Quick Tips

LinkedIn: Big Impact with a Few Quick Actions

It probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway:

LINKEDIN IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR NETWORKING, JOB SEARCH, SALES AND RESEARCH.

Therefore, it is very important that you create a professional profile to complement your resume or business website. Tell your personal brand story in alignment with your goals and your background.

Unfortunately, too often LinkedIn users fall into one of two beliefs that hold them back from the power of the tool.

Viewing their profiles simply as an electronic resume. If you are one of those people, I implore you to STOP that right now. Instead, think of it as a personal brand statement that allows you to shine in the eyes of the recruiters, hiring managers, key influencers, potential clients, and future collaborators. LinkedIn can be less formal and more representative of your personality and work style than a resume.
Thinking of LinkedIn as a static placeholder- perhaps a “necessary evil”. Everyone says they “should” have a profile up there, so it was created ages ago and left there to attract digital cobwebs.

For those of you who want to break from one of these common scenarios and create a big impact with only a few quick actions, take a look at these five ideas below. A great place to begin.

Photo

Pleasant and smiling professional photo. This does not need to be a formal headshot. Have a friend pull out that phone, camera, computer or iPad and take a new photo. Those profiles without a photo are often seen by recruiters as suspect- as if you are hiding something.

The photo should only contain you (no group shots or others cropped out with their arm around you) and should be recent.

The “recent” photo is important because it will often be used to identify you when meeting for informational interviews in a public place or to feel like there is a face beyond the voice on a phone interview.

Headline

LinkedIn gives users an opportunity to feature themselves through a summary statement called the headline. On your profile it appears directly below your name. When profiles are searched by recruiters or hiring managers, the headline also appears directly below your picture in their search results. Often times is one of the first pieces of data used to scan possible candidates or connections. Put some extra time into this field.

Consider personalizing this field a little bit- rather than simply filling it with your current title. Include your goals or interests. Perhaps use the title or description that you to refer to your work when asked at a networking event. You could also tack on the name of the company at the end of the title if you feel it helps to define you.

Event Producer and Technology Enthusiast
Global Talent Acquisition Leader |Passionate about Diversity & Inclusion
Mission-Driven and Innovative Higher Education Professional
Finance Leader at American Express

About

Think “executive summary”.

This should be in paragraph form- no more than 3 paragraphs and should include keywords that an organization might be searching for in relation to your skills and experience.

This summary is an ideal place to tell the story of who you are and where you see yourself going. It should highlight your resume or your business and give everyone insight into what differentiates you.

Assume this is the only part someone reads.

This section is “searchable” in keyword search boxes by recruiters/ managers/ LinkedIn users.

Contact Info

Double check your contact information. Be certain that you have the email address and phone number that you would like new or established contacts to use. You can control who sees this information in your Settings & Privacy section.

Even better, add in your website, blog, social sites and birthday to round out the section. Warning: Do not add these elements to your profile unless they are active, consistently utilized and job search/business appropriate.

Current Position and Education Listed

In the highlighted box at the top of your profile (info section), your current role and education are listed to the right of your photo and headline.

For those of you who currently have multiple roles and/or multiple educational institutions in your history, you will see that LinkedIn defaults to the most recent.

Here are a few options:

You can turn on/off the display of your education on the profile area (there is a check box in the editable area)
You can drag suppress education dates or drag current featured employment entries in different order in the Experience section to manipulate which current employment option is featured.

Focusing on these 5 areas of your LinkedIn profile first will boost your visibility and the perceived professionalism of your personal profile. Next you can begin to dig into some of the more advanced profile shifts and decisions you have available to you.

Baby steps. Start simple.

Networking-Connection: Just Three Names

YIKES!

Did you create a list of things you vowed to do differently this year- and yet, you still haven’t made a dent in the list months later? You are not alone. It happens to all of us!

Maybe you decided to:

Find a new position (a job to which you actually want to jump out of bed in the morning and run towards)
Look for more collaboration partners (who do you really enjoy working with?)
Build more clients in a particular market (could ask for referrals from existing clients)
Carve out more personal time for friends (you cannot believe you did not speak to her at all last year-so embarrassed to get her holiday card!)
Identify volunteer opportunities to share your passion (there are people who need your help, but I have not contacted them)
Call your cousins more often (didn’t you have a great time at Christmas!)

Now let’s get you started in a manageable way….

Here is an exercise you that will get you started- quickly and simply!

Pick three names. Seriously, no more than three names of people who you want to reconnect with, want to get to know better, want to approach for referrals, owe a return call from six months ago, etc. You get the picture. You know who they are! In fact, you probably think about them often and have let so much time go by that now you are afraid to call or write.

Write the three names on a piece of paper. Next to each name write everything you know about them. We will call these Connection Points.

Connection Point Examples– likes wine, has three daughters who take ballet, vacations in Michigan, is a copywriter, is a morning person, used to watch a lot of television years ago, loves fast food, has lived in that house for 30 years, youngest child left for college last year, is related to you and therefore you have all kinds of information about them but nothing very recent, used to work at IBM with Sally, just expanded their business, recently updated their website, works in an industry that is struggling, etc.

Now decide on ONE Connection Method for each of these three people. Telephone call, stop by their house, invite for coffee, Skype conversation, handwritten note, email, invite to a yoga class, note through social/professional networking site, etc.

For each of your three people, circle a few of the Connection Points (what you know about them) and commit to including these with your Connection Method. It serves like an icebreaker and adds some intimacy to the connection. You are reminding them how you are connected or what old stories you have shared, while at the same time not giving the appearance in any way that you want something and are reaching out after all this time to ask for help. It aids in making the conversation/email/note less awkward and more personalized. For some of the people on your list, the connection is just long-overdue but not awkward. For others, you will rely on these connection points.

Consider for each person what you have that might be able to help THEM- a further connection, a resource, a conversation with an adult every once in a while for that stay-at-home mom friend, a monthly breakfast collaboration meeting, book suggestion, etc. Write some of those ideas next to the person’s name as well.

The Ultimate Goal- Make a face–to-face meeting with each one of them as a follow up to your initial connection! Even if you start with an email or a phone call, your ultimate goal is to be sitting in front of each of the three in an engaging conversation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now what you have is a list of three names that are part of your Connection Strategy.
Beside each name you have some reminders of what you know about them and some talking/writing Connection Points to use.
You have committed to HOW you will reach out to them, what Connection Method you will use.
You have a good starting point for how you can help them-what you can offer them.
And…. A plan to meet up with each of them over the next few weeks.

Not so overwhelming now, is it?

I included my list here as well so you can take a sneak peek.

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Inside the Brain of Bryn: Connection

Inside the Brain of Bryn, there are many thoughts on CONNECTION.

Connecting is one of my passions. It conjures up thoughts of enjoyment, shared interests, laughter, interesting conversations -with me out in the world being authentic.

When I am connecting, I am not struggling for the “right” words.
When I am connecting I am not trying so hard to impress people that I’m not listening to them.
When I am connecting, I am thinking about how I can help that person – through advice, people I know, ideas I have or simply witnessing an idea or experience they are having.
When I am connecting, I am comfortable in my body and my clothes.
When I am connecting, it is easy to plan that next get-together to collaborate.
When I am connecting, I don’t need to TELL people about my business or my career ideas and shove a business card in their hand. Instead they are naturally curious about me and ASK to connect with me.

Ask questions. Set a goal to find out one new thing about someone and to share one thing about yourself.

To get started, practice on people you know well. Practice when the stakes do not feel very high. Practice just talking to neighbors, community members, colleagues at work, vendors or customers, family members and friends.

It is incredible how dialogue changes when you are asking questions and being yourself in the conversation.

Remember the feeling! You will bring it with you to your next seemingly high-pressured networking event and transform your experience!

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Quick Tips: Maintaining Your Personal Brand When Connecting

Maintaining your personal brand for connection purposes can be tricky. Here are a few quick tips that you can put into action immediately:

Review your email address to ensure it would not be considered “too funny” or offensive to a potential business colleague. I have seen some really crazy email addresses over the years- literally blog and book worthy! However, I am sure that is not an issue for all of you reading this.

What I have seen by even the most seasoned professional is what I call a “cross over” email address. Maybe it is the personal account that you use for a hobby or role in the community. “HartfordSoccerDad” tells me you are committed to your family and the community; however, chances are has nothing to do with the positions you are exploring. “Preciousmoments 23” is brilliant marketing on eBay if you sell Precious Moments figurines, but definitely not helping to support your personal brand through your connection strategy unless that eBay power seller status is a part of your brand/story.

What you DO want to be certain you have done is create an email address- a free one from gmail- JUST for networking! Clean- clear- including your name or a name/description: BrynJohnson. BrynZJohnson. Johnson Communications Manager. And it allows you to check ONE email address that has all activities that are connection/career related…. And only connection/career related.

VOICEMAIL

Also the same sort of suggestion applies to your voicemail…loading your favorite song on your voicemail might not to be most professional way to stand out. The darling voicemail messages with your children singing hello are wonderful for family and friends but not for building your networking circle. One thought is to use only your cell phone for connecting. You can change the voicemail message to include only a professional message by you that matches your personal brand- in tone. Plus you are the only one who can access the mailbox. State your full name on the message… if people get a voice mail without an identifiable name, they get confused or second guess themselves and often hang up and call back . You do not want to give them the opportunity to hang up because if another call or meeting interrupts them, they may never call again.

PHONE CALLS

Of course, this brings us to the last tip- when and how to answer the phone. Funny because we all know how to answer the phone, right? But when it comes to your connection strategy and the consistent messaging of your personal brand, you want the environment to be perfect when you pick up the call. Because you know that when the call comes in and it is surely that contact you have been waiting for, you are going to be sooooo excited to answer….

Please make sure when you answer the phone you are in a place that where you can talk. In fact, my rule of thumb is that I must be in a place where I can talk and take notes- which means NO DRIVING, shopping in Target or walking down the sidewalk of the city. This could be the only time you get the critical information of where and when your one-on-one meeting will take place, what time the interview is or at what number to reach them. Don’t let that be the time when you are in the middle of picking up kids from soccer practice or ordering in a loud restaurant…Just DON’T ANSWER! Let them leave a message, and then you call them back at a more appropriate time.

Just a few ideas for you. Quick tips for connecting while maintaining a strong personal brand.