LinkedIn Tips: 10 Steps To A Stronger Profile
Do these 10 things to improve your LinkedIn profile and position yourself for the next job opportunity. Each takes less than 10 minutes.
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You've decided you need a new job, but a daunting laundry list holds you back: You have to update your resumé, assemble your portfolio, gather references, and revise your LinkedIn profile, to start. Plus, you're still employed full time. Overwhelmed yet?
That feeling is normal, says LinkedIn career expert Nicole Williams: "Starting a job search is very stressful. You are throwing yourself in a situation that is unknown and scary. You need to make sure what you have to offer is up to par."
LinkedIn, with more than 277 million users worldwide, has become recruiters' and head-hunters' go-to resource for finding top talent. The content in your profile and your actions on the social network could influence whether or not you land the job of your dreams.
[Want to keep your job search private? Read 5 LinkedIn Privacy Settings For Job Hunters.]
Approach your job search in small chunks, Williams says. "Any time you try to do it all, you tend to do a lousy job at everything. You need to section off your job search and set up goals."
On day one, for example, you may take 10 minutes to upload your best Slideshare presentations to your profile. On day two, you might ask a handful of your closest colleagues and former coworkers for recommendations. On day three, you might upload a blog post -- one of LinkedIn's newest features on the platform -- to showcase your industry knowledge and advice.
"[These] literally let your work speak for itself," Williams says. "Having other people vouch for your work ethic and skills are huge pluses in this type of job market. [In publishing a blog post] not only are you leading a conversation, you are becoming an industry leader and influencer."
Starting your job search doesn't need to be stressful. Here's a look at 10 things you can do in 10 minutes to ready yourself and your LinkedIn profile for the next opportunity.
1. Update your profile picture.
Upload a profile picture to increase the chances that others click on your profile. According to the professional social network, people are seven times more likely to view your profile if you include one.
To add or update yours, click Edit Profile from the navigation options at the top and click the camera icon to the left of your name. On the following page, browse your files for the photo you want and set the privacy settings for your picture. Everyone can see your picture by default; LinkedIn doesn't recommend you change this setting.
Make your profile more engaging by showing off your work: LinkedIn lets you upload images, videos, presentations, and documents. To add these to your profile, click Edit Profile from the menu at the top. Under your Summary, Experience, and Education profile sections is an icon: a square with a (+) symbol. Click this button to upload a file or add a link to something you want to share.
Once you upload an item, a picture of it will display with a prefilled title and description. To edit these fields, scroll to the media sample and click the pencil icon in the lower-right corner. Click inside the Title and Description fields to edit the text, then click Save.
LinkedIn's Alumni Tool helps you discover where your alma mater's alumni work, which could lead to new connections and job leads, according to LinkedIn's Nicole Williams.
"Check out what they do professionally and how they got there. Working backward around your future career goals is a highly effective and easy way to target your job search. Sharing a common bond -- like going to the same school -- will help open doors for you with these contacts. Reach out to alumni working in fields or companies you'd like to work for."
Find the Alumni Tool under the Network tab at the top. You can search date ranges and drill down further into where they live and work, what they do, what they studied, and their top skills, or search by keyword for more information.
Take advantage of in-between moments -- at the doctor's office or during the commute to work, for example -- to search for, save, and apply for jobs that interest you.
To get started, open your LinkedIn mobile app and click the Jobs tab to search for a position. Every job listing will offer the option to either Apply or Save for later. Some may have an Apply On Company Website button instead; in these cases, the company requires you to apply on its corporate career site.
Once you click Apply, LinkedIn will let you know if parts of your profile are incomplete. You can edit your profile directly from the app before submitting your information. If your profile is already up to date, click the blue Next button on the top.
The final screen will prompt you to confirm your contact information, including your email address and phone number. Complete the application process by tapping the Submit button.
LinkedIn's newest addition to its suite of products and features is a blogging platform that lets users share their expertise and views on industry news. This feature is still rolling out to users.
Once you receive publishing capabilities, you can write directly from your LinkedIn homepage. To begin, click the pencil icon in the "Share an update" box. This will take you to the writing tool, which also lets you add images and other media.
When you publish a post, anyone can see it. It's visible to your connections and followers through the newsfeeds on their homepages. Members who are not in your network can follow you from your posts, too, LinkedIn says. People don't need a LinkedIn account to read your posts, either.
LinkedIn gives you access to analytics to gauge the reach of the content you publish. You'll receive an emailed report on page views, likes, and followers, which you can also access from your profile.
Forty-two percent of hiring managers agree that volunteer work is just as valuable as paid work experience, according to a LinkedIn survey. Twenty percent said they would hire someone because of his or her volunteer experience.
To add volunteer work to your profile, click the Profile button from the menu at the top and select Edit Profile. Find the Volunteering & Causes button in the right-hand margin or scroll through your profile sections until you see it.
Fill in the fields and click Save. You can also click the double-arrow button and drag it to move this section higher up or further down in your profile.
LinkedIn Groups are one of the site's most undervalued features, says Nicole Williams. "Search for groups where you can find active, inspiring people -- and they don't need to be related to your career, either. Belonging to groups outside your profession, like location-based networking groups or hobbies, gives others a fuller picture of who you are when they visit your profile."
Before you join a group, check out its statistics to decide whether it's a good fit. You can find this by clicking the "i" button next to "Join." Below the "About" section, click "Group statistics." Here, you can browse the group demographics, growth, and activity.
LinkedIn's Advanced Search feature lets you search for people and jobs based on specific criteria that you input and is especially useful in your job search, says Williams.
"Advanced Search is a great tool that people don't use to their full advantage. You can target a certain... location, job level, and industry to determine who you need to connect with at a company to further your job search."
To find this feature, click the Advanced button next to the search bar at the top of your LinkedIn page. You can toggle between searching for people and jobs in the top-left of the box that pops up. Then, enter in your specifications, which could include keywords, company, title, location, relationship, industry, and more.
You can save any job search you perform on LinkedIn, which makes it easier to revisit later to browse recent positions that companies add.
Enter your job criteria on the search page, then click the Search button. At the top-right of the results page, click Save Search. Enter in a name for your search and how often you'd like LinkedIn to send you updates. You can save up to 10 job searches. To remove one from your list, click the X beside it.
While Endorsements, which let you vote up a connection's skill with a quick click, are easy to dole out and accumulate, they're not as valuable as a written recommendation, according to Nicole Williams. Send a message to a few of your closest former and current colleagues and request a recommendation.
"When you ask someone for a recommendation, ask them to highlight a particular skill, such as management or your leadership skills," she says. "And consider asking for a recommendation while you're in the midst of a project working your tail off. That's when your hard work is freshest in their mind and they're more incented to do it."
While Endorsements, which let you vote up a connection's skill with a quick click, are easy to dole out and accumulate, they're not as valuable as a written recommendation, according to Nicole Williams. Send a message to a few of your closest former and current colleagues and request a recommendation.
"When you ask someone for a recommendation, ask them to highlight a particular skill, such as management or your leadership skills," she says. "And consider asking for a recommendation while you're in the midst of a project working your tail off. That's when your hard work is freshest in their mind and they're more incented to do it."
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