LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies

Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2How This Book Is Organized 3Part 1: The Strategy Before the Siege 3Part 2: Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started 3Part 3: Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression 3Part 4: Rounding Out Your Profile and Adding Finishing Touches 3Part 5: The Part of Tens 4Icons Used in This Book 4Beyond the Book 4Where to Go from Here 5Part 1: The Strategy Before the Siege 7Chapter 1: Determining Your LinkedIn Strategy 9Determining Your LinkedIn Goal 10Job Search 10Reputation Management and Branding 11Sales and Prospecting 11Figuring Out Your Target Audience 12Creating a Compelling Tone 14Chapter 2: Getting Found on LinkedIn 15Using LinkedIn as a Search Engine 15Using the Search Bar 16Using Search Filters 16Ensuring a Compelling and Attractive Search Result 18Understanding the Importance of Keywords 21Using Online Keyword Tools 25Using Wordle.net 25Using LinkedIn Topic pages 27Using Google AdWords Keyword Planner 28Ranking Higher with Profile SEO 30Building Off Profile SEO 31Chapter 3: Understanding Skills and Endorsements 33Showcasing Your Skills 34Adding skills 35Rearranging skills 37Obtaining Endorsements 38Hiding an Endorsement 39Opting Out of Endorsements 40Endorsing a Connection 41Removing an Endorsement 42Soliciting Endorsements 43Part 2: Getting Your Linkedin Profile Started 45Chapter 4: Optimizing the "Behind the Scenes" Sections 47Managing Profile Changes 47Turning Off Update aAlerts 48Manually Removing Updates 49Knowing When to Allow Update Alerts 50Turning on Your Public Profile 51Creating a Personalized URL 53Using Your Name 55Oh No, My Name is Taken! 55Marketing Your Public Profile URL 56Improving Your Profile's Strength 57Dealing with a Lack of a Current Position 58Adding a School without a Degree 59Expanding Your Network 60Chapter 5: Establishing Your Calling Card 65Using the Name Field Correctly 66Editing your Name 66Adding prefixes to Your Name 67Keeping your Profile Confidential 68Filling Out Location and Industry 69Choosing your Location 69Choosing your Industry 70Suggesting a Missing Industry 72Including Your Contact Information 73Adding your Email Addresses 74Adding a Phone Number 76Adding your IM Address 77Adding your Work Address 78Adding your Twitter Account 79Adding WeChat 80Adding Websites 81Chapter 6: Impressing with the Right Profile Picture 85Why You Need a Profile Picture 86Determining If You Need a New Profile Picture 86Using a Photo Already Taken 88Working with a Photographer 89Taking Your Own Profile Picture 90Understanding the Importance of Light 91Finding the Right Background 91Framing the Shot 92Finding the Right Outfit 93Choosing and Uploading Your Profile Picture 94Cropping to Profile Picture Dimensions 94Resizing and Saving a High-Res Image 95Uploading your Photo 96Changing Photo Visibility Settings 97Chapter 7: Developing a Compelling Headline 99Grabbing Your Reader's Attention 99Adding Flair to Your Headline 100Saturating Your Headline with Keywords 104Add your Job Title 105Add your Specialty 105Add an Extracurricular Hobby 106Add a Happy Ending 107Creating a Benefit Statement Headline 107Adding Your New and Improved Headline to LinkedIn 110Part 3: Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression 111Chapter 8: Getting Your Experiences Ready 113Referencing Your Resume 114Determining Which Experiences to Keep and Which to Merge 115Keep your Target Audience in Mind 117How far back do I go? 118Creating a Work History for Recent Graduates 118Dealing with Employment Gaps 119Chapter 9: Creating a Powerful Experience 121Adding a New Experience 122Making the Start and End Dates Match your Resume 125Using Month and Year or Just Year 125Getting the Company Logo to Appear 126Linking to the Company Page 128Less Is More - Stop Disqualifying Yourself 129Summarizing the Company with a Boilerplate Description 129Describing your Roles and Responsibilities 132Crafting an Impactful Achievement 133Giving your Reader a Call to Action 133Editing an Existing Experience 134Reordering Concurrent Experiences 135Removing an Experience 136Reattaching Recommendations to Different Experiences 137Optimizing Your Job Title with Keywords 138Job Title Character Limits 140Making your Job Title Pop with Symbols 140Examples of Great Experiences 141Salesperson Looking for a New Opportunity 141Salesperson Looking for More Prospects 142Human Resources Professional Using LinkedIn for Reputation Management 142Chapter 10: Writing a Compelling Summary 145Editing Your LinkedIn Summary 146Writing in First Person 147Avoiding Resume Speak 147Revisiting Your LinkedIn Goals and Target Audience 148Catching Your Reader's Attention 149Creating Your Professional Manifesto 150Explain your Benefits 151Highlight your Top Achievements 152Keep the Summary Focused on You 153Create a Clear Call to Action 153Formatting a Sleek LinkedIn Summary 156Examples of Compelling and Engaging Summaries 156Product Management 157Leadership 157Retail 158Accounting 159Student 159Part 4: Rounding Out Your Profile and Adding Finishing Touches 161Chapter 11: There's More to You Than Your Jobs 163Showcasing Organizations 163Uncovering Your Honors and Awards 166Choosing the Right Honors and Awards 167Creating a Strong Description 168Keeping your Honors and Awards Updated 170The Three P's: Projects, Publications, and Patents 170Adding Projects 170Adding Publications 173Adding Patents 174The Two C's: Certifications and Courses 176Importing Certifications from Lynda.com 178Adding Courses 178Adding the Languages You Speak 179Creating a Profile in Another Language 180Adding Your Education, or Lack Thereof 181Divulging the Year you Graduated 182Preparing Activities and Societies 182Adding your Education 183Reordering Education 185Adding Multimedia 185Adding Volunteer Experiences 187Pro Bono Opportunities 189Chapter 12: Making Your Profile Personal and Unique 191Leveraging the Additional Information Section 191Adding Interests 192Providing Details that Show you are Human 195Offering Advice for Contacting you 198Blocking People from Viewing your Profile 200Adding Multimedia to Make Your Profile POP! 201Determining what to Highlight with Multimedia Files 202Resisting the Urge to Upload Your Resume 204Reinforcing Your Brand with a Background Image 205Finding the Right Image to Showcase your Brand 205Using Online Graphic Tools to Create an Image 207Adding a Background Image to your Profile 209The Importance of Recommendations 209Identifying People to Recommend you 210Asking for a Recommendation 211Ditching the Default Request Text 214Accepting a Recommendation 215Reordering Recommendations 216Removing Recommendations 216Recommending Others 217Chapter 13: Following Groups, Companies, and Influencers 221Understanding the Importance of Groups 222Determining the Types of Groups to Join 223Turning Off Group Notifications 225Joining Recommended Groups 226Searching for Groups 227Deleting Groups 229Turning Off Group Communication Email 230Choosing Which Groups to Highlight on Your Profile 231Cultivating Your Following Section 232Choosing the Right Companies to Follow 233Following Companies 234Unfollowing Companies 234Following News 235Showcasing Influencers on Your Profile 235Deciding Which Influencers to Showcase 236Finding Specific Influencers 236Discovering Recommended Influencers 238Removing Influencers 238Publishing on LinkedIn 239Showcasing Yourself As A Thought Leader 241Creating Your First Article 241What happens after you publish? 247Marketing Your Blog Post 247Chapter 14: The Final Review and Reveal 249Rearranging Profile Sections 250Viewing Your Profile as an Outsider 252Your LinkedIn Profile Checklist 253To Pay or Not Pay for LinkedIn 255Features of Paid Accounts 255Unique Features of Premium Accounts 258Choosing the Best Plan for You 260Benchmarking Your Profile's Success 260Marketing Your Profile 262Alerting Your Connections of Your Updated Profile 262Adding Your Profile To Other Social Media Sites 266Getting Views To Your Linkedin Profile 268Part 5: The Part of Tens 275Chapter 15: Ten Profile Do's and Don'ts 277Do Use a Professional Profile Picture 277Don't Use LinkedIn's Default Headline 278Do Turn Off Your Update Notifications 278Do Use Eye-Catching Symbols Sparingly 278Do Include Your Contact Information 278Do Add Multimedia Files 279Don't Stuff Keywords 279Don't Go Back 30 Years 279Do Get Recommendations 280Do Add Interests 280Chapter 16: Ten Tips for a Perfect Profile Picture 281Hire a Professional Photographer 281Use Lots of Light 282Use a Nondescript Background 282Dress to Impress 283Adjust Yourself 283Keep the Camera Close to Eye Level 284Say No to the Mug Shot 284Crinkle, Smile, and Jut 285Use Photoshop Lightly 285Crop Your Image 285Chapter 17: Ten Tips to Expand Your Network 287Import Your Address Book 288Import a Contact List 290Let LinkedIn Help You Connect 290Join One Hundred Groups 291Start a LinkedIn Group 292Make Connecting a Process 292Link to Your Profile 292Brand Yourself a LION or Just Connect to Them 293Join Open Networking Lists and Groups 294Use an App 295Chapter 18: Ten Tips to Leverage LinkedIn 297A-B-C Always Be Connecting 297Connect and Stay in Touch 298Gather Business Intelligence 299Get the News 300Get Social Proof and Credibility 301Get Past the Gatekeeper 301Rub Elbows in Groups 301Find Assistance 302Showcase Thought Leadership 302Network in Your Pajamas 303Chapter 19: Ten LinkedIn Profile Resources 305Get Inspired and Excited 305LinkedIn Headline Generator 306Virtual Phone Numbers 306Google Voice 306Skype 307Say No to AOL and Hotmail Addresses 307Your Own Domain 307Acceptable Free Domains 307Symbol Variations 308Stop the Typos 308SlideShare 308Photographer Directories 309Background Image Libraries 309Online Image Apps 310Index 311