I was speaking to one of the best upcoming tech bloggers[254] the other day about LinkedIn, and how I view it. To me, LinkedIn isn't a place to dump a snapshot of where you've been. It's an opportunity to stay connected to people, to demonstrate where you are now and where you plan to go next. To that end, I have a little advice for you to consider applying to your own profile.
First, your headline matters. It's what people see when they accept your invitation, and it's probably the fastest first impression one receives. If you work for a company, put that name in the headline. When I don't see a company name, I wonder whether you're solo.
Here's where I think the most work can be done. When I look at my profile, I think it's a bit long, but I've done the following:
Lead with what I do most.
Lead with the type of business I want to do.
Move into the reasons you'd like to do business with me.
Move from there into all the nuances of what I do.
In every case within the summary, you should plan to write from the mind-set of the prospective employers (or clients), such that when they read it, they think, "I need to hire this person."
Tip: Refresh your summary every two weeks.
Here, I do something you might not expect. I make sure my past experience supports my current and future aspirations. I write the past work experience summary to highlight those functions I performed that will be useful to the current and future goals. Why? Because if you're still reading that far down my summary, you want to kick the tires a little on my experience.
Tip: Refresh your past work experience sections every four weeks or so.
Ask people for recommendations. Be smart about it, though. Ask people who can vouch for your abilities.
I receive a few requests each week for recommendations from people I know from Twitter. I'm sorry, but I can't really vouch for you. To me, the reputation engine part of LinkedIn is the most important part of the product. I will only recommend people I would hire myself or for whom I would work. Recommendations are powerful.
Here's a list of next steps:
Review your LinkedIn profile. Look at it as though you're a prospective new boss or client. Would you hire you to do something? If not, rewrite your profile. Keep it tight. Do as much editing as you can.
Enter your blog's RSS feed on the profile page. People want more color.
Add a photo. Not one of those weird grown-up versions of a school picture. Find a good candid. If you don't have one, go to a social media meetup. Someone will snap a good one for you. Worried about discrimination? Guess what: They'll figure it out eventually. Get it out of the way up front.
Start writing quality recommendations for people you can vouch for. If they can do the same for you, ask for one back. If not, hold off. No sense making someone feel awkward.
Grow your network. LinkedIn and I don't agree on this. I say connect to anyone. It helps you build a network. (I recommend only people I can vouch for, and, to me, that's the point at which who you know or don't know really matters.)
Keep looking at your profile as it applies to your future.
Check out my LinkedIn profile. If you want to connect, I use LinkedIn.com/in/chrisbrogan as my address.
And you? What's worked well for you?