LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies

Donna Serdula is the leading authority on LinkedIn profile optimization. Her company, Vision Board Media, provides branding services to individual and corporate clients. She is also an in-demand speaker. She can be found online at www.LinkedIn-Makeover.com and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/todonna.

• Introduction 1About This Book 2Foolish Assumptions 2How This Book Is Organized 3Part 1: The Strategy Before the Siege 3Part 2: Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started 3Part 3: Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression 4Part 4: Rounding Out Your Profile and Adding Finishing Touches 4Part 5: The Part of Tens 4Icons Used in This Book 4Beyond the Book 5Part 1: The Strategy Before the Siege 7Chapter 1: Determining Your LinkedIn Strategy 9Determining Your LinkedIn Goal 10Job search 10Reputation management and branding 11Sales and prospecting 12Figuring Out Your Target Audience 13Creating a Compelling Tone 14Using the Different Versions of LinkedIn 15Chapter 2: Getting Found on LinkedIn 17Using LinkedIn as a Search Engine 17Using the search bar 18Using search filters 19Ensuring a Compelling and Attractive Search Result 21Understanding the Importance of Keywords 24Using Online Keyword Tools 28Using WordArt com 29Using LinkedIn’s job postings 30Using Good Ole Google 32Ranking Higher with Profile SEO 33Building Off Profile SEO 34Chapter 3: Understanding Endorsements and Recommendations 37Showcasing Your Skills 38Adding skills 39Grouping skills by category 41Pinning your top skills 41Rearranging skills 42Showing Recruiters What You Know 43Obtaining Endorsements 45Hiding an endorsement 46Opting out of endorsements 47Endorsing a connection 47Removing an endorsement 49Soliciting endorsements 49The Importance of Recommendations 50Identifying people to recommend you 51Asking for a recommendation 52Ditching the default request text 55Accepting a recommendation 55Reordering recommendations 56Removing recommendations 57Recommending others 58Part 2: Getting Your Linkedin Profile Started 61Chapter 4: Optimizing the “Behind the Scenes” Sections 63Managing Profile Changes 63Turning off update alerts 65Removing competitors from your profile 66Turning On Your Public Profile 68Creating a Personalized URL 70Using your name 72Oh no, my name is taken! 72Marketing your public profile URL 73Scanning Your LinkedIn QR Code 73Improving Your Profile’s Strength 75Expanding Your Network 77Chapter 5: Establishing Your Calling Card 81Using the Name Field Correctly 82Editing your name 82Adding prefixes to your name 83Keeping your profile confidential 84Filling Out Location and Industry 85Choosing your location 85Using multiple locations for job search 86Choosing your industry 89Suggesting a missing industry 90Including Your Contact Information 91Adding your email addresses 92Making your email visible to all 94Adding a phone number 95Adding your IM address 96Adding your work address 97Adding your Twitter account 97Adding websites 98Chapter 6: Impressing with the Right Profile Picture 103Why You Need a Profile Picture 104Determining If You Need a New Profile Picture 104Using a Photo Already Taken 106Working with a Photographer 107Professional photographer rates 109Delaying the shoot with excuses 109Taking Your Own Profile Picture 110Understanding the importance of light 110Finding the right background 111Framing the shot 112Finding the right outfit 113Choosing and Uploading Your Profile Picture 114Cropping to profile picture dimensions 114Resizing and saving a high-res image 115Uploading your photo 116Using LinkedIn’s filters to make your picture better 117Changing photo visibility settings 118Chapter 7: Developing a Compelling Headline 123Grabbing Your Reader’s Attention 123Adding Flair to Your Headline 124Saturating Your Headline with Keywords 128Add your job title 129Add your specialty 130Add an extracurricular hobby 131Add a happy ending 131Creating a Benefit Statement Headline 132Adding Your New and Improved Headline to LinkedIn 134Chapter 8: Reinforcing Your Brand with a Background Photo 137Finding the Right Image to Showcase Your Brand 138Working with a Professional Graphic Designer 140Using Online Graphic Tools to Create an Image 140Adding a Background Image to Your Profile 143Chapter 9: Showing You Are Open for Business or Job Opportunities 145Showing You Are Open for Business 146Turning on the Open Profile setting 146Enabling the Open for Business feature 147Choosing your business focus 149Showing You Are Open to Job Opportunities 153Enabling the Open to Job Opportunities feature 155Selecting only recruiters or all LinkedIn members 156Part 3: Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression 159Chapter 10: Getting Your Experiences Ready 161Referencing Your Resume 162Determining Which Experiences to Keep and Which to Merge 163Keep your target audience in mind 164How far back do I go? 165Creating a Work History for Recent Graduates 166Dealing with Employment Gaps 167Chapter 11: Creating a Powerful Experience 169Adding a New Experience 170Making the start and end dates match your resume 173Using month and year or just year 173Getting the company logo to appear 173Linking to your company’s LinkedIn page 176Creating a LinkedIn Page 177Less Is More — Stop Disqualifying Yourself 179Optimizing your job title with keywords 180Making your job title pop with symbols 181Describing your roles and responsibilities 182Crafting an impactful achievement 183Summarizing the company with a boilerplate description 186Giving your reader a call to action 188Editing an Existing Experience 188Reordering Concurrent Experiences 189Removing an Experience 190Examples of Great Experiences 190Salesperson looking for a new opportunity 190Salesperson looking for more prospects 191Human resources professional using LinkedIn for reputation management 192Adding Multimedia to Make Your Profile POP! 192Determining what to highlight with multimedia files 193Resisting the urge to upload your resume 194Chapter 12: Writing a Compelling About Section 197Editing Your LinkedIn About Section 198Writing in First Person 199Avoiding Resume Speak 200Revisiting Your LinkedIn Goals and Target Audience 201Catching Your Reader’s Attention 202Creating Your Professional Manifesto 204Explain your benefits 205Highlight your top achievements 206Keep the About section focused on you 206Create a clear call to action 207Formatting a Sleek LinkedIn About Section 209Examples of Compelling and Engaging About Sections 211Healthcare (job search) 211Real estate professional (sales and prospecting) 212Consultant (sales and prospecting) 213IT professional (reputation management) 214Product management (job search) 215Leadership (reputation management) 215Retail (sales and prospecting) 216Accounting (sales and prospecting) 217Student (job search) 218Part 4: Rounding Out Your Profile and the Final Reveal 221Chapter 13: There’s More to You than Your Jobs 223Adding Your Education, or Lack Thereof 224Divulging the year you graduated 224Preparing activities and societies 225Adding your education 226Adding multimedia 227Reordering education 229Changing the school displayed in your intro card 230Listing Licenses and Certifications 231Adding Volunteer Experiences 233Citing Your Accomplishments 235Showcasing organizations 236Uncovering your honors and awards 239The three P’s: Projects, publications, and patents 243Adding courses 248Adding the languages you speak 250Creating a Profile in Another Language 250Chapter 14: Following Groups, Companies, and Influencers 253Understanding the Importance of Groups 254Determining the types of groups to join 255Turning off group notifications 257Joining recommended groups 258Searching for groups 259Deleting groups 261Turning off group communication email 262Choosing which groups to highlight on your profile 262Cultivating Your Following Section 264Choosing the right companies to follow 265Following companies 266Unfollowing companies 266Showcasing Influencers on Your Profile 267Deciding which Influencers to showcase 267Finding specific Influencers 269Discovering recommended Influencers 270Removing Influencers 271Following Schools 271Chapter 15: Publishing on LinkedIn 273Showcasing Yourself as a Thought Leader 274Keeping up with Articles and Activity 274Understanding the LinkedIn Feed 275Using hashtags 278Tagging people 279Looking at the Difference between a Post and an Article 281Creating your first post 282How often should you post? 284Benchmarking success 285Reacting and responding to other people’s posts 285Creating your first article 287What Happens After You Publish? 293Marketing Your Blog Post 294Chapter 16: Unveiling and Marketing Your Powerful Profile 297Viewing Your Profile from the Mobile App 298Viewing Your Profile as an Outsider 298Getting Google to Index Your Profile 300Your LinkedIn Profile Checklist 301Benchmarking Your Profile’s Success 304Marketing Your Profile 307Alerting your connections of your updated profile 307Adding your profile to other social media sites 311LinkedIn profile plagiarism 312Getting views to your LinkedIn profile 314To Pay or Not Pay for LinkedIn 319Features of paid accounts 320Unique features of premium accounts 321Choosing the best plan for you 323Part 5: The Part of Tens 325Chapter 17: Ten Profile Do’s and Don’ts 327Do Use a Professional Profile Picture 327Don’t Use LinkedIn’s Default Headline 328Do Use Eye-Catching Symbols Sparingly 328Do Include Your Contact Information 329Do Add Media Samples 329Don’t Stuff Keywords 329Don’t Go Back 30 Years 330Do Get Recommendations 330Do Tell a Story 330Do Download Your Data 331Chapter 18: Ten Tips for a Perfect Profile Picture 333Hire a Professional Photographer 333Use Lots of Light 334Use a Nondescript Background 334Dress to Impress 335Adjust Yourself 336Keep the Camera Close to Eye Level 336Say No to the Mug Shot 336Crinkle, Smile, and Jut 337Use Photoshop Lightly 337Crop Your Image 338Chapter 19: Ten Tips to Expand Your Network 339Import Your Address Book 340Import a Contact List 342Let LinkedIn Help You Connect 342Join One Hundred Groups 344Start a LinkedIn Group 344Make Connecting a Process 344Link to Your Profile 345Brand Yourself a LION or Just Connect to Them 345Don’t Join Open Networking Lists and Groups 346Use an App 347Chapter 20: Ten Tips to Leverage LinkedIn 349A-B-C Always Be Connecting 349Connect and Stay in Touch 350Gather Business Intelligence 351Get the News 352Get Social Proof and Credibility 353Get Past the Gatekeeper 353Rub Elbows in Groups 354Find Assistance 354Showcase Thought Leadership 355Network in Your Pajamas 356Chapter 21: Ten LinkedIn Profile Resources 357Get Inspired and Excited 357LinkedIn Headline Generator 358Virtual Phone Numbers 358Google Voice 358Skype 359Say No to AOL and Hotmail Addresses 359Your own domain 359Acceptable free domains 359Symbol Variations 360Stop the Typos 360SlideShare 360Photographer Directory 361Background Image Libraries 361Online Image Apps 362Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Get Noticed by Recruiters on LinkedIn 363Make It Easy to Connect the Dots Quickly 364Exhibit Personality and Show a Cultural Fit 364Turn On Open to Job Opportunities 365Say Cheese 366Provide Your Contact Information 366Connect to Them 366Comment on Their Posts 367Post, Comment, and Hashtag 367Keep Your Profile Up to Date and Fresh 367Invest in Your Future 368Index 369