LinkedIn is the largest social network for working professionals. In fact, two
new users join LinkedIn every second. This makes it the ideal platform for a
person that wants to grow a business or someone that might wants to find a
higher-quality career opportunity. So in this video I'm
going to teach you seven strategies to help you get started on LinkedIn. If you
stick with me until the end, I have an extra special bonus just for you.
Hey guys, if we've never met before ,I'm Heather Austin from ProfessorAustin.com
and The Career Club on Facebook and on this channel I teach simple solutions
to help you grow a business or launch a career you loves. So if you're new here,
consider subscribing. Let's jump on over to the computer. So here we are. This is
my professional LinkedIn profile and the first step when it comes to starting
your LinkedIn profile is to make sure that you add a professional profile
picture. One of the first places a potential connection will look when they
reach your profile is your profile picture. Upload a professional photo
where you are smiling, dressed appropriately and looking directly at the camera.
Remember, that first impressions are everything.
In fact, LinkedIn has reported that profiles with a photo have 21 times more
profile views and nine times more connection requests. Now to make sure you
upload the perfect profile photo, take a look at a video that I created about the
do's and don'ts of a profile picture for LinkedIn. I'll go ahead and link it up
below. Step 2 to making sure that you get started in the right direction on
LinkedIn is to customize your headline. A catchy, industry specific headline is a
must. This is the second place a new connection will look when they view your
profile. By default LinkedIn will place your most recent job title as your
headline. So you want to make sure you click on the edit button and customize
it using keywords that make it easier for others to find you. Incorporate your
specialty and a avoid generic headlines. Now you have 120
characters available to make your headline really stand out.
I've also created a video about how to create the perfect Linkedin headline and
I'll go ahead and link that one up below as well. The next step to making sure
your LinkedIn profile is in tip-top shape is to include a well-written
summary. The summary section on LinkedIn is one of the most overlooked sections.
This is where a potential connection will look to find out some of your
greatest accomplishments. Your summary should address who you are, who you help
and how you help them. To properly accomplish this, develop a sentence about
what type of career interests you and what drives you most about your ideal
career, then discuss the area of expertise. You will also want to mention
any volunteer work that you've done and any awards that you've received. Now you
could add a little bit of personality to this section by briefly mentioning your
interests. Remember that headers sub headers and
bullet points are a great way to effortlessly lead your reader through
the content. Now you have 2,000 characters available to create your
summary. To make it easier for someone to reach you, include your email address at
the very end. Step number four is to add your work experience. Your work
experience will tell a more complete story about who you are and who you help.
You'll find your work experience section below your main profile section. Go ahead
and click on the plus sign. Start with a descriptive title and then enter the
company name. If the company name is available, you'll actually be able to
select it from the drop down menu. Selecting the company will automatically
link you to their page. When writing your job descriptions, make sure that you
identify your key accomplishments and your achievements in just a few
sentences. you want to strategically place keywords and quantify your
accomplishments as best you can using percentages, numbers and dollar amounts
and always make sure that this section is written in first person. You'll want
your work experience section to mirror the work experience section on your
resume. However you don't want to make it look like you copied and pasted from
your resume. With your work experience section completed, you are now ready to
add your education. You'll find the education up in the introduction section
of your LinkedIn profile. You'll go ahead and just click on the little pencil icon
and then find the spot where it lists your education.
Remember your education section tells a lot about you. It's the perfect way to
connect with your old classmates or even alumni. You want to start by adding your
school and the degree or degrees that you've received and if you have a
specific major or an emphasis you can always add that to the field of study
area. You'll also have the opportunity to add your grade point average. If you're a
student or a recent graduate you can use this section for your GPA, otherwise
leave it blank. When it comes to your dates attended, enter the time period you
started to the time period you graduated or expect to graduate. You can also add
activities and societies such as sororities or fraternities or even
extracurricular activities or clubs that you belonged to. Use the description
section to add awards and honors or even committees that you served on. Now here's
a good rule of thumb when it comes to your education section, if you are more
than five years out of high school and have an undergraduate degree you don't
need to list your high school. Also use the media section to showcase any
special presentations or reports that you've completed. Now
the next step, step number six is to emphasize your volunteer experience. The
volunteer section is the perfect place to highlight your passions and
demonstrate how you like to give back. You'll find this section at the very
bottom after your work experience and your education. Go ahead and click on the
plus sign to the organization, the role and even the
cause. Keep in mind, as you're filling out your volunteer experience section, that
research has shown 41% of companies find volunteer work just as vital as paid
work. So if you have little or even no work experience, you really want to spend
time in your volunteer section. And then finally step number seven is to add key
word specific skills. This section is found right below the volunteer
experience and in what they call the "Featured Skills and Endorsements" area.
You'll go ahead and click on "add a new skill" or if you've already started your
profile and you have some skills listed you can go ahead and click on the pencil
icon to edit those skills. This section is a great way to showcase your talents,
abilities and your strengths as a professional. Ok guys, I have a couple
bonus tips for you before we leave. The first bonus tip is to actually customize
your background photo. So you'll notice my photo will actually be located in my
main or what LinkedIn calls your introduction section. You can go ahead
and click on the pencil icon. It even gives you a recommended size for your
photo. You don't want to get too fancy here, just keep it simple. If you want to
add a title of some sort, you can. I actually created a video all about how
to customize your background photo so I'll go ahead and link that up below as
well. And then the last bonus tip is to customize your LinkedIn URL. This is
found in the "edit public profile and URL" section. If you go ahead and click on
here, you'll be able to find the edit URL section in the top right hand corner of
the page. Just go ahead and click on the pencil and add your name or your last
name or some combination of your name or even your business name. Now I created a
video about how to edit your URL so I'll link that one up
as well. Okay guys, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial of the 7
top things to help you get started on LinkedIn. Thanks guys for hanging in
there with me until the end. I promised you an extra special bonus and here it
is. The LinkedIn Liftoff. A free five day email course with workbook, to help you
get your other LinkedIn sections in tip-top shape. So I have a question for
you. What is your biggest challenge when it comes to using LinkedIn. Please feel
free to comment and connect with others below and if you know someone that might
benefit from this video, please share it with them and don't forget to hit the
like button below and remember to subscribe. Thanks guys and I'll see you
next time.