26 August 2014

DOES YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE WORK FOR YOU?...

For those who know me well enough, they will be aware that I mentor people from various walks of life... For the others, this is my small way of giving back to the industries that have served me well throughout my career by sharing tips and techniques I have learned and tried over the years, such as they are... As I can only effectively mentor four people personally at any given time, I thought I’d write this post which I hope some of you might find useful...


Many have approached me with the same question:

“How do I break into [Infosec/ Payments/ Risk] (delete as appropriate),
as I am stuck in the catch 22 situation of requiring experience or certifications to be considered for the jobs I’m interested in, but cannot obtain said experience/ qualifications without a job in that field?...”

Ah yes. The conundrum.

 
Well, first of all, rejoice: IT IS POSSIBLE.
I have tried, tested and used (and still use) all the techniques mentioned in this post, and they seem to work OK :)))

I always like to be my own guinea pig...

Secondly, you have to be prepared for three months of consistent effort with no obviously visible result.
 



You’re still reading. Good.

Now that you’re committed and that I have set expectations, this is what I suggest you should do in that three month period:


YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE IS YOUR FRIEND – MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU.
 

  • Make sure there is a decent photo of you
    (people like to see people, not some anonymous entity, logo or favourite pet...)

  • Make sure your profile is up-to-date: I personally do not keep a separate Word CV. Each time someone requests a Word CV, I just extract my LinkedIn profile (you have the facility to export to PDF from the Edit view).
    (people like to see very quickly what you’re about, if they're hooked in the first 6 - Yes, SIX - seconds, they'll look at the rest of your story, otherwise you're a "No Fit")
  • Make sure your summary is written in the First Person: Be interesting. Be personal. Be human.
    (people like to talk to people, not to a third party PR agency writing about you)
  • Make sure your summary is engaging and factual, and avoid using jargon bingo words such as “best of breed”, “synergy”, “team player”, “results-driven”, “self-motivated”, “dynamic”, “hard worker” and my personal pet hate “strategic thinker”...
    Do, however, use words such as “achieved/ improved/ won“, “managed/ trained/mentored/ influenced/ volunteered”, “created/ launched/ resolved/ increased/ decreased”, “idea/ innovation” and something related to “revenue/ profit/ budget/ income" never goes amiss. You don't have to use all of these, but you get the gist...
    (people like facts and more facts, and numbers)

And if you don't believe me, can you think of anything more pukingly cringeworthy than this buzzword riddled profile that says nothing?...


  • Make sure your LinkedIn profile reflects what you want to be (not what you are right now) and make sure the skills listed (those that people endorse you for) actually are not only those that you have, but those that you want to be known for (you will get endorsements for what you're known for and as your skills develop, you will start getting endorsements for what you'd like to be known for - LinkedIn even allows you to re-order your skills). And don't forget to endorse connections for what you think they're good at (I personally set aside some time every month to do just that).
    (use keywords, list current and desired skills. Look at my profile for an example)
  • Learn from others: make a point (at least once a week) to send LinkedIn connection invites to about 10 people you would want to emulate. Make sure the connection message is written in an engaging way and personal.
    You'll be surprised how much people are willing to help.
    I personally do this several times a week.

    (connect personally, NEVER rely on the LinkedIn standard message)
  • Be part of your chosen community: (or communities) Whilst you make new connections, observe which LinkedIn groups they belong to. Try to belong to the maximum number of LinkedIn groups for your areas of interest (I think it's about 50) and choose groups with large numbers of members. Observe discussions and start contributing to them if you can. If anything, it's an excellent news and opinions source. I personally do this everyday.
    (be found where those that inspire you are)
  • Share interesting content: whilst you grow you network, you also want to be known for what you're interested in. The first step here is to post public updates of news articles that you find interesting and relevant. It's an excellent way of getting used to sharing information without actually having to create it. If you have other social profiles for use in a professional capacity (e.g. twitter, Google+), share on these simultaneously to maximise coverage.
  • Be consistent: if you have social media profiles other than your LinkedIn profile and you intend to use these professionally (e.g twitter, Google+, about.me, etc.), make sure they are consistent. There is nothing more off-putting than inconsistent and out-of-sync digital profiles...
  • Create interesting content: In the 3rd month (not before), start writing articles. Small at first, 500 words is enough (to give you an idea, this post has 1,168 words), and it should be easy if you write about something that really interests you. You don't even have to write regularly, only when you have something to say. You could use LinkedIn posts for that, or try guest blogging.
  • Set yourself realistic goals: I know you have a day job, but as with any change endeavours, you need to be able to measure success. Here are a few pointers as to what you should measure: number of LinkedIn connections you have initiated, number of relevant LinkedIn groups you belong to, number of twitter followers, number of people/ businesses you follow on twitter, number of articles you share, number of posts you've written, number of people that have requested to connect with you on LinkedIn, number of people that have added you to circles on Google+, etc. Whatever you choose to measure, make sure you establish your baseline at the start of the period, set your targets and measure your increase over the 3 months.

At the end of the 3 months, you should have grown your network, so people will start noticing you, and then they will start endorsing you, and then recruiters will start approaching you.
But remember, the key to all this is sustained effort, so it needs your absolute commitment... (and it doesn't cost any money, only your time, so spend it well)


As one of my mentors said to me many years ago:

"If you can't change the people, change the people.
Sometimes it's yourself" 

There you are. Thanks for reading and I hope you found this of help. 
Let me know how it goes for you, and give me a shout if you need any help...

Until next time,
neirajones


10 comments:

  1. LassoIn.com is a good website, I really like the way it functions. The best part of the website is that it analyzes and decided the best link to post on LinkedIn. Follow and comment are two important features that social media users look for and this website offers them. One other thing that attracted me to the website was it does not require downloading as the website works on the cloud. And also we can schedule the post on a busy and hectic week so never forget to make a post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very informative post! There is a lot of information here that can help any business get started with a successful social networking campaign. Kennected

    ReplyDelete
  3. You ought to basically fantastic not to mention solid advice, which means notice: Blog Comment

    ReplyDelete
  4. The more people you're attached to the more people who'll view your organization updates and activity and who may decide to do business with you. You can look at LinkedIn as an individual network or business marketing - the choice is yours - but if you need more business than consider the later! Kennected LinkedIn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, What a Excellent post. I really found this to much informatics. It is what i was searching for.I would like to suggest you that please keep sharing such type of info.Thanks Dofollow SEO Backlink blog comments

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely fantastic posting! Lots of useful information and inspiration, both of which we all need!Relay appreciate your work. Exclusive High Authority Dofollow Off-Page Profile Backlink

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is my first visit to your web journal! We are a group of volunteers and new activities in the same specialty. Website gave us helpful data to work. Profile Backlinks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Surely this was totally useful read and awesome experience too. I like your amazing startup. That was so significance to me. Again the elaborations you explored based on the question "Does linkedin profile work for you?" Of course I do believe it's a common asking from all the linked in users and perhaps most linkedin guys will be agreed that this is a dominating place for the business owers and professionals. As a result, considering the potentiality of business growth, there are many automated business success tools and software avaialable out like Kennected LinkedIn software. For brands that want to set appointments, generate leads or make sales online- LinkedIn is the perfect place to do it. LinkedIn outreach can help propel companies to maximize their reach and get their message across to the right audience. Well, I love to admit though this was my first entrance to your resourceful blog, I was completely impressed with the spicy data you depicted for us.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I found that site very usefull and this survey is very cirious, I ' ve never seen a blog that demand a survey for this actions, very curious... linkedin ads tips

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is also a very good post which I really enjoyed reading. It is not every day that I have the possibility to see something like this.. LIquid Help

    ReplyDelete