Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Developing and optimizing your LinkedIn profile is crucial because, according to an April, 2011 Society of Human Resource Management
(SHRM) survey, 95% of employers and virtually every recruiter will look you up on LinkedIn before calling you. So your LinkedIn Profile needs
to be in synch with your brand messaging on the resume.
Before You Start
Before you start making any updates, you will want to adjust your settings so you are not initially alerting the world and your boss that you
changed your profile. In the top right of your LinkedIn home, you’ll see your name. Click on the drop down arrow beside your name, and
select the link that says “Settings.”
Go carefully through the “PRIVACY CONTROLS” settings, particularly the “activity broadcasts” option, where you can indicate that you do not
want people to know that you have made changes. Go through each of the settings in this section, and choose appropriately for your
situation and goals.
After completing your profile, you can change these settings in order to stay on other people’s radar screens by updating your LinkedIn
status.
1. Selecting Keywords
Before you start writing anything for your profile, first determine the 2‐3 keywords that you want associated with your name. These are the
search terms that people will use to find people like you, and you will want to make sure you have used these terms effectively to ensure you
show up in the first or second page of LinkedIn search results.
If you are a scientist, then scientist is a good word to start with, but adding Geneticist or Molecular Biologist can help differentiate you from
all the other scientific field possibilities. Other keywords might be Protein Purification, Bioinformatics, Cell Culture and so on, as appropriate
to your skills and experience.
Key tip: Go to LinkedIn, and search for people like you to see what others have used and what seems to be most effective.
2. The Headline
Next to your name appears your “Professional Headline” which you can edit. You have 120 characters to tell the world who you are and why
they should contact you. If you do nothing here, which is what most people do, then it will just give the title of your most recent job. That is
not the way you want to be shown.
Which is a better Headline?
Graduate Student at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign OR Graduate Research Assistant studying the effects of exercise on
learning and memory in rats with over 5 years of experience with experimental design, implementation, and data analysis.
3. The Photo
Your goal is to get a 100% complete profile and you will need a photo to do that. Just make sure it is a professional photo and not a picture of
you at the beach.
4. Recommendations
Your profile is not considered complete unless you have at least 3 recommendations, so after you have completed entering information into
your profile, go to the LinkedIn Learning Center to learn how to develop recommendations for your work.
5. Websites
LinkedIn gives you three different ways to link to different web pages to show off your work. If you don’t have a blog or website, then this is a
great opportunity for you to point to publications, conference presentations or other sites that showcase your work. If you have these
websites, make sure you use a good searchable and relevant title, so instead of saying “My Website” use actual names such as “My
Presentation on Exercise‐Induced Increases in Hippocampal BDNF Lead to Memory Improvements in Rats” for Society for Neuroscience
conference.
If you don’t have a website, a great tip to expand your online presence and support your brand is to go to ezine.com, write an article related
to your field, and then point to it from LinkedIn.
Adapted from http://www.gotthejob.com/blog/10‐steps‐for‐a‐great‐linkedin‐profile.php
10 STEPS FOR A GREAT LINKEDIN PROFILE
adapted from gotthejob.com
6. Your Public Profile
If you see /pub/ in your LinkedIn profile, you have the LinkedIn default full profile. It is important that you personalize it with your name. If
you have a common name just play around a bit until you find one that you feel comfortable with. Click on “Edit” beside the “Public Profile”
URL when you are in the Edit Profile screen to change your profile URL to your name.
7. Summary
The Summary is one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn profile! Use the LinkedIn Summary to really showcase who you are and
what you can do for an employer. Note that your writing style here is a bit different, more conversational (first person) with short paragraphs
and a lot of white space to make it easy to be read online.
Start with a hard‐hitting profile and branding statement.
Example:
Post‐Doctoral Fellow in Molecular and Cellular Biology specializing in high‐throughput screening for small molecule inhibitors of steroid
receptors.
Then, follow with a summary of your core skills and accomplishments. A key trick here is to imagine that the only thing that they will see
about you is your LinkedIn profile summary, so showcase the key information here that will make them want to immediately pick up the
phone and call you.
IMPORTANT NOTE: if you are currently employed: Unless you want your employer to know that you are looking for a new position (which,
depending on the employer, can lead to instant job loss), avoid putting in any statements like “available for relocation.” Also make sure you
are not publishing any information that your company would not want to make public such as revenues and earnings numbers.
8. Specialties/Skills
The Specialties section is your opportunity to drive keyword density so you show up in searches. Include the relevant terms, technologies,
and tools that you are familiar with and that are important to the next employer.
LinkedIn also added a SKILLS section. Go into this section by hitting the MORE button. Enter a position title and select the relevant skills that
you have demonstrated.
9. Experience
In this section you will have a description of your various jobs. Keep these short and sweet and focus on achievements. Unlike the resume
which goes into more detail, this is just a snapshot of some of the things that you would brag about in a job interview.
10. Additional Information
LinkedIn has added an “Additional Information” section where you can add your associations, affiliations, certifications, and personal
interests. Use these to drive even greater keyword density for the kinds of positions you are looking for. Here you can also tie in to your
Twitter account.
There are also applications that you can add to your LinkedIn profile including incorporating your blog, putting up PowerPoint presentations,
adding Amazon book reviews, and linking to publications, and we will save those areas for a future discussion.
Bottom Line:
LinkedIn has changed forever the job search landscape. Follow these tips and you will be sure to stand out.
Adapted from http://www.gotthejob.com/blog/10‐steps‐for‐a‐great‐linkedin‐profile.php
Check out the at learn.linked.com for more helpful