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Learn how to make the power of LinkedIn more accessible and useful to you.
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Leveraging LinkedIn To Get Yourself Noticed
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Context
Content Rules is an 18 year old content development consultancy
I’m the team’s recruiter, matching clients’ opportunities with talent
Content developers = technical writers, trainers, instructional designers,
marcom pros, editors. And project managers, occasionally.
Our jobs are posted at www.contentrules.com/jobs
We’re motivated by credibility, seek to be our clients’ one-stop content
shop
LinkedIn is complex and evolves quickly
My comments focus on its potential for professionals seeking work
Your questions are welcome
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
I.Orientation
II.Profile essentials
III.Account settings
IV.Getting yourself noticed
V.Scenarios
troduction
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Overview
I. Orientation
The profile’s new look, accessing basic features, extending LinkedIn
II. Profile essentials
What’s a “complete” profile, and how to make it work for you
III. Account settings
Controlling who sees what and why, and how often you receive emails
IV. Getting yourself noticed
Using the Groups and Jobs features
V. Scenarios
When to use which features
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
What is LinkedIn?
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Linked is…
Your profile – with sections for background, professional experience,
recommendations, (endorsable) skills and expertise, interests, education,
publications, organizational affiliations, honors and awards….
Connections – with invitations, categorization, direct messaging,
searchability by company, industry, location….
Groups – with sub-groups, polls, discussions, new groups….
Companies – with LinkedIn TODAY (customizable news feed)
Jobs – fully integrated with your Connections
Applications – box.net, WordPress, SlideShare, Events, GitHub, Amazon
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
What LinkedIn Isn’t?
LinkedIn is not a social network like Facebook or Twitter
Content is typically career-focused
Users are circumspect and held much more accountable
Credibility is key, and the ‘entertainment factor’ is low
LinkedIn is better organized, more searchable, and its content is ‘deeper’
LinkedIn is more professional and trusted
LinkedIn isn’t a niche player like BranchOut, Viadeo, and XING
In fact, it’s the first site most hiring managers and recruiters visit
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
I. Getting Oriented – “our interface has changed”
LinkedIn has recently rolled out a new interface for its Profiles
The major sections are still the Summary (picture, title, education,
location, industry), Activity, Background, Experience, Skills & Expertise,
and Education
The picture is bigger, contact information has been moved, and there are
new sections on the right-hand column for:
People similar to the current LinkedIn user
Graphical view of “How you’re connected”
Configurable view of user’s network (company, school, location, industry)
View of what you have in common (w/ same categories)
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Getting Oriented (2)
If you view your own profile (from “View Profile” in the main menu bar),
you now get:
A visual representation of how complete (“strong”) your profile is
Cues about who’s viewed your profile, so you can follow up with any
who might seek further information
Visual cues about people you may want to connect with (“People you
may know”)
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
II. Profile Essentials
Picture
Include one, or at least an avatar image. Men, a side-on image where
you’re not leaning on your hand works best.
Be authentic and make an emotional connection
Profiles with pictures get at least 50% more views
Summary section
Highlight your passions, (career-related) interests, and personality;
cultural fit is at least as important to the best employers as an appropriate
skill set
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Profile Essentials (2)
Contact section
Supply as much contact info as appropriate, bearing in mind only your
1st and 2nd degree connections will see it
Specify the URL of your resume, portfolio, blog, Twitter account, etc.
Hint: without helpful info here, you’re a lot harder to take seriously
Customize your LinkedIn URL, and adjust what’s shown to the public
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Profile Essentials (3)
Experience section
Highlight specific actions you took and the impact they achieved
Do not merely catalog your responsibilities
Be sure to use ‘conforming’ Company names, to improve searchability
Skills & Expertise section
LinkedIn displays your claimed skills/expertise to your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-level connections, but only
gives your 1st-level connections the chance to endorse you. List up to 50 that will resonate with them.
If you’re not getting “endorsements” for specific skills, request such from those who know you well,
or change them to those your connections know
Hint: you can endorse someone for 5 claimed skills by clicking on their picture [here], and you can
endorse that user for all their claimed skills (and even others they haven’t listed) within their profile.
Caveat: LinkedIn does not (yet) index Skills/Expertise tags
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Profile Essentials (4)
Recommendations section
Recommendations boost your “People” search ranking dramatically
Solicit detailed, authentic-sounding input, and don’t hesitate to request
revisions (especially if the recommendation is bland, or has typos).
Ensure the recommender doesn’t merely catalog your responsibilities
The more, the merrier – and you control which recommendations
display
Contact [user] For section
If you’re not looking for work, uncheck “job inquiries” and “consulting
offers”
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Profile Essentials (5)
A “complete” LinkedIn profile includes:
your current job and two previous jobs
your educational background
a profile summary
profile picture
your specialties (Experience)
at least 3 recommendations
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Profile Essentials (6) – SEO considerations
LinkedIn ranks “People” search results using these fields:
Professional Headline
Titles
Summary and Experience
Industries
To appear closer to the top, be ASAP (as specific as possible) in the first 3
fields, and use popular search terms (especially for titles):
Information Engineer Technical Writer
Web Copy Creator Marketing Writer
Structured Content Consultant XML/DITA Expert
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Profile Essentials (7) – SEO considerations
“Search Engine Optimize” your profile using “Advanced People Search:”
1. Complete the Title and Location-related fields (e.g., Technical Writer, within 50
miles of 95051)
2. Enter one or more relevant Keywords (e.g., FrameMaker, XML, Agile, networking)
3. Review first ~20 returned profiles for search term matches
4. Revise your profile’s Headline, Title, Summary, and Experience sections, adding
likely search terms (in context) to improve ranking
5. Iterate until satisfied
For clues to marketable search terms, explore:
“Viewers of this profile also viewed…” section (on right column)
Keywords used by competing candidates
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
III. Account Settings
Adjust privacy and related settings from “Settings” (dropdown from your
name, top right corner)
Add your other email addresses
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (2) – showing off on LinkedIn
If you have a paid account and are looking for work, tweak your
OpenLink and/or premium badge settings
OpenLink members can receive connection requests from anyone;
members outside your network can thus join it more easily.
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (3) – controlling who knows you’re looking
If you want to be more visible, turn on “activity broadcasts”
No, you can’t selectively hide these broadcasts from specific people
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (4) – good fences make good neighbors
If you have connections you don’t want to find out about each other (at
least through you), tweak “Select who can see your connections”
No, you can’t selectively hide your connections from specific people
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (5) – Who else did this viewer see?
Display “Viewers of this profile also viewed…” while you’re SEO’ing your
profile, so you can see the context in which your profile appears.
After that, it’s optional – and it can hurt your chances of getting contacted,
especially if the viewer gets distracted by another profile.
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (6) – the 3 most crucial fields
Tweak your profile’s Headline, Location, and Industry to orient viewers.
Re Location, go “regional” rather than “local” to cast the widest net.
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (7) – limit what the world sees
Tweak your public profile to constrain what displays outside LinkedIn.
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (8) – Buried in Emails?
Adjust who can send you email and under what pretenses.
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (9) – Email frequency
Adjust how often you’ll receive LinkedIn-related email
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Account Settings (10) – Frequency of Group-related Emails
Adjust how often you’ll receive LinkedIn Group-related email
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
IV. Getting Yourself Noticed
Build your network by soliciting LinkedIn connections and introductions
Join and participate in relevant LinkedIn Groups
To connect with knowledgeable contributors, use “More/Reply privately“
“Follow” Companies in your target industry
Contribute to LinkedIn Groups when you’ve got related expertise/insights
Watch (and respond to) job postings from target employers
Hint: Job postings can originate anywhere; you can still use LinkedIn to
find current or past employees who can help you steer your resume
Share relevant status updates, and respond constructively to others’
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Finding LinkedIn Members Who Can Help You
Find out who you know at specific companies
Search LinkedIn for people you already know, then click “Similar”
Search “Groups” then use “Connect” button or “get introduced” link
Scour “Viewers of this profile also viewed...”
Use LinkSV.com, then approach officers via their LinkedIn icons
Import your email address book(s) into LinkedIn
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
How To Request and Work With Connections
Use the “Connect” button and “Get introduced” link
When you ask someone to join your LinkedIn network
Make it clear you’ve read their profile
Give them an incentive (access to your connections, know-how, etc)
Do not settle for the boilerplate text LinkedIn offers (“I'd like to add you to my
professional network on LinkedIn”); customize it!
Do not send “batch” invitations unless recipients are expecting it
When someone accepts your invitation, engage!
Use the “send a message” feature to thank them, provide your contact info, ask
how you can help, offer a relevant service, and so forth.
Tag them
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Self-Promotion 101
1. Customize your LinkedIn URL
Add it (perhaps via a View my Profile button) to:Your resume
Your email signature block
Your blog or website
Your business card
2. Create your own LinkedIn group
Lets you broadcast once/week, for free, to all members
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Self-Promotion 101 (2) - Recommendations
3. Ask for Recommendations (“Profile” from main menu bar)
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Self-Promotion 101 (3) – Contribute Answers
4. Contribute to Groups (“Profile” from main menu bar)
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
V. Scenarios For Using LinkedIn Optimally
Scenario #1
Transitioning professional seeking first formal Technical Writer role
Scenario #2
Mid-career Technical Writer seeking advancement
Scenario #3
Senior Technical Writer seeking parity or better after a layoff
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.
Want to connect?
Andrew Davis, recruiter
408-395-8178 ext. 105
www.linkedin.com/in/synergistech
www.contentrules.com/jobs
© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.