Streamline Training & Documentation: Tips for Your LinkedIn Profile

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Tips for Your LinkedIn Profile

Back on Christmas Eve, at Web Worker Daily, Meryl K. Evans published tips for putting together an effective profile on LinkedIn that are well worth your attention. By "effective," Evans means good "at attracting contacts, generating leads and showing off your skills."

Here is a somewhat abbreviated version of her tips:

Use the name that most people know you by professionally.

The photo you upload should preferably be one taken by a professional photographer.

Add an effective Professional Headline on the “Edit My Profile” page.

Pick the industry that best represents what you do. Alternatively, you could use your clients’ industry if they all come from the same one.

When entering details for your current and past positions, highlight the activities that represent what you do or want to do by mentioning them first.

Write a summary that highlights your most important business information. (Remember that you can add details under “Current Position.”)

List your web sites and blog. Rather than using the name of your web site and blog, use keywords that describe what you do.

If you have a Twitter ID, include it in your profile, along with your your Twitter name.

Request recommendations. (Writing recommendations for others can lead to reciprocal write-ups for you.)

Add LinkedIn apps to enhance your profile. For example, if you have a blog, you can use a LinkedIn app to feed your blog entries into your LinkedIn account. You can also turn LinkedIn into an online document collaboration platform.

If you tweet, send selected Twitter tweets to LinkedIn. You do this by adding the hashtag “#in” to the tweet. (Turn on this feature in Twitter Settings.)

Select what to display in your public profile, using the Public Profile options (which is also the section where you set up your Public Profile URL — http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname). The more you reveal, the easier it is for people to know if they have the right person.

Review your settings to make sure you've dealt with everything you want to adjust, including the new features and settings LinkedIn provides from time to time.

When Evans's tips were summarized at BNET.com, some helpful comments came in from readers, such as this one from merribame: "[A]nswer questions in your area of expertise. You'll gain exposure. [Also] ... ask questions — even when you know the answer. You give others a chance to enter your world with their perspective. And they'll love you for it!"

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Labels: Hiring and getting hired, Networking

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