient Expert Organizational Driven
Innovative Analytical
• Be detailed about your education, internships, volunteering, jobs, study abroad
Creating a ProfileComplete an interesting summary (shows up
higher in the profile)
• Take advantage of the 2000 characters
• Tell people who you are
• How to contact you
• Why they should hire you
• Core competencies
• Add your email
• Be sure to use proper capitalization and
grammar
Creating a Profile• Customize your public profile URL
• Make your URL easier to remember
• Can be edited under profile settings
Creating a ProfileJoin Groups
• Create business circles and connections
• Gives you a platform to seek advice
• Gives you the opportunity to showcase your expertise
Creating a ProfileAdd Other Profile Information
• Volunteer Experiences & Causes
• Certifications
• Education
• Honors & Award
• Skills Section – tell things you are proficient in
• Languages, test scores, patents & others…don’t
put in basic courses like Accounting 101
Creating a ProfileCall to Action• Would be different for everyone• Profile shows what you have done and a call to action gives
the reader further instruction on how or why to contact you• Can show sample work or direct reader to your own personal
website
Examples• An author or aspiring writing can show their publications
• An artist can showcase their portfolio
• Tell the reader why to contact you .. Interview, job, advice…
• Failure to include contact information could result in missed opportunities
Quick Fixes To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
The Minimal-Effort Profile
Add specifics (such as your full work history for the last 10 years, certifications, or skills)
The Default Headline
When you specify the details of your current job, LinkedIn will ever-so-subtly include a checkbox that is already set to “Update My Headline to (your job title)”. If you leave this information as is, site users will see “Bob Jones, Vice President Finance at ABC Company” throughout all your activity.
However, if you uncheck the box and then edit the Headline available when changing your name field, you’ll have the chance to advertise your career level and competencies with “Bob Jones | VP Finance, Controller, CFO | Growth, Capital, Funding, & Technology Strategies.”
The key in altering your Headline is to use terms that will trigger your hit rate for both your job target and current position (and potentially your industry). Inject a brand message related to your success, as in these examples:
Martin Forester, IT Director. SAP, Infrastructure-Building, & User Responsiveness. Manufacturing & Medical Devices
Claire Wilson | Enterprise Account Executive Accelerating Channel Sales to $40+ Million in Managed Services Markets
http://www.careerealism.com/quick-fixes-linkedin-profile/#qPZ4E6xTiPxOcOiX.99
Quick Fixes To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
The No-Networking-Wanted Approach
Take steps to be findable and reachable
Join groups (a lot of them!) that represent your career goals
Select the types of messages you’re willing to receive option under
Settings to fully open, ensuring you’ll receive both introductions and
InMail (LinkedIn’s internal e-mail)
Look at the contact information -it’s buried all the way down at the
bottom of your profile-it’s important
Did you add a phone number, e-mail address, or both?
Top 3 LinkedIn Profile Errors
1. Failing To Use All The Space Provided
Work history only includes titles, or you skipped sections like Interests
or Specialties
2. Mistaking A Resume Summary For A LinkedIn Summary
Write a more personalized, bullet-point account of your background
and qualifications
Break up the text visually so employers can quickly scan through for
key words, and consider adding decorative bullet symbols for easier
readability
Top 3 LinkedIn Profile Errors
3. Presenting Data Inconsistent With Your Traditional Resume
The problem arises when your job history, education, or
achievements appear differently online than on paper
To spot discrepancies: print out both your resume and your LinkedIn
profile, reviewing the facts you’ve listed
Must deliver the same value proposition message as your resume
Getting hired today requires a strong online identity!
http://www.careerealism.com/top-linkedin-profile-errors/#ug1SsJy5mdvhkDXr.99
Keep Profiles UpdatedMake Any Updates to Your Profile
• As you would update your resume, you should
also keep your LinkedIn account updated with
your updated resume, contact information or
profile information
Be Active
• Participate and interact often, the more you
interact the more contacts you make, growing
your network
NetworkingBegin Establishing a Network
• Your best network is with those you know and trust already
Explore Career Fields (Alumni Paths)
• Search Alumni by major, employer name, career keywords, interests, etc.
Explore and Follow Employer Pages
• Use as a research tool, look for job postings, announcements for opportunities
Connecting to Others
Connect with people in industries that interest you
Limit of 100 profiles to search by
With companies that you want to learn more about
Geographies that you would like to move to
When connecting, NEVER use the built-in message:
“I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn”
Connecting to Others
Accept everyone, but invite strategically
Don’t just invite everyone who pops up on “people you may know.”
Invite to build your network the way you want to build it
Diversify your contacts
Use your network – announcements or questions are ok
Update regularly
Connecting to Others
State Your Intentions Upfront
Hi Andrea,I obtained your name through the Icesi University MBA LinkedIn Group. I graduated from the School of Management last year and I am in the process of making a career transition. It would be helpful for me to ask you questions about your experiences as an Sales Account Manager for Colombina.I am not expecting to discuss a particular employment position but I would appreciate being able to talk with you on an informational basis.I thank you in advance.Regards,
http://careerealism.com/common-linkedin-mistakes/#BMfGRtflXuCXt3i0f.99
Searches
• Find one person and search their contacts to have a richer
search
• Job search feature
• Search by city
Things To Immediately Do On LinkedIn
Put Up a Photo
Join About 45 groups. You’re allowed up to 50 groups on LinkedIn
Post Discussions on Your Groups on a Regular BasisParticipate in threads with useful remarks not self-promoting
Let It Be Known You Are An Open Networker, don’t’ just connect with the people you know Accept all or almost all connection requests, at least from individuals. (not corporations or those
with no photo)
Get Recommendations (Endorsements)
Proactive recommendation seeking involves reaching out and asking someone to recommend you. Passive recommendation seeking involves recommending someone, at which point LinkedIn asks them to recommend you back. The latter is actually a bit more effective.
If you have endorsements you will appear higher in the search!
http://www.careerealism.com/immediately-linkedin/#hQyzg1SMJ8dDDtP0.99
Example Profile
Example Profile
Example Profile
Example Profile
Example Profile
Example Profile
http://www.careerealism.com/linkedin-strategy-clues/
4 Clues Your LinkedIn Strategy Is Working
Your Search Appearances And Profile Views Have Increased
The People Viewing Your Profile Are In Your Target Industry
People Are Reaching Out To You—Both On And Off LinkedIn
Opportunities Start To Come In
What am I going to
check:
Thank you!
1. Create your profile IN ENGLISH
2. Complete your personal profile, include a profesional photo, work
history, skills, expertise, education, educational
acknowledgements, etc.
3. Build 20 connections: 8 of them must be profesional
4. Join 5 groups
5. Post a question
6. Comment in 5 groups at least 5 separated times.
7. Write one letter of recommendation for a connection
8. Ask for a letter of recommendation written by a connection9. Connect to my profile so I can check yours