LinkedIn has become a Wall Street darling and a crucial player in many recruiting and job
hunt efforts. If you are a job seeker, career ladder climber, or career coach, you
should know about the following four LinkedIn optimization tricks.
1) Make it easy to connect: If you haven’t yet, you should
create a direct link to your “Invitation to Connect” page. By doing so, you
make it simple for your contacts to connect with you on LinkedIn, expanding
your network with just one click. To create a direct link, find your id=
number by looking at your profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=397562&trk=tab_pro
Then create a
bit.ly link to include in your email signature, InMails, other profiles, blog
comments, etc. It will end up looking like the link below and is great to place
in your email signature: Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/LIinvitesjk
2) Stay current on trends: Download an app called Swarm, which allows you to see companies, titles or othersearches are trending on LinkedIn..
3) Make yourself Google-friendly: When you
Google yourself, what results are returned? If your LinkedIn profile isn’t
among the top results, it could be that your last name isn’t visible, or
perhaps your profile isn’t available to the public.
Give your
profile a Google makeover:
- Choose
“Make my public profile visible to everyone” in your public
profile settings. - Invite
and connect with at least 1 connection. - Supplement
your profile with additional sections (like “Skills”) and other optional
information. - Update
your profile regularly to keep it current.
4) Check up your current connections: Use Signal to find out
what your connections are up to and also see the activity around a phrase, company or person. By staying
up to date, you could stumble across an opportunity you might not have seen
otherwise. Start by using the search box in the upper left to search on your
string [BQ- What does “Search your own string” mean? DO you know? If so, can
you explain it a different way?] (I used LinkedIn tips for this one):
By following
these four simple tips, you can get much more out of your LinkedIn profile. If
you have questions about any of the tips offered here, feel free to contact me. Have fun!
(Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn/flickr)
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