NET - Make the most of Linkedin! (part 1: build your profile)

NET - Make the most of Linkedin! (part 1: build your profile)
NET - Make the most of Linkedin! (part 2: grow your network)
NET - Make the most of Linkedin! (part 3: contact requests)
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My goal: helping people to create opportunities
By experience, most people who are not using social networking tools such as Linkedin belong to three main categories:
* They heard about social networking, but they are convinced it is not for them: they have enough contacts, they don't have time to spend online, they don't need anything now...
* They received an invitation, but they never registered, because they thought it would take too much time, or they didn't want to make the effort...
* They registered sometime ago, but nothing happened and they forgot about it...

I would like to a) urge people to register and try the service, b) explain how it works, c) and help them to network efficiently.

Visible Remark: in the end, I decided to write my advice instead of shooting a video: please get back to me with your comments, and tell me how useful a video would be!

Social networking, key concepts
I invite you to check my post about social networking: NET - Key steps to successful online networking.

Linkedin, the leading website for online networking
I have been using Linkedin for almost 3 years now, and I am a huge fan of this excellent network. As far as I am concerned, it is the best website for business networking.

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Linkedin: how do you search the database?
First of all, before building a good profile you need to understand how users can search the Linkedin database.

Please find below a screenshot of the People search (12/10/06)
Standard features
Most social networks enable their users to search the database based on fields contained in the profiles, such as Name, Company, Country (here Location), industry.

Keywords
Linkedin provides you the opportunity to do a "plain text" search, which proves to be very useful! They allow you to search for specific words in any field of the profile.

Visible Remark: according to me, using keywords is the most efficient way to find the people you are looking for.

By interests
When you create your profile (and you can update it at anytime) you need to share your interests in Linkedin: find a job (active or passive way), look for contract/consulting opportunities, get in touch with colleagues...

Recent members
Technically, one could say you are more likely to be found in your first 3 months.

Groups
Linkedin for Groups is a feature available to alumni associations, corporates, networking groups who would like to raise their visibility, and improve communication with their members.
I invite you to check my post on Groups: NET - Linkedin for Groups.

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Linkedin, build a good profile and create opportunities
To better understand how people search the database. Now, I will insist on the profile.
* profile compliteness
* public profile

Get found... and get contacted!
Your first goal is to be found! Once they found your profile, users must be interested and click to visit your profile. (headline) Then, they need to find interesting things... Summary, job position.

1. Join LinkedIn
* Name, email, and password
* Experience and industry
* Education

2. How do you want to use Linkedin
Now, you access your contact settings.













Visible Tip: you can modify your contact settings at any time.

Once you saved your settings, you will reach your homepage as below:
 















3. My Profile
Click on My Profile to start building up your presence on LinkedIn.

3.1. Professional summary
 







Professional "headline": you can change it and add a expertise in an industry, on a specific topic, or a degree such as a MBA

Specialties: here, you need to put your key assets and areas of expertise.

Visible Tip: be concise, use keywords, and remember to put comas between two separate entries!

3.2. Experience







Visible Tip: I advise you to enter at least your current position plus two of the most recent/interesting past ones.

3.3 Additional Information




Websites
You can enter a few websites from your company to your blog.

Visible remark: it is not compulsory but I see at least two reasons to use it though: it is a good way to 1) increase the awareness of your company (members can click on the link and check your corporate website), and 2) emphasize the fact that you have a blog... and an expertise / a passion for a specific topic or industry!
   
Interests
List here your hobbies, interests, anything you like doing. Try not to use lengthy sentences.

Visible Tip: think and use your "50 words"! These are words which show your personality, what you like, your hobbies... It is very efficient as people are using keywords.

Groups and associations
List the groups and associations you belong to: they could be offline or online. If there is an acronym you may want to explain what it stands for.

Visible Tip: make sure to use comas after every single interest, group or association! Try to think about the keywords people will use to search the database!

Honors and awards
If you have won an award for outstanding achievement, you have been named in the press, you wrote a book... It goes in that section!

3.4. Public profile
Nowadays, people use the internet a lot and try to find info about people on websites such as Google or Yahoo! It is essential to be visible (in the first 5/6 results) and to get found!

Linkedin offers the opportunity to raise your presence on those websites via their Public Profile feature.





How does it work?
The idea is to make your profile available to non-members. It helps you to be listed on all the main search engines.

You can customize your public profile, and choose the section of your profile you want to display.
I advise you to tick the Full View option on the left handside.

Then, you just have to tick the boxes and select the sections you want to show to anybody (member or not)

On the right handside, in the Public Profile preview, you can see how your profile will look like.
   


Visible Remark: public profiles are good for Linkedin too, as it urges more people to register, and it further increase Linkedin's presence on the web, their member satisfaction, and their revenues with Google ads.

Check your profile


At anytime, when you edit your profile from the "My Profile" section you can check how your profile looks like on Linkedin: at the top right of the screen, you can click on View My Profile as others see it.

See how comprehensive your profile is



When you edit your profile, you can check its completeness thanks to the Profile Completeness button.

Please find below how your profile should look like (edit section)





Please find below how your profile should look like (on Linkedin)


















4. Build trust and credibility: endorsements
An important feature in Linkedin are the endorsements. You are supposed to invite people you know well, who you trust, and who would be pleased to endorse your work and vice versa.

Linkedin, expand your network: volume is important... Quality is critical!
But before asking for endorsements, you need to have more contacts in your network! Please check my second post, NET - Make the most of Linkedin! (part 2: grow your network)
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Technorati: socialnetworking, businessnetworking, linkedin