by
It’s true. Recruiters from both private businesses and recruiting agencies scour LinkedIn all the time to find business professionals passively or actively seeking work. Job boards like Monster and Career Builder are great, but what you may not know is that many high end recruiters use LinkedIn to find the best of the best. The job boards are sometimes full of actively seeking candidates which can be a little overwhelming to some recruiters. LinkedIn allows a recruiter to work at the pace of their open orders and take their time to find the candidates they are looking for.
I won’t get into how they use it just yet, but I want to share some tips on how to get your LinkedIn profile noticed by recruiters:
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
How To Create A LinkedIn Profile That Will Actually Benefit Your Career
Dan Schawbel
Let’s get one thing straight. If you are in business, you need to be on LinkedIn. This is also true if you want to be in business. Meaning, if you are in school… now is the PERFECT time to get started on LinkedIn.
No matter where you are in your career, NOW is the time to spend some time ensuring your LinkedIn profile perfectly describes you, your goals, your accomplishments and what you bring to the table.
Your goal should be to help the reader decide:
Do I want to do business with this person?
There should be no debate about this point. Your career may depend upon it.
There is nothing wrong with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ or any other social networks. It’s just that LinkedIn is the place to be for business.
Let’s get one thing straight. If you are in business, you need to be on LinkedIn. This is also true if you want to be in business. Meaning, if you are in school… now is the PERFECT time to get started on LinkedIn.
No matter where you are in your career, NOW is the time to spend some time ensuring your LinkedIn profile perfectly describes you, your goals, your accomplishments and what you bring to the table.
Your goal should be to help the reader decide:
Do I want to do business with this person?
There should be no debate about this point. Your career may depend upon it.
There is nothing wrong with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ or any other social networks. It’s just that LinkedIn is the place to be for business.
Why LinkedIn? - find out why, how, and the complete elitedaily article
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
How To Write A LinkedIn Profile When You’re Unemployed - LinkedIn Advice
How To Write A LinkedIn Profile When You’re Unemployed
1. Your Headline
2. Your Summary
3. Your Experience
Monday, December 16, 2013
Tips for Creating a LinkedIn Profile that Gets Noticed
Tips for Creating a LinkedIn Profile that Gets Noticed - Read the PersonalBrandingBlog Post
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
5 Ways To Keep Your LinkedIn Profile Active And Relevant - LinkedIn Advice
By Gerry Moran
Keeping your LinkedIn profile active is a lot like keeping a baseball glove worn-in and ready to use. When I was growing up playing baseball, my dad always told me to oil up my glove and use it regularly. Otherwise, it would get stiff and make it hard to catch fly balls and grounders. Catching these fly balls and grounders would be critical in a game to maintain the favor and friendship of my teammates! Little did I know my dad was teaching me a LinkedIn lesson in the 1970′s!
An active LinkedIn profile is similar to that glove. If you don’t keep it active, then you will not be regularly connecting with your network, and, therefore, might fall out of favor of your constituency!
Here are 5 easy ways to keep your LinkedIn profile “oiled” up to you can catch all of your opportunities!
Keeping your LinkedIn profile active is a lot like keeping a baseball glove worn-in and ready to use. When I was growing up playing baseball, my dad always told me to oil up my glove and use it regularly. Otherwise, it would get stiff and make it hard to catch fly balls and grounders. Catching these fly balls and grounders would be critical in a game to maintain the favor and friendship of my teammates! Little did I know my dad was teaching me a LinkedIn lesson in the 1970′s!
An active LinkedIn profile is similar to that glove. If you don’t keep it active, then you will not be regularly connecting with your network, and, therefore, might fall out of favor of your constituency!
Here are 5 easy ways to keep your LinkedIn profile “oiled” up to you can catch all of your opportunities!
5 Ways To Keep Your LinkedIn Profile Active And Relevant
- Update your LinkedIn status once or twice daily; once at the beginning of the day and another at the end of the day. Factbrowser reports that 77% of LinkedIn members use the site to research people and companies, 69% to reconnect with past business associates and 50% to build new networks, so regular updates will help you get found! If it sounds like this scheduling and updating is a lot of work, it’s not. Use a tool like HootSuite to schedule your twice-daily updates from curated sources, like the Wall Street Journal or MarketingThink.com. This tool makes it easier to plan your communication strategy from the comfort of your couch! (No … two daily updates are not too much. No one has EVER complained about my volume of updates!)
- Participate in 3-5 key LinkedIn groups 2-3 times a week. LinkedIn reports hosting 1.5 million groups, however, you can only join 50 of them. Even with 50 groups to join, you will never be able to activity engage in all of them. So, pick the most relevant ones and maintain a contributing and consultative presence. Your contribution formula should be 10 consultative posts for every 1 “sales-ish” post. Participating in 3-5 LinkedIn groups can get hectic, too. You don’t have to log into LinkedIn every time you check on a group since you can use tools like Flipboard and HootSuite to check the activity.
- Own the conversation in 1 key LinkedIn group. It’s easy to commit to trying to be an expert, thought leader, or active participant in one group; hopefully one that is thriving and full of other great contacts and potential business for you. Active participation in a group like this will increase the likelihood a growing LinkedIn network, and we all know that a bigger network is a better network!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
14 Steps To Improve Your LinkedIn Presence In 2014 - LinkedIn Advice
Cheryl Conner
Contributor William Arruda gave Forbes readers good reasons last week to give LinkedIn a much more serious look in 2014.
Now that Arruda has covered the “why” of updating your profile, I’d like to take a closer look at the “how.” So I’ve reconnected with Wayne Breitbarth, the LinkedIn consultant and author behind the LinkedIn user research in the Forbes Most Read article I presented last month.
Whether you’re a power user or a casual LinkedIn participant so far, here are the 14 straightforward things Wayne suggested to me that are within the reach of every one of us as we bring the current business year to a close. Practice the ongoing steps and by the time the New Year arrives, you can have them committed to a habit you can conduct in just 10 minutes a day, if possible. But even 1-2 times a week could put you well ahead of the typical curve.
Here are the 14 steps he suggests you take right away:
1. Update your photo. Your picture should be recent, professional, and recognizable. An extra tip from Contributor Ken Krogue: Make the photo black and white—since the majority of the photos are in color, the black and white choice will help to set you apart from the crowd.
2. Craft a killer Headline. These are the most important 120 characters on your profile and should include your most important keywords and a short version of your branding story or elevator speech.
3. Revisit your Summary. Think of a tone and style akin to having a cup of coffee with the people who visit your profile. Your description should make them want to pursue a lasting business relationship with you. Would you want to know the person you see in your description, or do you sound entirely self-focused? Now’s the time to give it a bit of thought.
4. Insert a call to action in your profile. Don’t assume readers of your profile know what to do next to find out more about you and your products or services. Be specific and share a link or document that will help them move another step closer to a meeting, phone call, or request to connect on LinkedIn.
5. Join 50 groups. Well, consider at least joining 10. With more than 1.8 million to choose from, you have the opportunity to increase your relevancy, find new people to join your network, and send direct messages to thousands of people who are not in your direct network. To avoid “email overload,” adjust each group’s contact settings to your liking.
Monday, December 9, 2013
The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Mastering LinkedIn - LinkedIn Advice
by Pamela Vaughan
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Presence
1) Claim your vanity URL.
Make your profile look more professional and easier to share by claiming your LinkedIn vanity URL. Instead of a URL with a million confusing numbers at the end, it will look nice and clean like this: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelavaughan. Do so by going here and clicking "customize your public profile URL" down on the right-hand side.2) Create a profile badge for your personal website.
If you have your own personal website or blog, you can promote your personal LinkedIn presence and help grow your professional network by adding a Profile Badge that links to your public LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn has a few different badge designs to select from, and you can configure your own here.3) Make your blog/website links sexier.
Instead of using the default "My Website"-type anchor text links in your LinkedIn profile, you can change the anchor text to make those links more appealing to people who view your profile. So if you want to increase clicks on the website links you can display on your profile, change the link's anchor text to something more attention-grabbing than the standard options LinkedIn provides. For example, if you want to include a link to your blog, rather than choosing LinkedIn's standard "Blog" anchor text, customize it to include keywords that indicate what your blog is about, like "Internet Marketing Blog." Each profile can display up to 3 website links like this, and they can be customized by editing your profile, clicking edit on your website links, and selecting "Other" in the drop-down menu to customize the anchor text.
Tips 4,5, and the complete article
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
25 Tips to Rock LinkedIn
At the recent New Start Scotland Exhibition event, as part of the NSDesign social media suite of workshops, I was asked to present something. I chose the ten-year old platform of LinkedIn as my subject. Since several people asked for a copy of the “slides” after it, I thought I’d create a blog post instead.
I started off with some background comments, and by recommending that people turn off their notifications BEFORE embarking on any tweaking of their profiles. Then asked people what their actual “GOAL” is for social media. Like every other platform out there, LI works best when you have a strategy in place. You need measurable goals that you’re actually working toward or what’s the point in being on there?
What I presented was both a matter of opinion (my own opinion of course), and a variety of “best practices” too. I probably read an average of one LinkedIn article a day. I added a disclaimer that basically said that I wasn’t claiming my profile was “the best profile ever” – to be honest, it’s a constant work in progress. As I learn more, I adjust it.
1) A profile picture (minimum 200×200; max 500×500). Ensure it’s not left blank, or a logo in its place. It shouldn’t be a “selfie” from a night out with your pals, or one with your spouse or kids. Make it a professional studio “headshot” if at all possible. People want to see who they’re dealing with. Put your best foot forward. Profiles with pictures are said to be viewed seven times more often than ones that don’t have a profile picture. Get the picture!? (Pun intended).
2) Make a Headline that Shines (120 characters). If you don’t change it, your headline will simply be your current job title. Why not change it to include relevant keywords for search engine optimization? Google and LinkedIn seem to share a good symbiotic relationship. So if you do it right, by that I mean choosing the right words, you just may find that you can rank on page one in Google by changing your headline to reflect the right terms. Try to show the benefit of connecting to you to your potential (and current) contacts.
3) Succinct Summary (2000 max characters). To me, this isn’t the place to write your full life story or bullet point your full career, but perhaps an opportunity to show who you are in a more rounded sense. Give the reader a little insight into who you are – not just what you DO. Be authentic, use keywords, show some personality, and don’t forget some sort of call to action at the end of it.
4) URLS (30 characters). There are two areas in your profile that you should take advantage of:
4) URLS (30 characters). There are two areas in your profile that you should take advantage of:
A. Your customized URL (usually this is your name). Your URL is found right below your photo on LinkedIn. (See right). Click edit and make it meaningful!
Thankfully, for me, there is only one Thea Newcomb! (Accept no substitutes).
B. Anchor Text/ Back Links The other areas you want to claim are your various website links. These are in the “contact info” area of your profile, and they’ll say things like “Company Website” or “Personal Website”. You can choose from Blog, Company Website, Portfolio, etc.
If you choose “Other” you can then tell people what the name of the site is. Like everywhere else on your LinkedIn profile, use those relevant keywords! I can’t believe how many profiles I see out there where it’s not been used properly. It’s another place for SEO juice, as it were, so please take advantage of it and give the link a relevant name!
5) Experience and Education Put your high school, college, university, and any business training or certification on there too. When writing your experience out, be sure to expand on the title and company, and avoid just highlighting your whole resume verbatim. It’s boring. Strike a happy balance between not telling too much and leaving it sparse.
Monday, December 2, 2013
9 Reasons Why You Must Update Your LinkedIn Profile Today
William Arruda
Over the past decade, LinkedIn has become an essential personal branding tool. It has never been more important to build and maintain a stellar LinkedIn profile. The virtual professional network has morphed from an online resume and networking site to a comprehensive personal branding resource. Here are nine eye-opening reasons why you need to polish your LinkedIn profile right now!
1. It has millions of members. With over 225 million members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Today, it’s assumed that you have a LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have one, can you be taken seriously as a career-minded executive? Brand-conscious leaders don’t turn their backs on two hundred million prospects.
2. It shows up at the top of Google searches. When someone googles you, your LinkedIn profile will likely show up in the first or second spot – that’s some powerful Google juice! This is important because, according to a Gravitate Online study of over 8 million clicks, more than 94% of users clicked on the first page results while fewer than 6% clicked to the second page. The first and second positions get 50% of all clicks.
3. People are researching you. All kinds of people use all kinds of ways to learn about you. LinkedIn gives you an opportunity to control what they discover about your strengths and, more important, about your brand. Who are these people? People you know. People who want to know you. People who matter: Your prospects, employees, manager, clients, competitors. They all use LinkedIn to learn about others. They search for you before meeting you for the first time, or after reading an article that you were featured in, or when deciding whether to respond to your email.
4. It’s packed with invaluable resources. LinkedIn helps you expand your success by offering crucial connections and expertise. Need to source staff? Want to solve problems that can’t be solved by the people in your company? Need to open doors with clients or partners? Need a service provider referral? Want to research what the competition is doing? Need to see who’s in a prospective client’s network? LinkedIn puts all of these assets at your fingertips.
Reasons 5-9 and the complete Forbes article
Over the past decade, LinkedIn has become an essential personal branding tool. It has never been more important to build and maintain a stellar LinkedIn profile. The virtual professional network has morphed from an online resume and networking site to a comprehensive personal branding resource. Here are nine eye-opening reasons why you need to polish your LinkedIn profile right now!
1. It has millions of members. With over 225 million members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network. Today, it’s assumed that you have a LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have one, can you be taken seriously as a career-minded executive? Brand-conscious leaders don’t turn their backs on two hundred million prospects.
2. It shows up at the top of Google searches. When someone googles you, your LinkedIn profile will likely show up in the first or second spot – that’s some powerful Google juice! This is important because, according to a Gravitate Online study of over 8 million clicks, more than 94% of users clicked on the first page results while fewer than 6% clicked to the second page. The first and second positions get 50% of all clicks.
3. People are researching you. All kinds of people use all kinds of ways to learn about you. LinkedIn gives you an opportunity to control what they discover about your strengths and, more important, about your brand. Who are these people? People you know. People who want to know you. People who matter: Your prospects, employees, manager, clients, competitors. They all use LinkedIn to learn about others. They search for you before meeting you for the first time, or after reading an article that you were featured in, or when deciding whether to respond to your email.
4. It’s packed with invaluable resources. LinkedIn helps you expand your success by offering crucial connections and expertise. Need to source staff? Want to solve problems that can’t be solved by the people in your company? Need to open doors with clients or partners? Need a service provider referral? Want to research what the competition is doing? Need to see who’s in a prospective client’s network? LinkedIn puts all of these assets at your fingertips.
Reasons 5-9 and the complete Forbes article
Thursday, November 21, 2013
LinkedIn’s 4 tips for getting people to notice you
By Stuart Thomas
Look, we all know that LinkedIn is incredibly important. That it’s gone beyond being an online CV is obvious. It’s also much more than just a place for making online business connections.
The professional social network is a great place for promoting content, your business, and most importantly yourself. But with over 150-million registered users, getting noticed can sometimes be a little tricky. Most of use recognise that merely filling out a profile isn’t going to cut it. As LinkedIn’s Nicole Williams notes “being part of an online community means engaging regularly to make an impact.” Knowing where to go beyond there though isn’t always easy. To try to make things a bit simpler, LinkedIn has released four tips for making sure you get noticed.
1. Sharing is caring
The social network reckons that people who share articles or content with their LinkedIn network at least once a week “are nearly ten times more likely to be contacted by a recruiter for new opportunities” than people who don’t.
It also recommends you as your network a question via your status update like “I’ve got a new business pitch with Nike tomorrow. Does anyone have any contacts over at Nike?”. Or make a general comment like “I’m heading to the airport for a client meeting in Denver.” Don’t go overboard though, quality counts for a lot more than quantity. It’s also worth remembering the nature of the platform. While your statuses on Facebook might reflect who you are as a person, every status update you share on LinkedIn is a reflection of who you are as a professional.
2. Create a schedule
LinkedIn suggests using its mobile and iPad apps if you’re having trouble fitting in time to spend on it. The apps are especially useful if you commute to work using public transport.
“Maybe a connection is going to be in the same city as you next week or someone is looking for a freelancer to help with her content development. You’ll know before you hit your desk,” it says.
Tips 3,4, and the complete article
The professional social network is a great place for promoting content, your business, and most importantly yourself. But with over 150-million registered users, getting noticed can sometimes be a little tricky. Most of use recognise that merely filling out a profile isn’t going to cut it. As LinkedIn’s Nicole Williams notes “being part of an online community means engaging regularly to make an impact.” Knowing where to go beyond there though isn’t always easy. To try to make things a bit simpler, LinkedIn has released four tips for making sure you get noticed.
1. Sharing is caring
The social network reckons that people who share articles or content with their LinkedIn network at least once a week “are nearly ten times more likely to be contacted by a recruiter for new opportunities” than people who don’t.
It also recommends you as your network a question via your status update like “I’ve got a new business pitch with Nike tomorrow. Does anyone have any contacts over at Nike?”. Or make a general comment like “I’m heading to the airport for a client meeting in Denver.” Don’t go overboard though, quality counts for a lot more than quantity. It’s also worth remembering the nature of the platform. While your statuses on Facebook might reflect who you are as a person, every status update you share on LinkedIn is a reflection of who you are as a professional.
2. Create a schedule
LinkedIn suggests using its mobile and iPad apps if you’re having trouble fitting in time to spend on it. The apps are especially useful if you commute to work using public transport.
“Maybe a connection is going to be in the same city as you next week or someone is looking for a freelancer to help with her content development. You’ll know before you hit your desk,” it says.
Tips 3,4, and the complete article
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
7 LinkedIn Tips That Will Help You Get Hired
by Ta'Rikah Jones
More and more recruiters are using social media tools like LinkedIn to find the best candidates in the market. As a graduate on the job hunt, it’s important to not only have an up-to-date resume but also an optimized LinkedIn profile in order to open doors and land that dream job.
Create an Attention-Grabbing Headline
No matter where they’re used, headlines are always the most important component to any piece of content because they are what grab the reader’s attention. LinkedIn allows 120 characters for a headline and these characters should be used to state what a candidate does as opposed to what they are. And it goes without saying that these headlines need to be enticing to get employers and recruiters to click on the profile.
Have an Appropriate Profile Picture
LinkedIn is a social media network for professionals to connect, not for friends and families to show off vacation photos. Having a professional headshot with a neutral background is the best way a candidate can present themselves to prospective employers. The photos should be warm and personable but always, always professional.
Keywords
Industry-relevant keywords used throughout a user profile help that profile be found higher within LinkedIn’s search rankings, which increases the likelihood the candidate’s profile will get noticed. It’s a good idea to use keywords specifically in the skills section since these sections will also come up in search queries as well.
Tips 4-7 and the complete article
More and more recruiters are using social media tools like LinkedIn to find the best candidates in the market. As a graduate on the job hunt, it’s important to not only have an up-to-date resume but also an optimized LinkedIn profile in order to open doors and land that dream job.
Create an Attention-Grabbing Headline
No matter where they’re used, headlines are always the most important component to any piece of content because they are what grab the reader’s attention. LinkedIn allows 120 characters for a headline and these characters should be used to state what a candidate does as opposed to what they are. And it goes without saying that these headlines need to be enticing to get employers and recruiters to click on the profile.
Have an Appropriate Profile Picture
LinkedIn is a social media network for professionals to connect, not for friends and families to show off vacation photos. Having a professional headshot with a neutral background is the best way a candidate can present themselves to prospective employers. The photos should be warm and personable but always, always professional.
Keywords
Industry-relevant keywords used throughout a user profile help that profile be found higher within LinkedIn’s search rankings, which increases the likelihood the candidate’s profile will get noticed. It’s a good idea to use keywords specifically in the skills section since these sections will also come up in search queries as well.
Tips 4-7 and the complete article
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
6 Ways to Attract Recruiters to Your LinkedIn Profile
Stacey Politi
You know the drill. You’re unhappy in your current job — or unhappy with no job — and are desperately updating your LinkedIn profile that hasn’t been touched since the last time you were in this situation.
Well, you’re not alone; this sums up the dysfunctional relationship many professionals have with their LinkedIn profiles. While some flock to LinkedIn only when in need and apply to already posted positions, the platform is at its best when maintained regularly and optimized to allow hiring managers to reach out to you.
LinkedIn's career expert Nicole Williams helps elaborate on six ways to optimize your profile and attract more recruiters to you now.
First, make a list of terms associated with your skills and experience. Ask yourself, "What words would someone search for to find me?" If strapped for terms, seek inspiration from a job positing you are interested in.
Next, take those terms and rework them from the perspective of a searching recruiter. For example, you may have the term "digital strategy" in your LinkedIn profile; however, a recruiter would be more likely to search for the term "digital strategist." Synonyms are also important; you never know if recruiters will search for "digital," "online" or "Internet," so include them all. Lastly, you want to organically incorporate these key terms into your profile to attract both the search engine and human reader alike.
Not only does a photo allow your profile to stand out in the search results, but also shows recruiters that you are active on the network and LinkedIn is a viable way to contact you. Williams suggests using a photo that places you in the context of your job. You want to help hiring managers envision you in that position.
"If you are a chef, feel free to show yourself in a kitchen, or in front of a whiteboard if you are a marketer," Williams says. "But don’t use a picture of yourself with your dog, unless you’re a veterinarian."
"Using your name in your vanity URL gives it a chance to appear in a Google when someone searches for you," says Williams.
This makes it easier for hiring managers to find you and share your information with other hiring managers. If your preferred vanity URL is already claimed, incorporate a relevant key term, for example www.linkedin.com/in/CarlySimonSinger.
Ways 4-6 and the complete Mashable article
Well, you’re not alone; this sums up the dysfunctional relationship many professionals have with their LinkedIn profiles. While some flock to LinkedIn only when in need and apply to already posted positions, the platform is at its best when maintained regularly and optimized to allow hiring managers to reach out to you.
LinkedIn's career expert Nicole Williams helps elaborate on six ways to optimize your profile and attract more recruiters to you now.
1. Develop a Keyword Strategy
If search engine optimization is not your expertise, here is a mini lesson. LinkedIn’s search functionality makes it easy to find people by their name, skills and any other words that appear in their profile — which is why these words should be chosen with thought.First, make a list of terms associated with your skills and experience. Ask yourself, "What words would someone search for to find me?" If strapped for terms, seek inspiration from a job positing you are interested in.
Next, take those terms and rework them from the perspective of a searching recruiter. For example, you may have the term "digital strategy" in your LinkedIn profile; however, a recruiter would be more likely to search for the term "digital strategist." Synonyms are also important; you never know if recruiters will search for "digital," "online" or "Internet," so include them all. Lastly, you want to organically incorporate these key terms into your profile to attract both the search engine and human reader alike.
2. Say Cheese
Williams says that "hiring managers are seven times more likely to view your profile if you have a photo; it’s a must have."Not only does a photo allow your profile to stand out in the search results, but also shows recruiters that you are active on the network and LinkedIn is a viable way to contact you. Williams suggests using a photo that places you in the context of your job. You want to help hiring managers envision you in that position.
"If you are a chef, feel free to show yourself in a kitchen, or in front of a whiteboard if you are a marketer," Williams says. "But don’t use a picture of yourself with your dog, unless you’re a veterinarian."
3. Be Vain
Williams also prompts all passive and active job seekers to claim their vanity URL. This is a customized URL that drives directly to your profile."Using your name in your vanity URL gives it a chance to appear in a Google when someone searches for you," says Williams.
This makes it easier for hiring managers to find you and share your information with other hiring managers. If your preferred vanity URL is already claimed, incorporate a relevant key term, for example www.linkedin.com/in/CarlySimonSinger.
Ways 4-6 and the complete Mashable article
Monday, November 18, 2013
How to Conquer Your Job Search on LinkedIn in 15 Minutes a Day
Lindsey Pollak
Welcome to the busiest season of the year: schedules are filled with holiday shopping, end-of-year planning, get-togethers, winter weather prep, and so much more. It can be difficult to keep on top of your job search when the rest of life is so busy. My best advice is to create a simple, consistent job search schedule and stick to it. To get you started, here’s a sample schedule to help you master LinkedIn in just 15 minutes per day.
Monday
Start your week with a five-minute scan of the feed on your LinkedIn homepage. Your network may be sharing interesting articles and you may come across valuable insights from your chosen LinkedIn Today channels or the Influencers you follow. If you see an article that interests you, quickly skim it and click “like” to acknowledge the person who posted it.
Spend the next 10 minutes searching for jobs that are posted on LinkedIn. A recent study by Bright.com reported that Monday is the best day to look for a job, so don’t procrastinate! Many jobs allow you to apply using your LinkedIn profile, so you can quickly submit your application. If you’re a Job Seeker Premium subscriber, don’t forget to click “feature my application” so you can appear at the top of the list of job applicants for jobs where applications are collected on LinkedIn.
Tuesday
Scroll through your feed again for the first five minutes. This time, comment on the status updates of a few of your connections. Even a simple “Congratulations!” on a job change can nurture your relationships and help you stay top of mind, which may prompt others to review your profile and even recommend an opportunity they hear about.
Spend the next five minutes visiting your favorite LinkedIn Groups. Post some thoughts on a Featured Discussion or do a search on your area of interest and comment on a discussion related to that topic. To get the biggest return on your time investment, you can post a discussion yourself. Asking a simple, professionally relevant question generally attracts the most comments, such as “What is your favorite all-time marketing book?” or “What tech trends are you predicting for 2014?”
Take the last five minutes of your Tuesday to make sure your LinkedIn Inbox is clear. Respond to messages and connection requests to show people who reach out to you that you are eager to build and nurture your professional relationships.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
4 secrets to standing out on LinkedIn
By Samantha Collier
What separates the great LinkedIn profiles from the average ones is how people use all of the various features on LinkedIn. Of course, it’s also important to have a fully optimized profile.
But it’s not good enough to just fill out your profile anymore. You must do that pesky act we all talk about so often—engage.
The LinkedIn blog recently published an article about four ways to stand out on LinkedIn. Here’s the distilled version:
1. Status updates
LinkedIn users who share content with their LinkedIn networks at least once per week are nearly 10 times more likely to be contacted by a recruiter for new opportunities. News feeds are prominently displayed on home pages due to the recent LinkedIn upgrades. Take advantage of this by sharing articles, blog posts, third-party content, newsletters, etc. Remember, quality is key. And don’t over post either.
2. Schedule, schedule, schedule
Many professionals (including the attorneys with whom I work) don’t think they have the time to be active on LinkedIn. Because LinkedIn has a variety of smartphone and iPad apps, this can’t be your excuse anymore.
Create a schedule and stick to it. Remember, you have to repeat a new action a hundred times to create a new habit. Post updates to LinkedIn on the train to work in the morning, or when you have your morning coffee. When you do it is up to you but you need to stick with it.
Secrets 3,4, and the complete article
What separates the great LinkedIn profiles from the average ones is how people use all of the various features on LinkedIn. Of course, it’s also important to have a fully optimized profile.
But it’s not good enough to just fill out your profile anymore. You must do that pesky act we all talk about so often—engage.
The LinkedIn blog recently published an article about four ways to stand out on LinkedIn. Here’s the distilled version:
1. Status updates
LinkedIn users who share content with their LinkedIn networks at least once per week are nearly 10 times more likely to be contacted by a recruiter for new opportunities. News feeds are prominently displayed on home pages due to the recent LinkedIn upgrades. Take advantage of this by sharing articles, blog posts, third-party content, newsletters, etc. Remember, quality is key. And don’t over post either.
2. Schedule, schedule, schedule
Many professionals (including the attorneys with whom I work) don’t think they have the time to be active on LinkedIn. Because LinkedIn has a variety of smartphone and iPad apps, this can’t be your excuse anymore.
Create a schedule and stick to it. Remember, you have to repeat a new action a hundred times to create a new habit. Post updates to LinkedIn on the train to work in the morning, or when you have your morning coffee. When you do it is up to you but you need to stick with it.
Secrets 3,4, and the complete article
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
4 Reasons You Might Not Get Recommendations On LinkedIn
by Kristin Johnson
It was easy to get recommendations when you were six. All you really needed was a pocketful of Jolly Ranchers (especially the watermelon kind). Kids you didn’t know were suddenly your friends. They told other kids about you and suddenly they were your friends, too. It was all fun and games until it got hot outside and the Jolly Ranchers got melty and sticky.
Now you’re a grownup, and a pocket full of Jolly Ranchers won’t do you much good, especially if you’re looking for a job. And the problem isn’t just that you can’t send Jolly Ranchers through the Internet. No, it’s more complicated than that.
Have you ever asked a LinkedIn Connection for a Recommendation and heard… nothing? They days turn into weeks, and you know darn well they’re active on LinkedIn because you see them in your feed? Frustrating, isn’t it? And confusing.
There’s any number of reasons, good and not-so-good, why your Connection may not have responded to your Recommendation request. Here are some reasons you might not get recommendations on LinkedIn:
1. He may not know how to respond to your Recommendation request.
It’s within the realm of possibility that your Connection is a bit of a luddite. Maybe he can do basic things LinkedIn – perhaps a friend helped him set up his profile. But when he got your Recommendation request, he didn’t know what to do. If you are certain this Recommendation is worth the time and effort for both of you, offer a lesson – screen shots via e-mail, possibly, or a visit to his office.
2. She honestly may have forgotten.
Maybe she is in the middle of a big project at work, or maybe she’s overwhelmed for other reasons. If you have every reason to believe this person would give you a good recommendation, it’s okay to send a reminder message or e-mail, “Hey, did you forget…?” You can also send your request again.
- Go to your Settings and enter your password.
- Click “Manage your recommendations.”
- Find the position you’ve requested the recommendation for and click “Manage.”
- Find the person you want to remind and click on “Resend” next to her name.
- Edit the message and hit send. I put in an extra “Just a polite reminder :-)” at the top.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Job Seekers: Polish Your LinkedIn Profile - Tips, Techniques, and Advice
Lisa Quast
As the use of social media in the hiring process has grown in popularity over the last several years, recruiters and hiring managers aren’t hiding from it. In fact, they’re using technology tools such as LinkedIn as a pre-interview tactic to narrow down candidates for job openings.
To find out what they’re looking for, I interviewed technology recruiters and HR experts. Based on their comments, you might decide it’s time to polish your LinkedIn profile.
What’s important to hiring managers/recruiters
Screening a LinkedIn profile is similar to screening a resume. “The candidate initially gets about 30 seconds of my time to entice me to keep reading,” says Jennifer Olsen, president of Resourceful HR. “The most important thing I look for is relevant experience compared to my open position. Providing testimonials and endorsements that further support that experience also helps me know that the candidate is serious about the information they are trying to convey.”
Because reviewers give candidates only a short amount of time to catch their attention, the Background Summary section is critical. “Job seekers should post a thorough Summary about their professional experience and what they’re trying to sell or market about themselves to prospective employers,” recommends Amy Giustino, regional managing director at Resources Global Professionals.
Telling your work “story” is also important. “The candidate’s profile should clearly present their experience and how they have progressed throughout their career, including the use of easily understood titles,” says Cindy Olsen, VP of HR at Concur Technologies.
Turn-offs when viewing candidates’ profiles
One of the biggest negatives of everyone I interviewed was an incomplete profile. “If a candidate doesn’t complete their profile with their relevant experience, it makes it hard to determine their qualifications when recruiting,” says Jason Woolwine, senior recruiter at Apptio, Inc.
Another issue is when the online profile doesn’t match the person’s resume, such as different dates, job titles, job descriptions or education. “We see it happen all the time and it raises some red flags,” Woolwine says.
“We are turned off by candidates who don’t have a complete job history, who didn’t give a brief description of their responsibilities in each position or who indicated they aren’t looking for new opportunities,” adds TJ Floyd, managing partner at Prodigy Resources. Floyd recommends that candidates “keep their profiles updated and indicate whether or not they want to hear about new opportunities.”
More tips, information, and the complete Forbes article
As the use of social media in the hiring process has grown in popularity over the last several years, recruiters and hiring managers aren’t hiding from it. In fact, they’re using technology tools such as LinkedIn as a pre-interview tactic to narrow down candidates for job openings.
To find out what they’re looking for, I interviewed technology recruiters and HR experts. Based on their comments, you might decide it’s time to polish your LinkedIn profile.
What’s important to hiring managers/recruiters
Screening a LinkedIn profile is similar to screening a resume. “The candidate initially gets about 30 seconds of my time to entice me to keep reading,” says Jennifer Olsen, president of Resourceful HR. “The most important thing I look for is relevant experience compared to my open position. Providing testimonials and endorsements that further support that experience also helps me know that the candidate is serious about the information they are trying to convey.”
Because reviewers give candidates only a short amount of time to catch their attention, the Background Summary section is critical. “Job seekers should post a thorough Summary about their professional experience and what they’re trying to sell or market about themselves to prospective employers,” recommends Amy Giustino, regional managing director at Resources Global Professionals.
Telling your work “story” is also important. “The candidate’s profile should clearly present their experience and how they have progressed throughout their career, including the use of easily understood titles,” says Cindy Olsen, VP of HR at Concur Technologies.
Turn-offs when viewing candidates’ profiles
One of the biggest negatives of everyone I interviewed was an incomplete profile. “If a candidate doesn’t complete their profile with their relevant experience, it makes it hard to determine their qualifications when recruiting,” says Jason Woolwine, senior recruiter at Apptio, Inc.
Another issue is when the online profile doesn’t match the person’s resume, such as different dates, job titles, job descriptions or education. “We see it happen all the time and it raises some red flags,” Woolwine says.
“We are turned off by candidates who don’t have a complete job history, who didn’t give a brief description of their responsibilities in each position or who indicated they aren’t looking for new opportunities,” adds TJ Floyd, managing partner at Prodigy Resources. Floyd recommends that candidates “keep their profiles updated and indicate whether or not they want to hear about new opportunities.”
More tips, information, and the complete Forbes article
Monday, November 4, 2013
Answers to 17 LinkedIn Questions You Were Too Ashamed to Ask
by Amanda Sibley
Common Questions About LinkedIn Followers and LinkedIn Connections
12) Do the people who you personally connect with automatically become followers of your company page?
Your connections are personal connections associated with your personal LinkedIn profile. Followers of a company page are not the same. Followers must click the “Follow” button at the top right of your company page. Followers also do not need confirmation like connections do.
13) How do you get more followers to your company page?
Put LinkedIn follow buttons on your website pages to help drive relevant traffic to your company page, link to your company page in blog posts and in emails you send, and include social share buttons on all pieces of content you create. You can also link to your company page on other social media networks.
But most of all, a popular LinkedIn Company Page comes from a steady stream of high quality content that helps the follower-base, and ideally, prompts discussion.
Common Questions About LinkedIn Analytics
15) What are "clicks," "impressions," and "engagement" of company page posts?
Each company page post gives you metrics to help you determine which post does best. "Clicks" refer to the number of people who click on your post, either to view the content or to come to your company page. "Impressions" refer to the number of eyeballs on your company page post, either in their newsfeed or on your company page. One person can account for more than one impression. "Engagement" is the collective number of likes, comments, shares, and clicks, divided by impressions -- it's given to you as an engagement rate. This shows you if you post was engaging to your followers.
Common Questions About LinkedIn Company Pages
1) Is a LinkedIn Company Page free?
Yes! You can create a company page for your business for free.
4) Can you manage more than one company page?
You can be the administrator of more than one company page. In order to do this, you must be associated with the company in your current job section on your personal LinkedIn profile, and have a company email address that is a unique domain. For example, our unique domain is <name>@hubspot.com.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
6 Ways to Grow Your LinkedIn Connections
By Melonie Dodaro
Are you looking to grow your LinkedIn network?
Do you want to improve your chances of connecting with people via LinkedIn?
In this article, you’ll find six tips for successful networking that will help you avoid common mistakes that can damage your professional reputation on LinkedIn.
From the appearance of your profile to how you manage relationships, the people on LinkedIn expect professional behavior from you at all times.
As you build your network, it’s important to know what’s appropriate and what’s considered bad LinkedIn etiquette.
Here are six tips:
Your LinkedIn profile image should show you in your best professional light. Use a head shot with a clean background, a smile and a clear view of your eyes. Think of how you would present yourself at an event thronging with prospects and use an image that does the same, online.
Yes, you must optimize your LinkedIn profile with relevant keywords so you’re found in search results, but there is a big difference between keyword-optimizing and keyword-stuffing.
Instead of using a large number of vaguely relevant words to show up in hundreds of search results, choose three or four top keywords you want to be associated with to make sure you show up in search results when people are looking for exactly what you offer.
Are you looking to grow your LinkedIn network?
Do you want to improve your chances of connecting with people via LinkedIn?
In this article, you’ll find six tips for successful networking that will help you avoid common mistakes that can damage your professional reputation on LinkedIn.
What’s Different About LinkedIn?
Unlike social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter that accommodate both personal and business uses, LinkedIn is a social network built strictly for business.From the appearance of your profile to how you manage relationships, the people on LinkedIn expect professional behavior from you at all times.
As you build your network, it’s important to know what’s appropriate and what’s considered bad LinkedIn etiquette.
Here are six tips:
#1: Show People Your Business Side
You only get one chance to make a first impression, so make it count. If you use an unprofessional image for your profile photo, you may never get a chance to recover your reputation.Your LinkedIn profile image should show you in your best professional light. Use a head shot with a clean background, a smile and a clear view of your eyes. Think of how you would present yourself at an event thronging with prospects and use an image that does the same, online.
#2: Skip the Keyword-Stuffing
The first thing many people do when they receive your connection request is look at your profile. And if your profile is stuffed with repetitive or irrelevant keywords, there’s a pretty good chance that they won’t connect with you.Yes, you must optimize your LinkedIn profile with relevant keywords so you’re found in search results, but there is a big difference between keyword-optimizing and keyword-stuffing.
Instead of using a large number of vaguely relevant words to show up in hundreds of search results, choose three or four top keywords you want to be associated with to make sure you show up in search results when people are looking for exactly what you offer.
Ways 3-6 and the complete article
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Five LinkedIn Strategies You Haven't Thought Of Before
Cheryl Conner
I have personally found LinkedIn’s best uses lie in the creative strategies practitioners have devised on their own, thus my recent favorite five tactics, to wit:
1. Scoping the Competition
This is the strategy my client accomplished last week. He had asked me the week prior, as he prepared for annual budget planning, if there was any way of assessing just how large his competitor’s marketing team and budget might be?
I opened LinkedIn and ran a search on the company’s name and any job titles that contained marketing or communications. Voila—the search produced an immediate list. As he began to peruse their titles, I suggested he temporarily change his privacy restrictions to make his views and searches anonymous. Within a few minutes of searching we were able to see how many results appeared for people currently employed in the company’s entire base and of those, how many are working in marketing. While not every employee is registered on LinkedIn, surely, he’d arrived at a reasonably close estimate of the percentage of the company’s employees who are working in marketing, which would equate at least somewhat to the level of the company’s percentage of revenue devoted to marketing efforts as well.
As may be expected, a search of employees both past and present was also helpful in illustrating a fairly significant level of churn. How long do employees typically stay at the company in question? With a bit more calculation, now we know. Some of the former marketing employees had gone into private consulting practices. Extra helpful. Subject to the confidentiality aspects of their prior employment, of course, the client knows which consultants might be especially beneficial in helping him scope out his own future competitive plans.
But my clever client showed me how he’d taken the results a step further: he’d created a simple Word document that outlined the competitive company’s full department, by job title. Next to it, he placed a column to illustrate the corresponding people and roles in his own team. The result was a picture worth more than a few thousand words. The difference was profound. He was able to inform his management team that he recognized it would not be possible to fill the resource chasm in the space of a year, but would strongly suggest the addition of four strategic new hires, and flipped his screen to show the comparison with the addition of the four new positions, in blue. He’d made his case with a single image, and indications are strong that his proposal will be entirely approved. A smart strategy.
2. Job scoping/background checks
Yes, we fairly well all use LinkedIn to accomplish background checks, but consider the call I recently received from a regional tech company. It wasn’t a recruiter, but an internal executive who phoned.
“I need to make a PR hire that will really ‘wow’ our senior executives,” she said. “Of the resumes that have crossed my desk, I know that three of these individuals have prior connections to you. I’d like to hear your unvarnished reactions to each.”
Bear in mind that I knew nothing of the position she had opened prior to the call and that I hadn’t been listed as a reference for any of three prospects. In fact I’d never even worked at the same company as one of the three. I gave her my feedbacks. In one of the cases, the individual had been a prior employee who had departed impulsively and badly. I might have shared that information, but I never got that far. As she heard a bit about the juvenile choices the individual had made here and there—the things a young employee thinks the boss doesn’t hear about or won’t matter—she replied, “Say no more. I wouldn’t touch this employee with a 100-foot pole. He won’t be getting a call.”
In a word: LinkedIn.
Strategies 3-5 and the complete Forbes article
I have personally found LinkedIn’s best uses lie in the creative strategies practitioners have devised on their own, thus my recent favorite five tactics, to wit:
1. Scoping the Competition
This is the strategy my client accomplished last week. He had asked me the week prior, as he prepared for annual budget planning, if there was any way of assessing just how large his competitor’s marketing team and budget might be?
I opened LinkedIn and ran a search on the company’s name and any job titles that contained marketing or communications. Voila—the search produced an immediate list. As he began to peruse their titles, I suggested he temporarily change his privacy restrictions to make his views and searches anonymous. Within a few minutes of searching we were able to see how many results appeared for people currently employed in the company’s entire base and of those, how many are working in marketing. While not every employee is registered on LinkedIn, surely, he’d arrived at a reasonably close estimate of the percentage of the company’s employees who are working in marketing, which would equate at least somewhat to the level of the company’s percentage of revenue devoted to marketing efforts as well.
As may be expected, a search of employees both past and present was also helpful in illustrating a fairly significant level of churn. How long do employees typically stay at the company in question? With a bit more calculation, now we know. Some of the former marketing employees had gone into private consulting practices. Extra helpful. Subject to the confidentiality aspects of their prior employment, of course, the client knows which consultants might be especially beneficial in helping him scope out his own future competitive plans.
But my clever client showed me how he’d taken the results a step further: he’d created a simple Word document that outlined the competitive company’s full department, by job title. Next to it, he placed a column to illustrate the corresponding people and roles in his own team. The result was a picture worth more than a few thousand words. The difference was profound. He was able to inform his management team that he recognized it would not be possible to fill the resource chasm in the space of a year, but would strongly suggest the addition of four strategic new hires, and flipped his screen to show the comparison with the addition of the four new positions, in blue. He’d made his case with a single image, and indications are strong that his proposal will be entirely approved. A smart strategy.
2. Job scoping/background checks
Yes, we fairly well all use LinkedIn to accomplish background checks, but consider the call I recently received from a regional tech company. It wasn’t a recruiter, but an internal executive who phoned.
“I need to make a PR hire that will really ‘wow’ our senior executives,” she said. “Of the resumes that have crossed my desk, I know that three of these individuals have prior connections to you. I’d like to hear your unvarnished reactions to each.”
Bear in mind that I knew nothing of the position she had opened prior to the call and that I hadn’t been listed as a reference for any of three prospects. In fact I’d never even worked at the same company as one of the three. I gave her my feedbacks. In one of the cases, the individual had been a prior employee who had departed impulsively and badly. I might have shared that information, but I never got that far. As she heard a bit about the juvenile choices the individual had made here and there—the things a young employee thinks the boss doesn’t hear about or won’t matter—she replied, “Say no more. I wouldn’t touch this employee with a 100-foot pole. He won’t be getting a call.”
In a word: LinkedIn.
Strategies 3-5 and the complete Forbes article
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Four LinkedIn Mistakes That Could Hurt Your Career
by Pamelia Brown
LinkedIn has quickly become one of the largest and most accessible professional social networks out there, and because of this, it’s imperative that everyone who wishes to maximize their career potential join LinkedIn, set up a profile, and begin networking.
Of course, as with many other social networks, there are unwritten rules of etiquette that you must first figure out and then abide as you embark on your LinkedIn journey. Unfortunately, figuring out these rules and not making mistakes or breaking these rules is rather hard for those new to LinkedIn or even social networks in general.
Below I’ve tried to list a handful of mistakes that many LinkedIn users make, and I’ve tried to incorporate solutions into each section. Please, if you know LinkedIn well, feel free to add to the information here in the comments section. And, as always, happy job hunting!
The following are mistakes many LinkedIn users make and how you can avoid them:
Solution: Google yourself constantly. Manage your entire online presence. Edit your Tweets, check your photos on Facebook, untag yourself from unpleasant photos and conversations, and watch what you post on whatever forums you’ve joined. Always assume that your LinkedIn account is merely a portal that a potential employer can enter in order to access your entire online persona.
Solution: It’s much easier for someone browsing search results to connect with a human face than a bit of text, so upload a photo as soon as possible!
Tips 3,4, and the complete article
LinkedIn has quickly become one of the largest and most accessible professional social networks out there, and because of this, it’s imperative that everyone who wishes to maximize their career potential join LinkedIn, set up a profile, and begin networking.
Of course, as with many other social networks, there are unwritten rules of etiquette that you must first figure out and then abide as you embark on your LinkedIn journey. Unfortunately, figuring out these rules and not making mistakes or breaking these rules is rather hard for those new to LinkedIn or even social networks in general.
Below I’ve tried to list a handful of mistakes that many LinkedIn users make, and I’ve tried to incorporate solutions into each section. Please, if you know LinkedIn well, feel free to add to the information here in the comments section. And, as always, happy job hunting!
The following are mistakes many LinkedIn users make and how you can avoid them:
1. Failing to Understand Social Networking Contexts
The biggest thing many LinkedIn users fail to understand is that LinkedIn is simply one of many social networks out there. No matter how professional you try to make your LinkedIn profile, the fact that a crazy Facebook profile or irreverent Twitter account under your name exists could significantly hurt your career chances. Do not ignore the other social networks you’ve joined, because recruiters, hiring managers, and others within the industry are looking at these other sites too!Solution: Google yourself constantly. Manage your entire online presence. Edit your Tweets, check your photos on Facebook, untag yourself from unpleasant photos and conversations, and watch what you post on whatever forums you’ve joined. Always assume that your LinkedIn account is merely a portal that a potential employer can enter in order to access your entire online persona.
2. Lacking A Good Profile Photo
This is relatively simple. I’ve seen so many people fail to upload a good profile photo. I can understand why people would wish to not upload a photo; however, lacking a photo can seriously hurt your chances of getting clicked. Think about a recruiter. He or she is browsing entries; is he or she more likely to click on a photo or a tiny bit of text in the search results page? An updated photo of yourself will assure the recruiter that you are, indeed, human after all, with all your quirks and faults.Solution: It’s much easier for someone browsing search results to connect with a human face than a bit of text, so upload a photo as soon as possible!
Tips 3,4, and the complete article
Monday, October 28, 2013
Answering Seven LinkedIn Job Search Questions
By Jan Wallen
I took advantage of a recent lunch with fellow MENG member Jan Wallen, an expert on selling online who literally wrote the book on using LinkedIn, to ask her LinkedIn job search questions relating to how executives should use this social networking site.
Following are Jan’s answers to the LinkedIn job search questions I’ve been asked most often following my “How to Write an Effective Resume” webinar.
1. Can you quickly give me a few key thoughts about using LinkedIn in my job search?
About 80% of companies look on LinkedIn first to find candidates. It’s critical to have your LinkedIn profile up-to-date and optimized and to be sure it represents you well.
When you’re conducting a job search, you’re selling yourself, and your profile is your marketing brochure. It’s not meant to be your life story or a long, chronological list of accomplishments. When it’s optimized with keywords, it’s more likely to come up when companies and recruiters search on LinkedIn. There’s SEO and now there’s LinkedIn profile optimization.
It’s very important that your profile is written to showcase your expertise because a junior person in a company may be looking on LinkedIn first to do the initial screening. They’re making a short-list of candidates to be interviewed, and they may not have the business depth to grasp that your profile fits the job description they’ve been given.
2. Under my name, should I focus on SEO or positioning myself?
This LinkedIn job search question relates to your Professional Headline which is below your name on your LinkedIn profile. Many people put a job title there. It’s much better to position yourself with a tagline or headline that shows your expertise and what you’re known for.
LinkedIn has a search algorithm which they change periodically, the same as the search engines. All sections of your profile are searched. When companies and recruiters search LinkedIn and your profile comes up in a list, it sets you apart in a positive way when your Professional Headline stands out from all the rest. Therefore, it’s best if you can position yourself and also have keywords in your headline.
3. Is a premium package worth the cost?
The premium accounts are getting a lot of attention now. And LinkedIn is encouraging members to upgrade to the premium levels. The recent changes that LinkedIn has made mean that premium account members receive more information and more detail than those who haven’t upgraded.
LinkedIn has recently made changes to the features that are available in the free basic account and those available in the premium level accounts. It doesn’t make sense to pay for something if it doesn’t give you value. The best way to decide whether one of the premium accounts is best for you is to check their Comparison Matrix. You’ll see line-by-line the features that each premium level gives you.
To see the Comparison Matrix, go to the black menu bar in LinkedIn and click on Upgrade. You’ll see the matrix and can compare each account level.
Some of the differences that may make it worth it for you to upgrade include:
InMails—Are LinkedIn’s special messages, and they’re available when you have a premium level account. Of course, you can always send a message to your connections. If you’re not connected, premium accounts allow you to send InMails. My guideline is that if you look up profiles and they say Send InMail 50% of the time or more, it may make sense to upgrade.
Who’s Viewed My Profile—You’ll see more details if you have the premium level accounts.
Advanced Searches—You’ll be able to search based on more criteria with the premium level accounts. For example, you can specify a list of companies by size and if they’re a part of Fortune 500 when you have the premium level accounts, which could be important to a LinkedIn job search.
Questions 4-7 and the complete article
I took advantage of a recent lunch with fellow MENG member Jan Wallen, an expert on selling online who literally wrote the book on using LinkedIn, to ask her LinkedIn job search questions relating to how executives should use this social networking site.
Following are Jan’s answers to the LinkedIn job search questions I’ve been asked most often following my “How to Write an Effective Resume” webinar.
Today’s Seven LinkedIn Job Search Questions–with More Tomorrow
About 80% of companies look on LinkedIn first to find candidates. It’s critical to have your LinkedIn profile up-to-date and optimized and to be sure it represents you well.
When you’re conducting a job search, you’re selling yourself, and your profile is your marketing brochure. It’s not meant to be your life story or a long, chronological list of accomplishments. When it’s optimized with keywords, it’s more likely to come up when companies and recruiters search on LinkedIn. There’s SEO and now there’s LinkedIn profile optimization.
It’s very important that your profile is written to showcase your expertise because a junior person in a company may be looking on LinkedIn first to do the initial screening. They’re making a short-list of candidates to be interviewed, and they may not have the business depth to grasp that your profile fits the job description they’ve been given.
2. Under my name, should I focus on SEO or positioning myself?
This LinkedIn job search question relates to your Professional Headline which is below your name on your LinkedIn profile. Many people put a job title there. It’s much better to position yourself with a tagline or headline that shows your expertise and what you’re known for.
LinkedIn has a search algorithm which they change periodically, the same as the search engines. All sections of your profile are searched. When companies and recruiters search LinkedIn and your profile comes up in a list, it sets you apart in a positive way when your Professional Headline stands out from all the rest. Therefore, it’s best if you can position yourself and also have keywords in your headline.
3. Is a premium package worth the cost?
The premium accounts are getting a lot of attention now. And LinkedIn is encouraging members to upgrade to the premium levels. The recent changes that LinkedIn has made mean that premium account members receive more information and more detail than those who haven’t upgraded.
LinkedIn has recently made changes to the features that are available in the free basic account and those available in the premium level accounts. It doesn’t make sense to pay for something if it doesn’t give you value. The best way to decide whether one of the premium accounts is best for you is to check their Comparison Matrix. You’ll see line-by-line the features that each premium level gives you.
To see the Comparison Matrix, go to the black menu bar in LinkedIn and click on Upgrade. You’ll see the matrix and can compare each account level.
Some of the differences that may make it worth it for you to upgrade include:
InMails—Are LinkedIn’s special messages, and they’re available when you have a premium level account. Of course, you can always send a message to your connections. If you’re not connected, premium accounts allow you to send InMails. My guideline is that if you look up profiles and they say Send InMail 50% of the time or more, it may make sense to upgrade.
Who’s Viewed My Profile—You’ll see more details if you have the premium level accounts.
Advanced Searches—You’ll be able to search based on more criteria with the premium level accounts. For example, you can specify a list of companies by size and if they’re a part of Fortune 500 when you have the premium level accounts, which could be important to a LinkedIn job search.
Questions 4-7 and the complete article
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Join Us For LinkedIn Mobile Day [VIDEO]
Doug Madey, October 22, 2013
Today in San Francisco at the LinkedIn Mobile Day we announced exciting mobile news, including a completely refreshed LinkedIn app for iPad, a preview of a fully integrated Pulse experience with LinkedIn, and the newly unveiled LinkedIn Intro. These new products help reinvent, reimagine, and redefine how professionals work on mobile.If you missed the live stream from LinkedIn Mobile Day, or just want to watch again, below is a replay of the event.
In addition, we hit the exclusive product fair following the presentation to hear more about the new products from the people who helped bring these experiences to life.
See all of the videos and read the complete post.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Trying to Run a Covert Job Search on LinkedIn? Pay Attention to These Settings
By Laura Smith-Proulx
Want to ensure your LinkedIn activity is as covert as possible?
You MUST understand the site’s broadcast message types, Activity Broadcasts and Activity Feed, and the differences between them.
Often confused with each other, these controls allow messages to be widely distributed to other
LinkedIn users, informing them of your activity (and basically prompting them to look at your Profile to interpret your actions).
Here’s a close-up look at the type of information you can control with Activity Broadcasts and Activity Feed settings — with key points on how to customize and maximize these messages for your job search:
1 – Activity Broadcasts.
Activity Broadcasts are the dead-giveaways sent out when you change your Profile. So, if you’re tweaking your Headline to arrive at the best fit, or finally populating your Profile with a ton of new data, this is the one to turn off first.
You can view your Activity Broadcast options by going to Settings, then “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.”
Here, you only have On (“Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies”) and Off.
As you can see, this setting also gives your Connections a heads-up that you’ve written a Recommendation or are following Companies. These are rarely considered high-profile activities, but they’re included in LinkedIn’s definition of a Broadcast.
Typically, turning your Activity Broadcasts off during a job search is a good idea (even recommended by LinkedIn), since Profile updates are usually the first sign that you’re preparing for flight.
Another bonus: if you’re trying out new Headlines or continually adding keywords, turning off Activity Broadcasts will prevent your contacts from being hammered during each iteration.
2 – Activity Feed.
See more on "Activity Feed", more tips, and the complete CareerRocketeer article
Want to ensure your LinkedIn activity is as covert as possible?
You MUST understand the site’s broadcast message types, Activity Broadcasts and Activity Feed, and the differences between them.
Often confused with each other, these controls allow messages to be widely distributed to other
LinkedIn users, informing them of your activity (and basically prompting them to look at your Profile to interpret your actions).
Here’s a close-up look at the type of information you can control with Activity Broadcasts and Activity Feed settings — with key points on how to customize and maximize these messages for your job search:
1 – Activity Broadcasts.
Activity Broadcasts are the dead-giveaways sent out when you change your Profile. So, if you’re tweaking your Headline to arrive at the best fit, or finally populating your Profile with a ton of new data, this is the one to turn off first.
You can view your Activity Broadcast options by going to Settings, then “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.”
Here, you only have On (“Let people know when you change your profile, make recommendations, or follow companies”) and Off.
As you can see, this setting also gives your Connections a heads-up that you’ve written a Recommendation or are following Companies. These are rarely considered high-profile activities, but they’re included in LinkedIn’s definition of a Broadcast.
Typically, turning your Activity Broadcasts off during a job search is a good idea (even recommended by LinkedIn), since Profile updates are usually the first sign that you’re preparing for flight.
Another bonus: if you’re trying out new Headlines or continually adding keywords, turning off Activity Broadcasts will prevent your contacts from being hammered during each iteration.
2 – Activity Feed.
See more on "Activity Feed", more tips, and the complete CareerRocketeer article
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
15 Steps to Your Perfect LinkedIn Profile
Kim Garst
Does creating or improving your LinkedIn Profile intimidate you?
Does creating or improving your LinkedIn Profile intimidate you?
Are you lost as to where to start?
Would you like a step-by-step guide on how to create the Perfect LinkedIn Profile?
Then you are in the right place. Here you will learn, step-by-step, the top 15 enhancements to make to your LinkedIn Profile. Watch your profile transform before your eyes; A masterpiece of perfection.
Let’s start at the top -
#1 - Your Name – Keep it Simple: Use your first and last name. This is not a place to put your business name, or your nickname, or what “everyone” is calling you. Followers want to know that you are a genuine person, first and for most.
#2 – Your Headline – This is a HEADLINE! Therefore, putting your company name and your position is not enough, nor correct. Rather, you want your headline to be attention grabbing! You want to build intrigue and excitement. It is also a place where you want to include your top keyword phrase or two.
#6 – You Specialties – At the bottom of your summary you will be asked to list out your specialties. This is another important place to put your keyword phrases.
#13 – Contact You For… - Here, just as you did in your “Summary Section” make a bullet point list of reasons why someone should get in contact with you. You want to describe your IDEAL client. (This is not everyone.) Also, put down a description of people or companies you’d like to have contact you, even if they never have in the past. Again, you can only manifest what you ask for!
Monday, October 21, 2013
4 Steps to Search Engine Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile For Greater Visibility
As a business owner you continuously strive to expand your marketing reach. With the various social networking sites out there, you may be wondering how you can utilize them to improve your website traffic, and ultimately, generate more leads or sales. Here we’ll discuss a few simple but effective steps for optimizing your LinkedIn profile to achieve better rankings in the search engines. This in turn means more traffic to your business website, or as I like to say; more leads, more clients, more sales.
First Step – Correctly Utilize Keyword Anchor Text and Links
This step is critical if you want to increase the search engine optimization (SEO) of your business website. When creating a link to your website within your LinkedIn profile, the result could potentially be a profitable backlink, which is why it’s very important to use your relevant website keywords as anchor text. Consider anchoring your most powerful keyword or keyphrase as your link, instead of “http:…, “My Website”, or “My Blog”.
Second Step – Keyword Sprinkle Your Profile
When you’re creating your LinkedIn profile, it’s important that your focus is around utilizing your most important and relevant keywords for your business website. Try to keep your profile rich with powerful and relevant keywords and avoid keyword stuffing.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
10 LinkedIn Headlines that Stand Out from the Crowd
by Jorgen Sundberg
The headline is possibly the most important part on your LinkedIn profile. It is your 120 character hook to people finding you in a LinkedIn search, it should be about what you do as opposed to what you are. It should be memorable and enticing enough for someone to click on your profile and not your competitors.
Here is a compilation of a few interesting and creative LinkedIn headlines from around the world. Some are funny, some are memorable and some are very professional. Do let us know which is your favorite below in the comments section!
Headlines 5-10 and the complete UnderCoverRecruiter article
The headline is possibly the most important part on your LinkedIn profile. It is your 120 character hook to people finding you in a LinkedIn search, it should be about what you do as opposed to what you are. It should be memorable and enticing enough for someone to click on your profile and not your competitors.
Here is a compilation of a few interesting and creative LinkedIn headlines from around the world. Some are funny, some are memorable and some are very professional. Do let us know which is your favorite below in the comments section!
1. Left & right brain thinker
Giacomo Bracci Helsen clearly uses his whole brain when coming up with new strategies for design.2. Bleeding for his art
Glenn Le Santo keeps it brief. If you have ever seen Glenn’s speed of content creation you would definitely agree with his statement in the headline.3. Wickless Candles Fun?
How exactly are candles fun? Well the headlines sounds like fun. Bit of a tongue twister perhaps but certainly an intriguing headline by Rebecca Brown.4. The clear value statement
Our great friend and LinkedIn supremo Ed Han has gone for the classic personal brand statement with clear value to the reader.Headlines 5-10 and the complete UnderCoverRecruiter article
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
7 Tips For Writing A Great LinkedIn Invitation
by Ariella Coombs
Here are seven great tips on writing LinkedIn invitations from our approved career experts:
1. Be Honest
“Explain why you want to connect with the person,” says Amanda Haddaway, author of Destination Real World: Success After Graduation For New And Soon-To-Be College Graduates. ”Just say something. There’s nothing worse than receiving a LinkedIn request with the standard, generic format and not having any earthly idea who the person is or why he/she wants to connect with you.”
Dorothy Tannahill-Moran of Next Chapter New Life says honesty is the best policy when trying to connect with someone, especially if you’re looking to do some serious networking.
“If you want to work for their company,” Tannahill-Moran says, “don’t be shy about admitting that they are working for your targeted company and are looking for insights about that company. Open communication is always best.”
2. Tell Them How You Know Them
“I get a lot of requests and I always appreciate a brief mention of why the person wants to connect,” says Jenny Yerrick Martin of Your Industry Insider. ”Whether they saw my post on a LinkedIn group, found me through my website, or know someone who knows me in real life, that extra step usually gets me to accept the invitation.”
3. Find Something In Common
When trying to to find something in common with your potential connection, Haddaway suggests asking yourself these questions:
- Is it a mutual career field or interest?
- Do you have connections in common?
- Are you connected through LinkedIn Groups?
Here’s a request example offered by Debra Wheatman of Careers Done Write:
Example: Dear Jane: I see that you are a member of xxx group. I am also engaged with this group and would like to share some ideas with you. Please accept my invitation to connect.
This example is short and sweet, but it gets the point across effectively.
Friday, October 11, 2013
5 Clues Your LinkedIn Strategy Needs Help
by Shauna C. Bryce
So, you signed up for your free profile on LinkedIn. You’ve even invested time optimizing your profile. Congratulations! Now you’re wondering if your LinkedIn profile and strategy are actually working. Here are five key signs that you need to re-think or re-energize your LinkedIn strategy.
So, you signed up for your free profile on LinkedIn. You’ve even invested time optimizing your profile. Congratulations! Now you’re wondering if your LinkedIn profile and strategy are actually working. Here are five key signs that you need to re-think or re-energize your LinkedIn strategy.
2. You Hardly Appear In Searches
LinkedIn tells you how often your profile has appeared in searches, and even provides a handy graph so that you can check trends. As you complete and flush out your profile, you should appear in searches more often. If you’re hardly appearing in searches, then you need to check the content of your profile. Is your profile targeted toward a career goal, or it is scattershot? Did you use keywords and other critical resume-writing techniques? How descriptive have you been in the various sections?
4. People Don’t Reach Out To You
After you’ve been active on LinkedIn for awhile, users should start reaching out to you to connect. If no one is asking to connect with you, then you may need to rethink how you’re using LinkedIn. Are you courteous and professional in all your interactions? Do you limit your updates and interactions to professional (rather than personal) ones?
Do you promote others in your network (for example, retweeting others’ blog posts) instead of limiting yourself to self-promotion? Have you joined one or two targeted open networking groups to help build your LinkedIn network quickly? Is the text of your headline and summary compelling so that people would want you in their networks?
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Infographic: The perfect LinkedIn status update
By Kristin Piombino
Follow this helpful guide to create an update for your brand that will reach the right audience and engage them.
Between Facebook posts, tweets, Pinterest boards, and everything else on your social media plate, you probably don't spend much time thinking about how to craft the perfect LinkedIn status update.
Follow this helpful guide to create an update for your brand that will reach the right audience and engage them.
Between Facebook posts, tweets, Pinterest boards, and everything else on your social media plate, you probably don't spend much time thinking about how to craft the perfect LinkedIn status update.
Luckily, SalesForce has a handy guide that can help you get the job done.
To make sure your update is informative, engaging, and seen by the right audience, consider these steps:
1. Think about the information you're about to post. Share breaking news, industry trends, and sneak peeks. And keep your update short—limiting your post to 50 characters could increase engagement by 28 percent.
2. Include a call to action.Add a link to your update to drive people to a blog post, website—anywhere you like.
3.Make sure the right people see your update.Narrow your audience by industry, location, role, or company size.
But your work isn't done once you click "share." Read people's comments, and jump into the conversation. And don't forget to see how successful your post was. Track shares and engagement, and remember what works for the next time you post.
For more details, check out the infographic and the complete article
To make sure your update is informative, engaging, and seen by the right audience, consider these steps:
1. Think about the information you're about to post. Share breaking news, industry trends, and sneak peeks. And keep your update short—limiting your post to 50 characters could increase engagement by 28 percent.
2. Include a call to action.Add a link to your update to drive people to a blog post, website—anywhere you like.
3.Make sure the right people see your update.Narrow your audience by industry, location, role, or company size.
But your work isn't done once you click "share." Read people's comments, and jump into the conversation. And don't forget to see how successful your post was. Track shares and engagement, and remember what works for the next time you post.
For more details, check out the infographic and the complete article
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