Who’s on LinkedIn (and needs a LinkedIn profile!)? Job Seekers, Bloggers and Girlfriends!

How’s your LinkedIn profile girlfriend?

Recently several girlfriends (as well as a great group of professional women I spoke to yesterday!) asked for advice on how to create a great LinkedIn profile. So, since they were seeking this girlfriend advice, I thought I’d share with the rest of my girlfriends. (aka: YOU!)

First, who needs to have a LinkedIn profile? Without blinking: “YOU.” The number of professional people and companies on LinkedIn is staggering. (Per Wikipedia: “As of June 21, 2010, LinkedIn had more than 70 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.” Companies are using LinkedIn to post and find candidates for jobs, promote their businesses, identify thought-leaders and find qualified people/blogs/businesses with whom to do business. People are using LinkedIn to post their profiles, share updates (spread the word on what they’re doing); connect with previous, current and future co-workers and friends; make contact with companies (potential blog sponsors or business partners), do research on companies and others in their field, promote themselves and their businesses, and strengthen their brand/business. Seriously, it’s almost considered ‘unprofessional’ to not be on LinkedIn.

Maybe you’re on LinkedIn, or you’re just getting started, either way – here’s some girlfriend advice on how to have a LinkedIn profile as great as you are, girlfriend! (-: (And here’s some girlfriend advice on how to be a better friend to a friend looking for a job.)

5 Tips for a Great LinkedIn Profile (for my girlfriends!)

1. Put your best ‘face forward’ – Grab their attention with a quality, smiling profile photo. I know, some women worry about discrimination or that they don’t like photos of themselves but this is your best way to ‘brand’ yourself. The photo should be close-up (‘head shot’) and high-quality (not an avatar, blurry photo, group photo or your company logo – actually those are all prohibited by LinkedIn, although some people do try them). I’ve heard that the response rate of a profile with a smiling photo to a not-so-good photo is substantial. People want to do business with, people they’d like to actually know/like.  To add your photo, go to the ‘Edit my Profile’ page. Click [Edit] in the upper right corner where there is a box for your photo. Then browse the photos on your computer (have a photo cropped and ready to go) and insert it.
2. “Tell me about Yourself” – The summary is the first thing that people/companies read about you. It should be an introduction to you – your objectives, skills, experience and even your goals. Remember to use any ‘key words’ that companies may use in searching for someone like you and use different versions of the words/phrases so they make sure and find you. For example, I taught LinkedIn to Realtors and encouraged them to use both “Realtor” and “Real Estate professional” in their summary. Cover all your bases! I think it’s important to keep this area positive (don’t share why you are lost your job or sound bitter!) and based on your goals. Feel free to check out my LinkedIn profile and let me know what you think!
3. Custom URL - This little tip shows that you’re LinkedIn savvy! Secure a custom URL for your profile – basically, www.linkedin.com/in/YourName. When you open a LinkedIn account (which is free – there is no need to pay for the premium account unless you’re an HR professional who will need to access hundreds of profiles, etc.), you’ll be given an URL for your site with some mumbo-jumbo numbers/letters at the end of the URL. Just go into “Edit My Profile” and click [Edit] next to the URL (shown here with the green arrow) and put in just your name (they don’t allow hyphens). If your name is not available, try a version of it like /DanaSmithTX or /LindaMyerMKTG. Now promote this wonderful custom URL by including it on your email signature, business card, blog, resume, tweets, etc. Don’t be shy!
4. “You did a great job!” – Yes, everyone loves to hear that but its more than just an ego boost on LinkedIn, it’s a wonderful way of having someone else promote you/your blog or business. LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for requesting, receiving and sharing recommendations. It allows you to request a recommendation – like after you’ve successfully worked with a company or did a great job as a volunteer. Request recommendations by clicking on ‘Recommendations’ – a drop-down menu under the profile tab at the top of the page. Click ‘Request Recommendation’ which will allow you to pick the job/company you were working with when you ‘did a great job.’ You must be connected through LinkedIn to make a recommendation or recommendation request. (So connect in advance of this request.)Then create your message (asking them to please recommend you) and, if appropriate, offer to provide a recommendation for them if you thought they’ve done a great job too. You will have the opportunity to approve or deny their recommendation. I have asked for a correction in a recommendation when they’ve had a typo or if they recommended me for something that wasn’t helpful in my professional profile. NOTE: One of the great sessions at the recent Savvy Blogging Summit talked about how you should create and distribute a Media Kit. I have used recommendation quotess from my LinkedIn profile in my media kit as endorsements for my work as well as included some quotes on my media page on Girlfriendology to show that others’ have been happy with my work and thought I did a ‘great job!’ (You can get all the materials/audio from the Savvy Blogging Summit here!)
5. The more the merrier! – In addition to making a lot of connections, researching companies/competitors/partners/etc., LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to connect with whole groups of like-minded people. The groups in LinkedIn are professional (like Avon and Women’s Wear Daily), business/hobby-based (from BlogHer, to Girlfriendology, to Women for Hire) and personal (college/sorority alumni, former employees of …, local groups) – just about any group of people with something in common (there’s even a LinkedIn group for ’shoe lovers’!). Groups are easy/free to join (you typically have to be approved which is an easy process) and connect you with people who you now can reach out to to network with (LinkedIn style!). Once you’re in a group, you can look through profiles of the other members and request a connection or contact them. (You don’t have access to people you’re not linked with – unless you share a group.) Use the groups to grow your connections, network, post/answer questions (especially great when in an industry/subject group where you can establish yourself as an expert and promote yourself/your business!) and stay on top of what is going on in that particular community. In Cincinnati, there are over 14,000 professionals in the LinkedCincinnati group (headed by our girlfriend Jennifer McClure!). This is an amazing group to network with, learn from and share requests/information. You can post questions, updates, information and requests on the community communications (a daily eNewsletter in this case) and build your network with wonderful professional connections. As a blogger, you can connect with PR companies and brand contacts as well as other bloggers. And, you can find new girlfriends among these groups of people with similar experience and interest.

So, that’s my top five tips for a great LinkedIn profile. What do YOU recommend?

p.s. If you’d like permission to reprint this blog post, please leave your request and contact information in the comments below. Thanks! If you liked this article, please LIKE us on the Facebook button below. And, note, we are an affiliate of the Savvy Blogging Summit recordings but they are well worth the minimal cost – especially the SEO one! (and the Media Kit, Monetization, Building Community and Keynote by J.D. Roth)

[NOTE: In January 2011, we'll be conducting a 'Hey Girlfriend! Get Your Career on Track in 2011' webinar. JOIN US!]

More girlfriend job support and Girlfriendology blog posts:

• Be a better friend to a friend looking for a job
• Jobs, women and stress
• Girlfriend advice for work-life balance
  

Tags: be a better friend, girlfriend advice, job seekers, linked in, LinkedIn, looking for a job

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm and is filed under Be a Better FRIEND, Business and Career, Girlfriend Advice and Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.