Grow Your Personal Brand

This article is addressed to college students and graduates. LinkedIn is a very powerful tool for those looking to enter the business field. The reason is because it is such a crucial component of networking due to the following: it is the top social networking site for business professionals, 154 million US workers have LinkedIn profiles, 50% of Americans with college degrees use LinkedIn, 45% of users are in upper management, and 91% of executives rate LinkedIn as their first choice for professionally relevant content.

Another reason LinkedIn is so important is due to the role it plays during job searches. It is the 24/7 virtual home of your professional brand. Three million jobs are posted on LinkedIn each month. 94% of recruiters rate LinkedIn as their primary recruiting tool and most hiring managers will view your profile.1

Let’s break down your profile and work to maximize your LinkedIn potential.

Headshot:

• Do

  • Professional-looking headshot

  • Business attire, neutral background

  • Great lighting, great resolution

• Don't

  • Obvious selfie

  • Casual or attention-grabbing

  • Poor lighting, blurry

Headline:

• A phrase meant to sell yourself in 120 characters.

• Customize … don’t accept the LinkedIn default.

• Headshot and headline is what recruiters see when they search, so these have to be compelling.

• Keep it short, punchy; add details and keywords.

Education:

• List both your university and your specific school within the university. For example, if you went to UPenn, add University of Pennsylvania as well as Wharton School.

• This helps you appear as an “in-network” for both. You should have your specific school listed first.

Custom URL:

• Edit your URL on your profile page by clicking Edit public profile & URL on the right side. Change URL to something simple such as: www.linkedin.com/in/FirstNameLastName

• Remove the numbers that are default.

About:

• First person narrative, 100-word minimum, short paragraphs.

• A version of your elevator pitch.

• Be creative, personable, engaging … tell your story.

• How you came to be interested in your major.

• What you have to offer.

• What you’re looking for right now.

• Where you see yourself long-term.

Experience:

• List all relevant experiences, paid, volunteer, etc.

• Add descriptions, but do not cut/paste bullets from resume.

• When describing experiences, use brief narratives or a list of tasks and accomplishments stated very briefly.

Skills & Endorsements:

• Be sure to add at least eight skills to your profile

• Endorsements are fine but they don’t carry much weight

After solidifying your profile, here are a few additional recommendations. Starting out, you should connect with 50 other LinkedIn members, follow two companies, and join two groups. This will help you grow your network. When you reach out to professionals to connect you should personalize your connection. A personal request shows effort, interest, and respect as well as provides useful context for the professional. On a professional’s profile page, click Connect and Add a Note … then, type your personalized message.

All these steps are tools to help you grow your personal brand and make the best of LinkedIn, a very valuable social network for business professionals.

-RR