Written by Sarah Hornsby
With it only being January 24th, their is still time to make a new year’s resolution in both your personal and professional life. One resolution you should consider for your professional life is to begin marketing yourself via social media. Yes, there are social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook that can be a great tool in creating an online presence (hopefully a good one), but LinkedIn is a social media network that not enough college students are taking advantage of to market themselves professionally. For those of you that do not know, LinkedIn is similar to Facebook, but is for professionals to showcase their skills in the workplace and connect with other professionals.
Some of you may be thinking, “Why would I need to do this if I’m not even in my career yet?” So many young professionals (college students) often overlook the steps they need to be taking to advance themselves professionally. LinkedIn is a great resource that allows you to market yourself in the professional world and is a place where you can connect and follow other professionals and articles of your interest. You have to start somewhere.
If you don’t have an account you should consider creating one, and if you already have a LinkedIn account and are unsure of how to effectively use the social network this post will be extremely beneficial. An article written by Lisa Williams lists 10 ways to improve your LinkedIn profile:
1. Upload a decent photo
Your LinkedIn profile photo sets the tone for everything else a viewer will experience on your page — just like match.com or Instagram. Except LinkedIn isn’t match.com or Instagram. It’s the world’s largest professional network.
2. Your headline = you, not your job
The headline of your LinkedIn profile is highly searchable. I know that no one on LinkedIn (or Google for that matter) is looking for “founder of Sierra Tierra Marketing.” So I list something more search-friendly that speaks of what I do on a daily basis — and for which people may want to hire me. “Social media consultant specializing in analysis, strategy, and instruction. Author | Speaker | Educator” paints a much better picture of who I am and how I can help potential clients and agencies with social media marketing.
3. Make your summary shine
Don’t let the positions in the “Experience” section do all the talking about your professional abilities. Many recruiters and potential clients won’t take the time to scroll that far without incentive.
4. Update your most recent job
Even if you’re not actively looking for employment, review what your most recent entry is under “Experience.” Do you have a new title? New responsibilities? A recent accomplishment that speaks of your professional prowess? Be sure to list those here.
5. Add visuals to your experience
LinkedIn allows you to upload images, documents, and videos to each job you list under “Experience.” Why not liven up that section with visuals that show the greatness of which you’re capable? If you’re a graphic designer, professional organizer, or landscape artist, show off your most stunning accomplishments. If you’re a storyteller, community activist, or professional athlete, use video to show your work in action.
6. Join more groups
At times LinkedIn might not seem like it, but it is considered by many to be a social network. Demonstrate your ability to network with like-minded professionals by joining LinkedIn groups. Look at your coworkers’ and competitors’ profiles to see which groups they’ve joined — pick the best of the bunch you find there.
7. Follow some influencers
By following LinkedIn “influencers,” you give viewers a sense of which thought leaders you respect — whether it be President of the World Bank Jim Kim, industrial psychologist Dr. Marla Gottschalk, or Nancy Lublin of DoSomething.org (or all three). Influencers regularly post to LinkedIn, so you’ll also be able to comment on and share articles that are meaningful to you.
8. Follow your own company
It’s surprising how many employees do not follow their own company’s page on LinkedIn. Where’s the company pride, people? Seriously, show that you’re a proud team player and affiliate yourself with your current employer’s page.
9. Select skills and expertise that you want to be endorsed for
There is a ton of controversy over the value of LinkedIn endorsements. But you know what? They’re here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. So use them to your advantage.
Did you sign up for LinkedIn with your work email address? Is that address still valid? It would be a shame for you to do the nine previous steps and then have a potential client or recruiter write to an outdated address.
Liberal arts Career Week is coming up, and the employers you meet at the Career Expo during that week may want to connect with you on LinkedIn. So before Career Week is upon us, take some time to create an account and follow the advice given above. This is an opportunity for you to develop professionally, and there is no better time to start than now.
To read the entire article by Lisa Williams and more of her articles about social media follow the link below,
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