Uncategorized

Check Out the FREE LinkedIn Interview Prep Feature

Posted on March 25, 2024
Wayne Breitbarth

It's always a good idea to check out the interviewer's profile before your interview, but don't stop there. Take full advantage of LinkedIn's newest feature, Interview Prep—and you don't even need a premium LinkedIn account to take advantage of the most important aspects of this feature.

For each of the 26 most commonly asked job interview questions (e.g., Tell me about yourself, What is your greatest strength/weakness, Why should we hire you, etc.), LinkedIn provides the following valuable information:

Overview. This addresses why interviewers ask the question.

Answer framework. This is a one- to two-minute video of a human resources professional or consultant sharing winning tips on how to answer the question.

Sample answer (Premium LinkedIn membership required). This is either a one- to two-minute video of a candidate answering the question, followed by a critique of the answer by the same HR professional or consultant, or an article detailing the best ways to answer the question.

Tips. These three or four bullet points provide specific, actionable steps to help you nail your answer.

Practice and get feedback button. When you click this button, you can record or type your answer. Only you can see the video or read your written answer. The AI-powered feedback will tell you:
.

    • Your pace, how many words you used per minute
    • If you used any filler words; for example, “umm”
    • If you used any sensitive phrases
    • Answer tips to improve your response

This is a very thoughtful addition to this feature. Thanks, LinkedIn!

The Interview Preparation feature is available on your desktop and also your mobile app. However, in typical LinkedIn fashion, it's a bit hard to track down. Check out this article from the LinkedIn Help Center about how to find it on your computer or mobile device.

This is a can't miss new feature on LinkedIn. I know you'll love it, especially if you haven't interviewed in quite a while or you're preparing for your first professional internship or job. Good luck landing an exciting new job!

SPECIAL OFFER

If you want me to see how "job search ready" your profile is as part of my full profile critique and also help you develop strategies to skyrocket your business and career, then take advantage of my special one-hour $197 LinkedIn consultation. This consultation will take place on the phone, and I'll share my desktop screen with you. I will email your marked-up profile to you prior to our session. Click here to learn more and book your session.

Here are a few comments from my recent clients:

"Great job offer received via LinkedIn only two days after consulting with Wayne!"

"I highly recommend Wayne's 1:1 LinkedIn coaching session. Per Wayne's guidance, I reached out to the SVP of Client Success for a company I saw a suitable role. I used language Wayne provided in our 1:1 session to initiate the contact...Since then I've had an initial interview and interacted with the SVP multiple times."

"He made the learning experience fun, interesting, and was a big help to me. It has increased my exposure almost two-fold in a couple weeks."

Don't miss your chance to get results like these. Book your session now by clicking here. Space is limited.

Here is Your FREE 2024 LinkedIn Game Plan for Success. Download Now!

Posted on February 17, 2024
Wayne Breitbarth

Are you starting to put your game plan together for 2024? Is LinkedIn part of that plan? If not, it's probably because you don't know exactly what to do each week to get results.

Well, it's your lucky day. I created a LinkedIn Game Plan for Success: Your One-Hour Weekly Playbook for Results. It's received rave reviews from my audiences, and I know you're going to love it, too.

Start following these steps now, and make them a part of your weekly routine in 2024.
.

2024 LinkedIn Game Plan for Success

You can download the full worksheet below, but here's a quick summary of the weekly process that's sure to kick-start your business and career in the new year.

Page number references in the worksheet refer to the 4th Edition of my book The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success. Pick up a copy at your nearby bookstore or Amazon.com to learn more simple ways to acquire lucrative new customers, land a great new job, and, of course, substantially boost your income.

1. Start by checking out profiles of people you're considering connecting with, taking specific note of the things they're posting and sharing.
Consider mentioning them using the "@" sign before typing in their name when sharing one of their updates. Then be sure to keep an eye on your Who's Viewed Your Profile section to see if they check you out. That would be a good sign.

2. Use a custom invitation and invite ten people in your target audience to join your network. This will take about 15 minutes per week, but strengthening your network is bound to result in more future business.

3. Send a follow-up thank-you note to ten people who have agreed to join your network. This should only take about ten minutes, and it gives you an opportunity to request a meeting or phone call that could lead to new business or lucrative referrals.

4. Engage with your audience. Like, share, or comment on status updates, published posts, or company page updates made by ten of your most important connections. This, too, should only take about ten minutes, and it's a great way to stay on the radar of your target audience.

5. Share two or three status updates each week. This might take you 20 minutes per week, but it will go a long way toward establishing yourself as a rockstar in your field—and it also gives you an opportunity to promote your products and services.

You're now prepared to hit the ground running in the new year and make it your best year ever.

If you need my help in putting your 2024 LinkedIn strategy together, why not sign up for one of my LinkedIn profile optimization and custom strategy sessions, which includes a one-hour phone and screen-share session, a full critique of your personal profile or your LinkedIn company page, and much more, all for just $197. And for a limited time only, until March 31, 2024, I am including a recording of the session.

Click here to book your session.

 

Download (PDF, 1004KB)

 

 

LinkedIn's Skills profile section has been rather confusing from its inception, but they've been improving it over the years. With the latest feature changes, you now have complete control over the section, which could have a significant impact on your business and career.

Because LinkedIn has made over a dozen revisions to the Skills section over the eleven years of its existence, we can assume this section is fairly important in the overall scheme of how LinkedIn works and, most importantly, in the way the critical search ranking algorithm works. I can't prove it, but I don't think LinkedIn would spend this much time and effort unless it really matters.

The best way to know if you are optimizing your profile for strategies like this is to book a one-hour one-on-one virtual LinkedIn consultation with me for just $197. The price for this consultation will be increasing soon. Book your session by clicking here

.
How to optimize your Skills profile section

To help you make the most of your Skills section, I will give you some overall strategies for capitalizing on it, in addition to discussing the updated, new, and revised features. Implementing these strategies will help the viewers of your profile better understand how you can help them, and the result will be great new relationships that should lead to improved business and career success.

1.  You can only receive endorsements for your skills from a first-level connection.  

2.  You can manage them. Scroll down to the Skills section of your profile, and then you can:

Add any skills that show what you're good at from a professional standpoint. If your job duties include sales, add keywords that relate to the products and services you sell. After you click "+" in the top right of your Skills section, type a skill in the box. LinkedIn will then suggest other skills based on the words you put in the box. If those skills are part of your skill set, be sure to add them to your list of skills.

You can now display your top five skills in your About section. This is one of the newest changes, and it even comes with an eye-catching diamond icon that precedes the list of your top five skills. You can be confident that LinkedIn is using this as part of the search ranking algorithm, and now the people who look at your profile will know exactly what you feel are your superpowers. Just click the pencil in your About section, scroll down to the bottom of the edit box, and select the five skills you want to really emphasize.

Attach a specific skill to a specific job experience entry. Just click the pencil on a specific skill, and then you can check off which of your job experience entries you would like that skill attached to and displayed below that Experience section entry. This is the newest change and looks to be a very important one.

Delete a skill. Click the pencil icon in the top right corner of your Skills section, and then click the pencil on a specific skill listed that you want to delete. Next, click Delete skill in the bottom left in the specific skills box, and it's gone—along with any endorsements of that skill, of course.

Reorder your skills. This feature enables you to reorder your most important skills to the top of your Skills section, providing greater visibility and credibility for you. Simply click the pencil and then three dots on the top right of your Skills section, and then click the up-down icon. You can then "drag and drop" to rearrange all your skills in the order of importance.

Because you can now put your best skills at the top of the list, your connections will be more likely to endorse you for those skills—and soon they'll be the most endorsed skills on your profile. This will help you get closer to the top of the search results when people search for those skills.

Choose (1) whether or not you want to be endorsed, (2) whether you want LinkedIn to suggest endorsements to your connections, and (3) whether you want suggestions for endorsing your connections. Click the three dots in the top right-hand corner of your Skills section. Then select Endorsement settings on the bottom of the page to revise your settings. I recommend choosing Yes for all three settings.

3.  You can now be endorsed for up to 100 skills. Yes, they just doubled the number of skills you can display to 100. These skills are essentially keywords, and LinkedIn and other search engines love keywords; so I would use all 100 slots if you have keywords that would help people find you.

4.  You don't have to endorse everyone who endorses you. If you want to endorse them, go ahead, but don't feel obligated to do so.

5.  I'm pretty sure endorsements and the skills they attach to are part of the LinkedIn search algorithm. LinkedIn doesn't publicize its algorithm, but, as I mentioned previously, my guess is that skills are an important part of it, because LinkedIn doesn't invest this much time and effort into something that isn't going to help their top-line revenue. They are making a lot of money on their Recruiting Solutions product, and they obviously think this feature helps them deliver the "best" candidate for a certain skill ("best" meaning most endorsed).

6.  List skills that are important and consistent with your current or future business strategy. The skills you include, especially the ones you pin and move to the top of the other categories, should be important for you on a moving forward basis—and these may not be the same skills that have been historically important for you.

Also, don't worry about putting new skills in the top three spots. You may not have any endorsements for them yet, but you'll get them over time.

7.  You might get someone's attention if you endorse him/her. Your face and name may appear on the person's profile, and LinkedIn will also send the person a message saying you just endorsed him or her.

8.  Endorsements may be the differentiator. If two profiles look similar in all respects but one has 120 endorsements for the skill you're looking for and the other has only 20, you will probably be inclined to choose the person with 120.

9.  Endorsements are great, but LinkedIn recommendations are still important. I recommend you get at least two fairly current recommendations because LinkedIn now displays them very prominently and in full on your profile. This is especially important if you're a job seeker. Great recommendations will increase your credibility—and the more the better.

You should now be ready to impress readers of your profile with your specific skills and affirmation of those skills by LinkedIn members—and greater visibility and credibility are sure to lead to increased revenue or a great new job.
.

SPECIAL OFFER

If you'd like me to demo these LinkedIn features as part of a $197 one-on-one LinkedIn consultation (price increase coming soon), you can book your session here. I will share my computer screen with you during the call and send you a marked-up copy of your profile prior to the call.

Whether you’re using LinkedIn to find your next high-impact customer, raise your organization’s profile, or land the job of your dreams, this session is for you.

Here is what just a couple of my recent clients shared about their experience with my one-on-one LinkedIn consultation service:

"WOW! What great gold I got from Wayne! An absolute wizard at LinkedIn, helped me improve my profile in under 60 minutes and I received so much information that was easy to understand and implement today! Thank you, Wayne!"

"After our one-on-one strategy session today, I made specific changes to my LinkedIn profile and company pages that better position me to serve more ideal clients with my leadership development programs and testimonial writing service."

There are limited spots available, so don't delay. Book your session today by clicking here.

 

Whether it's a referral to an exciting new customer with big potential, a new supplier or vendor with a more effective solution, or a referral to your next great employer, referrals are not only highly effective, but it can be fun meeting your friends' friends.

However, it's not easy to ask the open-ended question, "Who in your network could help me find a job, customer, etc.?" So, rather than putting all the pressure on your connection to come up with the right people, why not use LinkedIn's Connections of feature to find the right people all by yourself.

This feature is so simple to use, and I've received tons of rave reviews about it. So below you will find a step-by-step description of how to use this terrific LinkedIn strategy.

For more winning LinkedIn strategies just for you, book a one-hour one-on-one virtual LinkedIn consultation with me for just $197. The price for this consultation will be increasing soon. Book your time by clicking here
.

Check out your referral source's Rolodex in just minutes (People Search Filter—Connections of)

Overview: LinkedIn has lots of great ways to find the right people in its one-billion-person database, but the one that seems to have the biggest wow factor is using the Connections of feature to search for people who can refer you to people in your target audience. I find that most people don't know they can do this nor can they believe it's available on the free LinkedIn account.

Think of this LinkedIn feature as an easy-to-use electronic version of an old-school Rolodex but with all the available filters to find just the right people in mere seconds.

Note: If you were born after the Rolodex died, it is a paper-based business card filing system (see picture above).

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Put your cursor in the big, white search box in the top toolbar and hit the return or enter key and then select People in the white toolbar that appears (far left). Then select All Filters (far right).

2. Next, go to the Connections of box and type in your connection's name. When his/her name appears in the drop-down menu, choose that entry, and then click the blue Show results button.

3. Now use any of the other available filters to narrow the search to people at the right company, location, school attended, title, etc.

Caveat: If your connection has chosen to hide their first-level network from their connections, you'll only be able to see people to whom both of you are connected.

What to do with the search results

Review the list LinkedIn provides for you. If you find people who look interesting to you, check out their profiles, and then ask your connection how best to approach the people (through a LinkedIn connection request, phone call, email, in-person meeting, etc.).

The four questions I would ask my connection about the people on the list are:
.

    • Do you know them? (Not everyone knows the people in their network well enough to refer you)
      .
    • Do you think they would be interested in hearing about how I might be able to help them? (You're trying to find out if your connection knows them well enough to know their level of interest in what you do)
      .
    • Can I use your name and our relationship when I reach out to them? (This is getting their permission to name drop)
      .
    • What do you think is the best way to get ahold of them? (Send a customized LinkedIn connection request, email, phone call, etc.)

If you get "Yes" or "You bet" to the first three questions, then go ahead, reach out and try to start a new relationship by referring to your mutual connection. The reach-out could take place in the form of a LinkedIn connection request, but you could also use more traditional methods, like a phone call, email, or stopping by for a visit. 

If you're like most people, once they learn of this feature, they can't wait to get started and put it to use.

What are YOU waiting for? Get started NOW.

SPECIAL OFFER

If you'd like me to demo these LinkedIn features as part of a $197 one-on-one LinkedIn consultation (price increase in early 2024), you can book your session here. I will share my computer screen with you during the call and send you a marked-up copy of your profile prior to the call.

Whether you’re using LinkedIn to find your next high-impact customer, raise your organization’s profile, or land the job of your dreams, this session is for you.

There are limited spots available, so don't delay. Book your session today by clicking here.

 

LinkedIn Will Help You Make 2024 Your Best Year Ever

Posted on December 9, 2023
Wayne Breitbarth

LinkedIn is loaded with features that will improve your chances of accomplishing your business and career goals, and frequently I'm asked which ones are the very best for all LinkedIn users.

So, as we embark on a new year, it's the perfect time to share my very best LinkedIn strategies that can help you make 2024 your best year ever.

Note: Everything I'm sharing can be done with a free LinkedIn account..
.

Leverage the relationships you already have

If you're like me, you've been using LinkedIn for a number of years and have built a network that's not only sizable, but it's loaded with a lot of people who are in your target audience. Here are two powerful LinkedIn features that will help you capitalize on the network you already have.

Connections of Advanced People Search filter. This hidden gem allows you to filter through the networks of your first-level connections and find the exact people you want to meet. Then hopefully your first-level connections are willing to introduce you to those people in their networks. You can filter their networks by title, location, current and past company, industry, and schools they attended.

Additional Resource: I have outlined in this article exactly how to do this. So before you meet with clients, past colleagues, or just well-networked friends, be sure to use this technique to find the people in their networks you would like to meet.

Direct message a targeted group of connections. Too often LinkedIn users fail to communicate with their connections on an ongoing basis. Once you are connected, you have the opportunity to direct message people about changes in your business or employment status, new resources your company provides to people like them, or simply to say hi and ask if they'd like to get together sometime soon.

Action Step: Put your cursor in the top search box and hit the Return/Enter key. Then select People and then All Filters. Click the 1st box, and proceed to select any of the available filters to narrow your search and receive the perfect list. Next, use the Message box to the right of each entry to send a message with up to 1900 charactersand you can even include attachments.
.

Search for and connect with new people in your target audience

Start by making sure you have defined what your target audience is and the best keywords to use when searching for them. These keywords typically include titles, company names, location, schools they attended, certifications they hold, etc. Once you have assembled this information, LinkedIn's one-of-a-kind database is the best place to find the exact people you want to meet.

Advanced People Search feature. Use this features to access LinkedIn's over one billion profiles, and put together a great targeted list of people you'd like to meet. Then send them customized invitations to join your network.

Just thinkif you set a goal to add ten new connections each week in 2024, you'll wake up a year from now with an additional 500 people in your target audience that you can directly communicate with at any time.

Additional Resources: If you need help putting together a targeted list using the Advanced People Search filters, put your cursor in the top search box and hit the Return/Enter key. Then select People and then All Filters, and proceed to select any of the available filters to narrow your search and receive the perfect list.

There you have itthe very best LinkedIn strategies to make 2024 a record-breaking year. See you at the finish line! .
.

SPECIAL OFFER

If you'd like me to demo these LinkedIn features as part of a $197 one-on-one LinkedIn consultation (price increase in early 2024), you can book your session here. I will share my computer screen with you during the call and send you a marked-up copy of your profile prior to the call.

Whether you’re using LinkedIn to find your next high-impact customer, raise your organization’s profile, or land the job of your dreams, this session is for you.

There are limited spots available, so don't delay. Book your session today by clicking here.

Most people will agree that LinkedIn has established itself as one of the best marketing tools on the planet for business professionals, and part of your marketing strategy, whether marketing yourself and/or your products and services, should be to encourage marketing events or interactions with your target audience.

One of the most important marketing events on LinkedIn is profile views. When someone views your profile, it's like they walked into your store, ready to do some shopping.

So, how do you attract more shoppers to your store?
.

Long-term strategy

Of course, almost everyone who checks out your profile could be a potential client/customer or at least know someone who might be interested in you and what you have to offer. However, ultimately you're looking for views from people who quite likely can help you achieve your business goals.

To get on the path to long-term success, it's important to connect with your target audience and share great information, thereby nurturing the relationship and increasing your thought leadership status. Then, when they are ready to engage someone who has your expertise, you have earned your way onto their list—and hopefully, it’s a very short list!
.

Short-term strategy

In the short term, here are eight simple ways to get more of the right people viewing your profile.

1.  Optimize your LinkedIn profile headline. A headline is meant to grab the reader and encourage him/her to read more. If you need help with this, download my free worksheet The Definitive Worksheet to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile Headline on the free resources page of my website.

2.  Look at other people’s profiles. When people see you’ve looked at their profile, it’s quite likely they’ll take a look at yours if your headline suggests you might be an interesting person to meet.

Be sure your Profile viewing options setting is on the recommended setting of full disclosure. Then they'll see your full name and headline versus something like Insurance agent at Northwestern Mutual.

3.  Share your own posts frequently. This doesn’t take as much time as you might think. Simply use the Start a post feature on your home page. Most people don't think they have anything to share, but just think about ways you are helping your network and/or customers. That's a great place to start.

4.  Repost, “like” or comment on other people’s posts or published articles. This isn’t quite as powerful as sharing your own posts, but the time commitment is a lot less. It only takes a second to click “like,” and it’s an easy way to stay top of mind with your network.

Consider mentioning them using the "@" sign before typing in their name when sharing one of their updates.

5.  Put more of your most important keywords in your profile—and put them in the right spots. For help with this, download my worksheet Keywords: The Key to Being Found on LinkedIn on the free resources page of my website.

6.  Endorse people. Not everyone is a fan of this feature, but it does spark lots of engagement—which usually results in more profile views.

7.  Take advantage of LinkedIn notifying you of your connections' birthdays, work anniversaries, and starting new jobs. LinkedIn uses the Notifications tab to tell you when these important dates are happening with the people who matter most to you—your connections. So be sure not to just click the Say happy birthday button. Take it to the next level and send them a longer, more helpful or inquiring message that should lead to a profile view for you.

8.  Start writing long-form articles using the LinkedIn publishing feature. Admittedly, this will take some work, and many of us shy away from writing, but over time this will get you more profile views. Also, one of the best ways to establish your thought leadership is to share your thoughts by writing.
.

Take action

So, which of these steps are you going to take to increase your LinkedIn profile views? And keep in mind that if you get more profile views, you'll then get more traditional interactions (phone calls, emails, meetings, etc.). Of course, this will result in improved ROI for your time spent on LinkedIn.

For more simple strategies to improve your LinkedIn ROI, along with a detailed critique of your profile, be sure to take advantage of my one-hour, one-on-one consultation for just $197.

This consultation will take place on the phone, and I will share my computer screen with you. There are limited spots available, so don't delay. Book yours today by clicking here.

 

"I attended a LinkedIn workshop by Wayne, updated my LinkedIn profile using all his awesome tips and got 4 interviews with top Fortune 500 companies 5 days later." - Sandra Palacios-Serrato 

So, what specific tip did I share with Sandra to get these game-changing results?

Well, it's hard to know exactly because I shared so many actionable LinkedIn tips and strategies at that event, but I'm pretty sure the three tips outlined below just might be the ticket to your next set of impactful interviews.

By the way, I share these and many more tips, tricks, and strategies for job seekers of all ages during my virtual one-on-one LinkedIn consultations. Click here to check out the details and book your personal session with me.

.

1. Enable the Open to Work feature on your LinkedIn profile

Lots of job seekers didn't even notice when this feature became available a few years ago. If you're one of those people, you better head to your settings ASAP and get this set up correctly. It won't take more than five minutes.

You can choose five specific job titles and locations you're interested in as well as the type of job (full-time, part-time, contract, etc.). And it's your decision whether you show this information on your profile or hide it. Learn how to do it here.
.

2. Create LinkedIn Job Alerts for the right jobs and the right companies

You can now set specific job alerts for the companies you're interested in and notify those companies' recruiters that you're interested. This capability showed up without much fanfare last year, and it's a real game-changer.

This may take you ten minutes, but when you're done you'll begin receiving notifications for the right jobs (not just the jobs LinkedIn thinks are right for you), and recruiters at your target companies may actually reach out to you directly. Here is a LinkedIn article that will take you through the steps.
.

3. Add the right keywords in the right places on your LinkedIn profile

Simply put, LinkedIn is just one big database of people's profiles (resumes on steroids). When recruiters and HR professionals are performing specific searches for people like you, they use keywords to narrow their searches to the very best candidates. These keywords are typically things like job titles, skills, schools, industries, etc. The search results they get from LinkedIn are in an order that LinkedIn calls "relevancy to the searcher."

In order to get near the top of their searches, you have to be more relevant to them than the other people on the search results list. The easiest way to become more relevant is to add the right keywords (important words in job postings) to the right sections of your LinkedIn profile.

Based on my experience of working with thousands of job seekers over the years, placing those words in your Headline, Job Titles, and Skills sections will improve your position in the search results in just minutes.

There you have it—three simple LinkedIn steps that in just 30 minutes should improve your chances of being included on the short list of candidates who get an interview.

SPECIAL OFFER

If you want me to see how "job search ready" your profile is as part of my full profile critique and also help you develop strategies to skyrocket your business and career, then take advantage of my special one-hour $197 LinkedIn consultation. This consultation will take place on the phone, and I'll share my desktop screen with you. I will email your marked-up profile to you prior to our session. Click here to learn more and book your session.

Here are a few comments from my recent clients:

"Great job offer received via LinkedIn only two days after consulting with Wayne!"

"I highly recommend Wayne's 1:1 Linked In coaching session. Per Wayne's guidance, I reached out to the SVP of Client Success for a company I saw a suitable role. I used language Wayne provided in our 1:1 session to initiate the contact...Since then I've had an initial interview and interacted with the SVP multiple times."

"He made the learning experience fun, interesting, and was a big help to me. It has increased my exposure almost two-fold in a couple weeks."

Don't miss your chance to get results like these. Book your session now by clicking here. Space is limited.

 

Is it Time for a LinkedIn Profile Tune-Up?

Posted on October 21, 2023
Wayne Breitbarth

How long has it been since you reviewed your LinkedIn profile and updated it for the recent changes? Probably too long.

If this sounds like you, let me share with you some of the most important LinkedIn profile strategies I have been sharing with my clients during their one-on-one LinkedIn consultations with me.

You can consider this your very own 2023 LinkedIn Profile Optimization Checklist.

1. Headline, Profile Photo and Background Photo. More people will see your headline, profile photo, and background photo than any other part of your profile. Make a good first impression by including a creative, keyword-filled headline, professional-quality headshot, and a background that positively represents your personal brand.

2. About. Use the About section to sell yourself. Think of it as your cover letter or elevator speech. With the current profile format, the first 300 characters of your About section are going to be read often; so spruce it up and make it shine. This section has been expanded recently to 2,600 characters.

Good news—LinkedIn recently added a display of your top five skills in your About section. Don't miss this chance to quickly share these with the profile reader without him/her having to go down to the Skills section, which shows up lower on your profile. It will also help you improve your search ranking for these skills. Click the edit pencil in your About section, and then scroll down to pick a skill you want to display here or add a new one to display.

3. Experience and Education. Don't skimp here. Provide details of each job you've held (LinkedIn allows up to 2,000 characters per job or education entry), and include your formal education as well as industry-specific courses, workshops, or seminars you've attended.

Good news again—LinkedIn has recently allowed you to highlight the specific skills you have that are directly attributed to an Experience entry, giving those skills entries more visibility and improving your search ranking. Just click the edit pencil for that specific Experience entry, scroll down to the Skills subsection, and make selections from current Skills entries or add additional ones.

4. Keywords. You'll be more likely to come up in searches if you include the keywords people typically use when trying to find someone like you. Put them in your Headline, Job Experience titles, and the Skills section to receive the most benefit, but avoid "stuffing" your profile with keywords or your credibility may be compromised.

5. Add Media. Not only will adding media help your profile be more visually interesting, but it's a great way to get people to visit your website, check out some of your best work examples, and get copies of important documents, like your resume, your customer testimonials, etc. You can add media to your Featured section, Job Experience, and Education entries on your profile.

6. Recommendations. Get at least two current, impactful recommendations. Your two most recent recommendations are nicely displayed. Note, however, that you cannot reorder them. The rest of your recommendations get buried in the Show all ## received drawer; so consider grabbing the best quotes from your recommendations and placing them in the job entry they are tied to.

7. Add Optional Additional Profile Sections. Just click the Add profile section button below your profile photo, and then you will have access to loads of really helpful optional profile sections that can highlight some of your most important passions and credentials. The ones I consistently recommend people add to their profiles are Featured, Licenses & Certifications, Projects, Courses, Volunteer Experiences, Organizations, and Languages.

8. Calls to Action. You don't want people to just look at your profile—you want them to do something. Invite readers to watch a video, go to your website, request a quote, etc. It's easy to include calls to action in your About section or your current Experience section, but you can creatively include them in other sections as well.

So don't waste time. Get busy improving these eight spots on your LinkedIn profile, and you will have set yourself up for 2024 to be your best year ever.
.

SPECIAL OFFER

If you'd like me to help you tune up your profile, sign up for one of the four to six personal sessions I fit into my schedule each week. These consultations are still specially priced at $197 (the price is going up soon). Book your session here.

I will share my computer screen with you during the Zoom call and send you a marked-up copy of your profile prior to the call.

Whether you’re using LinkedIn to find your next high-impact customer, raise your organization’s profile, or land the job of your dreams, this session is for you.

There are limited spots available, so don't delay. Book your session today by clicking here.

 

During one-on-one LinkedIn consultations and also the Q&A time at my presentations, people are consistently interested in learning how they can get the right people to look at their profile.

First, it's important to identify what the right people would look like—in other words, determine who you actually want to meet.

If you're just not sure who the right people are, check out my article Is Your LinkedIn Network Serving Your Purposes?

Note: I will be covering these strategies and so many more at my upcoming two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop "Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects" on October 9. Check out the details and register here.
.

Simple steps to get more profile views by the "right" people

Sometimes people just need a little nudge—if you look at me, I'll look at you. So begin by using any of the LinkedIn people searching tools to search for the right people. The two I think shine above the rest are Advanced People Search and University Pages/Alumni.

Begin your search by entering the keywords you think the right people would include in their profile. Then browse through the profiles shown in the search results. When you see someone who looks interesting, click on the person's name to view their profile. That simple step alone may encourage some of these people to look at your profile.

Once on the profile, there are a number of steps you can take. Some of these steps may not feel right to you at this point, but, trust me, they all increase the chances that this person will look at your profile.

Review the person's Activity section by clicking Show all activity. Like, repost or comment on any of the articles or updates you think people in your network would find helpful.

When sharing or commenting on someone's article or activity, consider using the @mention feature by typing "@" followed by the person's name. When the person's name shows up in the drop-down choices, click that entry.

This triggers LinkedIn to send a notification to that person, telling them that they were mentioned in your update or repost. The notification goes to the person's email Inbox in addition to their LinkedIn Notifications tab.

If you are personally aware of the person's skills, you may want to endorse them for one or more of their skills.

Send the person a customized invitation to connect. If your request to connect is accepted, follow up with a thank-you note, opening the door to a possible next step (meeting, phone call, etc.)

If the person doesn't connect with you right away, check your Who's Viewed Your Profile listing periodically to see if they view your profile sometime down the road. If you see that they've taken a look at your profile, consider reaching out to them with a new LinkedIn connection request, phone call, email, etc.

If you routinely take these steps, your profile will consistently be viewed by the right people—and more profile views by the right people will generate more traditional interactions (phone calls, emails, meetings, etc.) with the right people. Of course, this will result in improved ROI for your time spent on LinkedIn.

SPECIAL OFFER

If you'd like to learn more simple but powerful ways to use LinkedIn to sell more products and servicesor, if you're not directly selling something, maximize LinkedIn for yourself or your organizationjoin me on Monday, October 9, for my virtual workshop Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects.

 

This LinkedIn Setting Could Really Be Hurting You!

Posted on September 29, 2023
Wayne Breitbarth

One of the best LinkedIn features often overlooked for business development purposes is the People Also Viewed box, which is in the right column of your profile. This tells you who else people are looking at besides you—and it's probably people who have similar characteristics to you. Now, LinkedIn doesn't share exactly how it works (other than this interview with a former LinkedIn employee), and you have no control over who appears on your profile. However, below I'll show you how you can take it off your profile if you don't want it there.

Note: I will be covering these strategies and so many more at my two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop "Using LinkedIn to Generate a Steady Stream of Sales Prospects" on October 9. Check out the details and register here. .

How to capitalize on this great prospecting tool

If you look at a client's or prospective client's profile and scroll down to People Also Viewed, the list could be a target list of people very similar to the person whose profile you are viewing.

I suggest you check this list out often on your clients' and prospective clients' profiles, and add some of these names to your master prospect list. And, hey, why not try to connect with the ones you are not connected with using a customized invitation to connect.

Now, it's great to look at who's viewing other people's profiles, but you should decide whether you want People Also Viewed to show up on your profile. The default setting will put the list on your profile.

Personally, since I was tired of my competitors showing up on my profile, I unchecked the box. I feel pretty good about my decision because it doesn't stop me from seeing the People Also Viewed list on other people's profiles (unless they've also unchecked the box). And if my competitors haven't unchecked the box, I can still show up in the People Also Viewed list on their profiles. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

If you'd like to remove the People Also Viewed list from your profile, click here to learn how to change your setting.

Over time, if more and more people do what I'm suggesting, this feature will become less helpful. But, trust me, LinkedIn will probably change something before we get to that point. Take advantage of it while you can.

A final reminder that I will be sharing a live LinkedIn demo of these strategies and more at my two-hour virtual advanced sales workshop on October 9. Here is the link to check out the details and register:  https://linkedinsalesoct2023.eventbrite.com

By the way, all registrants get a link to the recording, so you don't have to attend live to get the benefit of this valuable workshop.