Your LinkedIn profile is one of the most
powerful career assets you have. It’s your professional portfolio—a
multimedia representation of who you are and the value you deliver. And
in our new all-the-time, all-virtual world thanks to Covid-19, your
LinkedIn profile has become your first impression. What’s more, your
LinkedIn About section (formerly called your Summary) will be the most
read version of your bio.
In today’s uncertain times, it’s more
important than ever to stay on top of your LinkedIn profile and to
refine it regularly so it’s always relevant and compelling to the people
you want to reach. You also need to stay on top of the myriad
refinements and new features LinkedIn adds to the platform so you can
instantly benefit from them and ensure your personal brand stands out
and clearly differentiates you from the hundreds of millions of other
LinkedIn members.
LinkedIn’s latest blog post references
many of the most recent changes. The ones I highlight here will be most
valuable to you as you build your brand and make a positive, authentic
first impression online.
1) Let people know you’re open to new adventures.
With the new OpenToWork photo
frame on your headshot, you can alert those who are checking you out
that you’re ready for your next big gig. I’m thrilled that LinkedIn
added this. Before this feature came along, many who were seeking work
used their headline to tell others of their availability with a
statement like “Ready for my next adventure” or “Seeking New
Opportunities.” This created two challenges. First, it sounded a little
desperate, and second, it reduced the number of characters available in
your headline to tell people who you are, what you do and the value you
create when you do it. This new format is a little more subtle and
creates consistency across the platform for those who are in job-seeking
mode. The words in your headline are important in the LinkedIn search
algorithm, so you want to use exactly the right keywords to reel in
those who are looking for what you have to offer. Luckily, you no longer
have to waste those words by telling people you’re looking for work.
3) Shine a spotlight on your best work.
LinkedIn has allowed you to add
multimedia to your profile for years now, but they enhanced this feature
recently. Before, you could add multimedia to the bottom of your About
(and to the Experience section of your profile). Now, they’ve created a
whole new section called Featured, where you can put your most relevant
and up-to-date images, videos, PDFs, etc. to augment and reinforce what
you say about yourself in your About. And it has been given some really
important real estate, appearing in a large panel right below your
About. Being a completely new element of your profile, the Featured section serves
as a dynamic billboard of items you can showcase to demonstrate your
brilliance. Update it regularly so it remains current and relevant.
No comments:
Post a Comment