To get the session rolling, I passed out sheets of paper and let the members write down their questions. Rather than giving them a preset teaching session, I decided to answer their specific questions. I told them that I would share some of those questions here to help others who may have the same questions. Today’s Question:

How do you increase visibility on LinkedIn?

The question was:

Once you create a profile on a site such as LinkedIn, what is the best way to get your name out there? (get employers to see it)

Let’s talk LinkedIn optimization and strategy:

1. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is really complete and update it  frequently. I can’t tell you how many profiles I look at that have no substance. The summary area is often not used at all but yet that area alone holds 2000 characters. Make those characters count! The summary is to be written in the “I” voice so it feels more like a conversation that the detached 3rd person voice of the resume. The quotes below come from a very special client I worked with recently, you see common ground and wording with the keywords but you get a different feel in the voice.
• LinkedIn: Here’s the beginning of one of my client’s profiles: “You will find me to be a dynamic, passionate non-profit executive, with an extensive history of fundraising, fiscal management, program management, and board development. I have been blessed with an exciting career dedicated to the improvement of impoverished communities and families. “
• Resume:  Dynamic, passionate non-profit executive, with an extensive history of fundraising, fiscal management, program management, and board development. Innovative, results-driven professional noted for transforming communities and creating strategic alliances and partnerships with stakeholders, corporations, and community at-large.
2. Build your connections. If you have less than 20 connections on LinkedIn and complain to me that it doesn’t work, I know why. You haven’t expanded your connections on LinkedIn. You need to grow your LinkedIn community with quality connections. I’d set a goal for 1o0 and go from there.
3. Use the resources of LinkedIn to research companies and connect with people who can help you. But don’t be a pest. You need to realize that company leaders are busy.
4. Use your profile link on your business card and post new status messages. If you blog, share your blog posts, but also share other things especially tied to your area of expertise. Be a resource in your expertise to your network by posting status messages of value.

More tips on how to increase LinkedIn visibility:

1. How to make sure LinkedIn is bringing you value
2. Watch your LinkedIn Headline – don’t let it tell you what to say!
3. Who do you connect with on LinkedIn?
4. The top 5 mistakes LinkedIn users often make

Stuck in your job search or existing position? Don’t know how to get unstuck? Hire an expert to do it for you. You will hit your target much more quickly and be doing what you do best instead of trying to figure your way through the job search maze. To find out how, Click here!

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How big is LinkedIn?

Those are two different questions but both point to the same symptom.Take note of this information from the about section on LinkedIn:

• As of February 9, 2012, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories.

• LinkedIn started out in the living room of co-founder Reid Hoffman in 2002.
• The site officially launched on May 5, 2003. At the end of the first month in operation, LinkedIn had a total of 4,500 members in the network.
• As of December 31, 2011 (the end of the fourth quarter), professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate that is faster than two new members per second.
• The company is publicly held and has a diversified business model with revenues coming from hiring solutions, marketing solutions and premium subscriptions.

My philosophy is this — with that many members on LinkedIn, despite the global recession, they are not ALL looking for a new job. If an employer thinks joining LinkedIn threatens their ability to retain employees, they are vastly mistaken and missing a marvelous opportunity to grow their business.

Open potential new revenue lines using LinkedIn

My own profile on LinkedIn has enabled me to reach people who later hired me for their career marketing but career marketing is the tip of the iceberg on the potential of connections out there. If your company needs to network with a company to expand its market, what a myriad of possibilities LinkedIn opens up. You can check out if they have a company profile which makes it ultra easy to see a much broader spectrum of employees than you would on corporate websites. You can search for the company name using LinkedIn’s main search engine and come up with a bevy of references to people who either work there now or once did.

Employer LinkedIn bans detrimental?

I believe in using technology to your advantage. An employer who either bans you from LinkedIn or punishes you for having a profile has trust issues. Though jobs are still scarce, the market is turning and soon employers may regret not creating a welcoming atmosphere for employees that allows those employees to fully utilize emerging market tools. LinkedIn, in the realm of social media is not new. It is a tool for businesses everywhere to use in whatever creative way they can imagine.

Stuck in your job search or existing position? Don’t know how to get unstuck? Hire an expert to do it for you. You will hit your target much more quickly and be doing what you do best instead of trying to figure your way through the job search maze. To find out how, Click here!

Photo Credit

Others like me will usually need to hire someone. But then you don’t want to run out and get a new headshot every time you want to change the look. Last month I figured out that the webcam I use for Skype lets me set up the shot and take as many as I like until I find one I am willing to share.

Today was my day at Kasha Salon with my hair stylist, Becky. When Becky does my hair, it looks totally different that if I do it myself. I am a resume writer. She is a Hair Stylist! And she knows what she is doing. So when I got home last month and again today, I took a couple of new shots with the web cam. At the right is the results.

Now even the guys could do this, because you know that even for the guys, you sometimes get a better hair look fresh from the barber or hair stylist.

But for the ladies, I know many women who would prefer to have a photo taken when they have just had their hair styled professionally.

If you really want to have a new headshot, this is my tip of the day. If you are already using Skype with your computer or have a built in webcam, you can just let Skype’s profile pic be your next headshot. As I posted this one on Facebook, I realized that Facebook will also let you take a webcam pic. So whatever works for you, this is your chance to change that old pic and freshen up your profile!

Stuck in your job search or existing position? Don’t know how to get unstuck? Hire an expert to do it for you. You will hit your target much more quickly and be doing what you do best instead of trying to figure your way through the job search maze. To find out how, Click here!

Why your job title should not be your LinkedIn Headline

You’re probably thinking, I don’t get it, what’s wrong with that? Your job title is already in the place it belongs on LinkedIn, it is in the job title of your position. If you also use it as your LinkedIn headline, you miss being able to create a 120 character branding statement that reflects your value and what you bring to the table.

Let’s look at some LinkedIn headlines I created for my clients. Identifying details are removed.

• Energetic and resourceful Building Trades Representative with expertise in negotiations, and business development.
• Creative, energetic, and confident manager with a reputation as both a leader and coach.
• Client-focused, goal-driven manager, with extensive background in key marketing and development roles
• Energetic Facilities Manager, expert in comprehensive management and operations for 1 million sq. ft. multiple sites.
• Creative, enthusiastic professional with a wealth of marketing expertise.
• Dedicated, confident professional with expertise in business and health care marketing in the home health care industry.

Identify yourself with the value you bring not your job title

As I researched my connections, I found that many of the LinkedIn profiles I created lost their headlines when the client updated the LinkedIn profile to reflect their new job or career path. What’s wrong with that?

It is exciting when people are in new roles but when they let the job title take over the headline, they diminish the value that LinkedIn brings to them. Branding is a really hard concept for many people to get but just remember this:

In this volatile career market, you NEVER want to stop marketing you. Networking is lifelong part of your career management plan. Don’t drop the ball just because you are hired.

Ask yourself what you bring to the table and then do some brainstorming to figure out what you can say about you in 120 characters and then rewrite your LinkedIn headline.

Stuck in your job search or just ready to move on or up from your existing position? Julie Walraven, a professional resume writer and career marketing strategist, can help you write your resume and teach you how to find a new job. To find out how, Click here!