LinkedIn profile optimization for dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	How This Book Is Organized
		Part 1: The Strategy Before the Siege
		Part 2: Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started
		Part 3: Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression
		Part 4: Rounding Out Your Profile and Adding Finishing Touches
		Part 5: The Part of Tens
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
Part 1 The Strategy Before the Siege
	Chapter 1 Determining Your LinkedIn Strategy
		Determining Your LinkedIn Goal
			Job search
			Reputation management and branding
			Sales and prospecting
		Figuring Out Your Target Audience
		Creating a Compelling Tone
		Using the Different Versions of LinkedIn
	Chapter 2 Getting Found on LinkedIn
		Using LinkedIn as a Search Engine
			Using the search bar
			Using search filters
		Ensuring a Compelling and Attractive Search Result
		Understanding the Importance of Keywords
		Using Online Keyword Tools
			Using WordArt.com
			Using LinkedIn’s job postings
			Using Good Ole Google
		Ranking Higher with Profile SEO
		Building Off Profile SEO
	Chapter 3 Understanding Endorsements and Recommendations
		Showcasing Your Skills
			Adding skills
			Grouping skills by category
			Pinning your top skills
			Rearranging skills
		Showing Recruiters What You Know
		Obtaining Endorsements
			Hiding an endorsement
			Opting out of endorsements
			Endorsing a connection
			Removing an endorsement
			Soliciting endorsements
		The Importance of Recommendations
			Identifying people to recommend you
			Asking for a recommendation
			Ditching the default request text
			Accepting a recommendation
			Reordering recommendations
			Removing recommendations
			Recommending others
Part 2 Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started
	Chapter 4 Optimizing the “Behind the Scenes” Sections
		Managing Profile Changes
			Turning off update alerts
			Removing competitors from your profile
		Turning On Your Public Profile
		Creating a Personalized URL
			Using your name
			Oh no, my name is taken!
			Marketing your public profile URL
		Scanning Your LinkedIn QR Code
		Improving Your Profile’s Strength
		Expanding Your Network
	Chapter 5 Establishing Your Calling Card
		Using the Name Field Correctly
			Editing your name
			Adding prefixes to your name
			Keeping your profile confidential
		Filling Out Location and Industry
			Choosing your location
			Using multiple locations for job search
			Choosing your industry
			Suggesting a missing industry
		Including Your Contact Information
			Adding your email addresses
			Making your email visible to all
			Adding a phone number
			Adding your IM address
			Adding your work address
			Adding your Twitter account
			Adding websites
	Chapter 6 Impressing with the Right Profile Picture
		Why You Need a Profile Picture
		Determining If You Need a New Profile Picture
		Using a Photo Already Taken
		Working with a Photographer
			Professional photographer rates
			Delaying the shoot with excuses
		Taking Your Own Profile Picture
			Understanding the importance of light
			Finding the right background
			Framing the shot
			Finding the right outfit
		Choosing and Uploading Your Profile Picture
			Cropping to profile picture dimensions
			Resizing and saving a high-res image
			Uploading your photo
			Using LinkedIn’s filters to make your picture better
			Changing photo visibility settings
	Chapter 7 Developing a Compelling Headline
		Grabbing Your Reader’s Attention
		Adding Flair to Your Headline
		Saturating Your Headline with Keywords
			Add your job title
			Add your specialty
			Add an extracurricular hobby
			Add a happy ending
		Creating a Benefit Statement Headline
		Adding Your New and Improved Headline to LinkedIn
	Chapter 8 Reinforcing Your Brand with a Background Photo
		Finding the Right Image to Showcase Your Brand
		Working with a Professional Graphic Designer
		Using Online Graphic Tools to Create an Image
		Adding a Background Image to Your Profile
	Chapter 9 Showing You Are Open for Business or Job Opportunities
		Showing You Are Open for Business
			Turning on the Open Profile setting
			Enabling the Open for Business feature
			Choosing your business focus
		Showing You Are Open to Job Opportunities
			Enabling the Open to Job Opportunities feature
			Selecting only recruiters or all LinkedIn members
Part 3 Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression
	Chapter 10 Getting Your Experiences Ready
		Referencing Your Resume
		Determining Which Experiences to Keep and Which to Merge
			Keep your target audience in mind
			How far back do I go?
		Creating a Work History for Recent Graduates
		Dealing with Employment Gaps
	Chapter 11 Creating a Powerful Experience
		Adding a New Experience
			Making the start and end dates match your resume
			Using month and year or just year
			Getting the company logo to appear
			Linking to your company’s LinkedIn page
		Creating a LinkedIn Page
		Less Is More — Stop Disqualifying Yourself
			Optimizing your job title with keywords
			Making your job title pop with symbols
			Describing your roles and responsibilities
			Crafting an impactful achievement
			Summarizing the company with a boilerplate description
			Giving your reader a call to action
		Editing an Existing Experience
		Reordering Concurrent Experiences
		Removing an Experience
		Examples of Great Experiences
			Salesperson looking for a new opportunity
			Salesperson looking for more prospects
			Human resources professional using LinkedIn for reputation management
		Adding Multimedia to Make Your Profile POP!
			Determining what to highlight with multimedia files
			Resisting the urge to upload your resume
	Chapter 12 Writing a Compelling About Section
		Editing Your LinkedIn About Section
		Writing in First Person
		Avoiding Resume Speak
		Revisiting Your LinkedIn Goals and Target Audience
		Catching Your Reader’s Attention
		Creating Your Professional Manifesto
			Explain your benefits
			Highlight your top achievements
			Keep the About section focused on you
			Create a clear call to action
		Formatting a Sleek LinkedIn About Section
		Examples of Compelling and Engaging About Sections
			Healthcare (job search)
			Real estate professional (sales and prospecting)
			Consultant (sales and prospecting)
			IT professional (reputation management)
			Product management (job search)
			Leadership (reputation management)
			Retail (sales and prospecting)
			Accounting (sales and prospecting)
			Student (job search)
Part 4 Rounding Out Your Profile and the Final Reveal
	Chapter 13 There’s More to You than Your Jobs
		Adding Your Education, or Lack Thereof
			Divulging the year you graduated
			Preparing activities and societies
			Adding your education
			Adding multimedia
			Reordering education
			Changing the school displayed in your intro card
		Listing Licenses and Certifications
		Adding Volunteer Experiences
		Citing Your Accomplishments
			Showcasing organizations
			Uncovering your honors and awards
			The three P’s: Projects, publications, and patents
			Adding courses
			Adding the languages you speak
		Creating a Profile in Another Language
	Chapter 14 Following Groups, Companies, and Influencers
		Understanding the Importance of Groups
			Determining the types of groups to join
			Turning off group notifications
			Joining recommended groups
			Searching for groups
			Deleting groups
			Turning off group communication email
			Choosing which groups to highlight on your profile
		Cultivating Your Following Section
			Choosing the right companies to follow
			Following companies
			Unfollowing companies
		Showcasing Influencers on Your Profile
			Deciding which Influencers to showcase
			Finding specific Influencers
			Discovering recommended Influencers
			Removing Influencers
		Following Schools
	Chapter 15 Publishing on LinkedIn
		Showcasing Yourself as a Thought Leader
		Keeping up with Articles and Activity
		Understanding the LinkedIn Feed
			Using hashtags
			Tagging people
		Looking at the Difference between a Post and an Article
			Creating your first post
			How often should you post?
			Benchmarking success
			Reacting and responding to other people’s posts
			Creating your first article
		What Happens After You Publish?
		Marketing Your Blog Post
	Chapter 16 Unveiling and Marketing Your Powerful Profile
		Viewing Your Profile from the Mobile App
		Viewing Your Profile as an Outsider
		Getting Google to Index Your Profile
		Your LinkedIn Profile Checklist
		Benchmarking Your Profile’s Success
		Marketing Your Profile
			Alerting your connections of your updated profile
			Adding your profile to other social media sites
			LinkedIn profile plagiarism
			Getting views to your LinkedIn profile
		To Pay or Not Pay for LinkedIn
			Features of paid accounts
			Unique features of premium accounts
			Choosing the best plan for you
Part 5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 17 Ten Profile Do’s and Don’ts
		Do Use a Professional Profile Picture
		Don’t Use LinkedIn’s Default Headline
		Do Use Eye-Catching Symbols Sparingly
		Do Include Your Contact Information
		Do Add Media Samples
		Don’t Stuff Keywords
		Don’t Go Back 30 Years
		Do Get Recommendations
		Do Tell a Story
		Do Download Your Data
	Chapter 18 Ten Tips for a Perfect Profile Picture
		Hire a Professional Photographer
		Use Lots of Light
		Use a Nondescript Background
		Dress to Impress
		Adjust Yourself
		Keep the Camera Close to Eye Level
		Say No to the Mug Shot
		Crinkle, Smile, and Jut
		Use Photoshop Lightly
		Crop Your Image
	Chapter 19 Ten Tips to Expand Your Network
		Import Your Address Book
		Import a Contact List
		Let LinkedIn Help You Connect
		Join One Hundred Groups
		Start a LinkedIn Group
		Make Connecting a Process
		Link to Your Profile
		Brand Yourself a LION or Just Connect to Them
		Don’t Join Open Networking Lists and Groups
		Use an App
	Chapter 20 Ten Tips to Leverage LinkedIn
		A-B-C . . . Always Be Connecting
		Connect and Stay in Touch
		Gather Business Intelligence
		Get the News
		Get Social Proof and Credibility
		Get Past the Gatekeeper
		Rub Elbows in Groups
		Find Assistance
		Showcase Thought Leadership
		Network in Your Pajamas
	Chapter 21 Ten LinkedIn Profile Resources
		Get Inspired and Excited
		LinkedIn Headline Generator
		Virtual Phone Numbers
			Google Voice
			Skype
		Say No to AOL and Hotmail Addresses
			Your own domain
			Acceptable free domains
		Symbol Variations
		Stop the Typos
		SlideShare
		Photographer Directory
		Background Image Libraries
		Online Image Apps
	Chapter 22 Ten Ways to Get Noticed by Recruiters on LinkedIn
		Make It Easy to Connect the Dots Quickly
		Exhibit Personality and Show a Cultural Fit
		Turn On Open to Job Opportunities
		Say Cheese
		Provide Your Contact Information
		Connect to Them
		Comment on Their Posts
		Post, Comment, and Hashtag
		Keep Your Profile Up to Date and Fresh
		Invest in Your Future
Index
EULA