Is your LinkedIn profile looking a little rough?
Many people now have a LinkedIn profile but not everyone who has one is an expert at creating them or even filling them out completely.
Sometimes it is a matter of not having enough time and other times it is a matter of just not knowing how to do it.
Savvy career management includes your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn and using other social media platforms optimally has become another part of savvy career management. But many people still put up a bare bones profile, skip the photo, and never connect with anyone.
To make LinkedIn work for you, complete your profile, add your photo, and start connecting. It sounds obvious but for some people it can be challenging or at least at the bottom of their to do list.
How different should my LinkedIn profile be from my resume?
Though LinkedIn is the most professional of social network platforms, it still shouldn’t mimic your resume or be an exact copy. You have some flexibility to add different stories and to expand on your resume. You want to be able to showcase your skill sets and provide the reader with a glimpse of your personality.
Why am I telling stories at all?
The concept of story doesn’t fit most people’s understanding of resumes or profiles like LinkedIn. If you think about it, a list of duties has never made a resume successful. Change your information to capture the story and showcase the value and skills you bring without it sounding like a boring punch list. What makes you different? What’s your story?
Why do I need a photo?
You could be one of those people like my mother who hated having her photo taken. Despite my father and brother both being avid photographers, Mom always ducked from cameras.
I understand. Without your photo, you miss sharing who you are with your LinkedIn audience. You may miss an opportunity to connect with someone needs the visualization of your photo. Statistic show that your LinkedIn profile is 14% more likely to be seen with a photo.
Ed Han’s LinkedIn tip:
My LinkedIn tip for the day: we all know profile pics = 14x profile views, but you’re also 36x more likely to be contacted.
Ed Han is a Technical Recruiter for Alltech Consulting Services and a long-time social media friend. We met on Twitter.
Just have a friend shoot your photo, use your webcam, or hire a professional. Your LinkedIn profile will look that much better and social media is after all, social!
Connecting is key to LinkedIn
You can have the best LinkedIn profile even complete it with a photo but the success of LinkedIn is in the connections. LinkedIn’s internal search engine will help you search for your connections from multiple queries and let you figure out connections to the companies you are looking to get to know better.
To get your job search working for you, simply click here!
Resume Design and Job Seeking Tips
Here are Design Resumes' latest articles on job search, resume design, resume writing, and Linkedin optimization articles I've written.
Julie Walraven
Professional Resume Writer
Here are ways I can help you land your dream job.
You may be halfway across the country or the world. When you work with me, we share coffee, laughs, and concerns. This turns the scary job search into creative, consultative writing and learning sessions.