Should I put [fill in the blank] on my LinkedIn profile?
I'm asked this question several times each week. I always answer I don't know, which usually comes as a surprise to them and probably to you as well. After all, I'm the expert!
What I really mean is I can't answer that confidently until I understand what someone plans to accomplish on LinkedIn.
If you're unsure about whether you should put something on your profile, I suggest you start by asking yourself three questions:
Would putting this on my profile:
.
- help people find me?
- improve their perception of me and my brand?
- help them understand what I do and how I can help them?
If your answer to any of these questions is "Yes," then I suggest you put it on your profile.
Let's look at the three questions more closely.
.
Help people find me
Trust me on this one. Connections are the gas in the tank on LinkedIn, especially if the connections are strategic (for example, customers, potential customers, influencers of your customers, people at organizations where you want to work, etc.). You want people to find and connect with you.
For example, on my profile, I list my first job out of college, Arthur Andersen & Co. This entry helps people from the "good old days" find me—and they just might need some LinkedIn training or consulting at their company.
.
Improve their perception of me and my brand
People are using LinkedIn to size you up. Entries that display your expertise, emphasize your integrity, and show your creativity will cause people to like and trust you. Hopefully, this leads to more connections and more business.
The Arthur Andersen entry also applies here, because most experienced business people around my part of the country recognize that if AA&Co. hired you right out of college, you are probably a really smart person.
So, even though I didn't have a 3.9+ GPA, like most students they hired, people assume I'm in that group, and it gives me positive branding kudos. (FYI, I had a 3.4, but I could interview with the best of them!)
.
Help them understand what I do and how I can help them
After all, if your profile doesn't get this done, why are you on LinkedIn anyway?
Professionally, I do LinkedIn speaking, consulting and training.
To help people who hire speakers understand how I can work with their specific audiences, I have three different current job entries, each addressing a different type of audience, rather than lumping them all together into one current job entry.
Personally, I am involved with some awesome nonprofit groups. Including them in my LinkedIn profile helps me spread the word about the great things they're doing. By including links to their websites, I am encouraging others to get involved, too.
You can look at my profile to see several examples of this, both in the Experience section and the Volunteer Experience section.
I hope you're now equipped and motivated to beef up your LinkedIn profile.
If you want me to perform a detailed critique of your profile and help you develop strategies to skyrocket your business and career, then take advantage of my special $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 book your time.
Here are a few comments from my recent clients:
"Great job offer received via LinkedIn only two days after consulting with Wayne!"
“My effectiveness at using LinkedIn has improved because of what I’ve learned from Wayne. I’ve literally attracted clients who’ve directly reached out to me on LinkedIn.”
"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 time now by clicking here. Space is limited.
