Jennifer Tardy: In this video, I'm going to give you five yes, five tips to optimize your
LinkedIn profile, so that it stands out among all of the competition.
And at the end of this video, as always, I'm going to share with you my personal favorite,
a Black Career Success bonus tip.
So stay through to the end, because you don't want to miss this one.
If you are looking for career advice, to help you land your dream opportunity, then subscribe
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Recently, LinkedIn invited me to be a part of a cohort of coaches, and professionals
to review LinkedIn profiles and as a cohort we were able to go through thousands of profiles.
So trust me that the advice that I'm giving to you, if you listen to it, it's really going
to help you stand out.
So let's get started.
Tip number one, have a great photo in your profile.
And so when I say have a great photo and your profile, it means that it needs to be professionally
shot.
You need to have a solid background.
This is not a solid background.
You need to be face forward.
You need to be looking into the camera.
Be well groomed and please, place that smile on your face.
Got it?
So that is your profile, and whether or not it is supposed to happen, recruiters, look
at your pictures.
Just know that.
Tip number two, have a great headline.
Now, most people opt to just use that wonderful real estate on your profile.
So just reiterate your job title.
Who wants that?
Think about the notion of a headline in a newspaper.
That headline in your newspaper is supposed to tell you what you're about to read about,
and it's supposed to attract you to even want to read about that column in the newspaper.
That's the same thing a headline in a LinkedIn profile is supposed to do.
So in order for you to make a dynamic headline for your LinkedIn profile, consider these
options.
The first option is think about your top competency.
Are you a great leader?
Are you a great listener?
Are you a great thought partner?
Think about a competency.
You think about it, Industry Buzzword.
So for instance, you are a great thought partner, you have a lot of business acumen, or you
have a high level of business acumen.
You're a leader, things like that.
You need to be able to have those words within your LinkedIn header.
Also, for your header, think about where you have most of your experience.
Is it in digital advertising?
Is it in recruiting?
Is it in sales?
And you want to make sure that somehow in your header, you put that information in there
as well.
And then finally consider adding a personal touch.
So I used to, on my LinkedIn profile, I used to say that I'm also a beach enthusiast or
I'm a writing addict.
So writing is a little easier to use because it's quasi-personal, quasi-professional.
So, check out my LinkedIn profile.
I have the link below in the comment section for some ideas of what could be used as a
header.
And while you're there, connect to me on LinkedIn.
Just so I know that you visited the page.
Tip number three, are you accomplished?
Then say so.
Through out your LinkedIn profile, the goal is to tell a story of how accomplished you
are.
Whether you add accomplishments, in your experience section, so what did you make better at that
company because you were there?
And you can also add accomplishments in your education section.
So for instance, did you graduate with honors?
Did you receive any sort of awards or accolades for anything that you did while working on
your degree or your certifications?
You can also add accomplishments in your summary section as well too.
So use any opportunity that you can to just talk about ... you're not bragging on yourself.
You're telling different facts about you that you did this, you change this, you improved
this, you made something better than what it was before you got there.
And for that you were either recognized, you were tapped for more opportunities, things
of that nature.
If you have accomplishment, say it.
Now, side note, on your resume, do you add accomplishments there?
If you do or if you don't, let me know in the comments section, I'm really interested
to know because most of the people that come to me typically have no accomplishments listed.
So I want to know what you have going on your own resume and your profile.
Let me know in the comments.
Tip number four, use bullet points.
Do not have long paragraphs in your LinkedIn profile.
Just like your resume, recruiters aren't going to read it.
They don't have that much time to read through long paragraphs and bullet points are more
eye catching, and it helps to keep you just as crisp and concise in your messages about
who you are and what you've done.
Bullet points, no paragraphs.
Got it?
Tip Number five, increase your recommendations.
Recommendations on your LinkedIn profile are an easy way for recruiters and managers to
be able to know that people see stuff in you.
And the more recommendations that you have from people who have worked with you in your
current company or past companies, the more it just makes you shine as a perspective job
seeker.
So in order to get more recommendations, give more recommendations, and also solicit recommendations.
It is completely acceptable.
So especially if you know that you're about to start your job search, give a few recommendations
and then say, "Hey, would you mind giving me a couple of recommendations as well?
I'm currently on my job search and the more recommendations I have, the better I look."
So make sure that you solicit, and you give recommendations as well.
You knew that I was coming back for the Black Career Success bonus tip, right?
So this bonus tip today, I've already mentioned in my first tip, but I am going to specifically
emphasize this in the bonus, as a person of color.
When you get your picture taken, be sure to smile.
Now they're all ... You've heard a lot about unconscious biases, stereotypes of people
thinking that black women are ... you have the angry black woman, you have the angry
black man and sometimes in our own non verbals, by not smiling, it doesn't mean that you're
angry or upset, but the person looking at your photo, perceiving you, you don't want
to leave it open for question on what your temperament is like.
So putting a smile out there, maybe even showing your beautiful pearly whites that will truly
help you to navigate some of those unconscious biases from people looking at your photo,
and continue to stand out among other job seekers, so it hurt.
Give that small a try.
Hey, listen, if you are looking at this video and you're trying to polish up your LinkedIn
profile then to me, it must mean that you're on your job search.
And so if you're on your job search, check out my other video, my other video that talks
about seven job search strategies.
You want to make sure that you're well prepared, and that you know, with step by step you need
to do to stand out, where to go to apply for jobs.
And how to network and all of that great stuff.
Don't even waste your time trying to research it, I've already put it in a video for you.
Just check out that video.
The link is going to be below as well.
So now that your profile is off to a great start, you probably want more tips and tools.
So I have a free guide for you, it's called 21 pieces of advice for the black job seeker,
and the link to it is below.
Be sure to check it out because it's going to give you a myriad of tips, and tools and
tricks to help you to navigate your full job search.
Check it out.
So now that we've gone through all of these tips on how to maximize your LinkedIn profile,
what is the first thing that you just know that you need to do?
That you had way off on your LinkedIn profile.
Tell us in the comments section below.
I'm really interested in hearing this from you.
Hey, did you know that LinkedIn actually provides more tools, to help you to get ready for your
job search, or to help you throughout your job search?
I have a video on that as well too, and that video is called LinkedIn job search tools,
must haves.
It's tools that you must know about throughout your job search.
So I'll put the link below for you just for you so that you can see it too, be sure to
watch that video.
So until next time, I'm Jennifer Tardy, your career success coach.
You are watching Black Career Success channel, and I will see you next time.
Take care.