How to: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

Unlike many other social networks like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is the one stop shop for potential business connections to evaluate you from a professional perspective as a businessperson. It’s not just a job-hunting site; it’s where you go to make a professional connection. Everything from your profile to how you interact on LinkedIn will determine how others view you and your profession.

1) Update your profile. If you haven’t updated your profile recently, it may be about time to freshen it up. Your profile picture should convey a personable and professional image of yourself. Your summary should be eye catching, and your experience and education sections should be completed. You can also reorder your profile so that you can put the most important and relevant sections beneath your summary.

2) Request recommendations. Written recommendations can be done by anyone you’ve worked with from people who have managed you, those who have worked with you as a client, those who have worked with you as a vendor, and even those whom you have managed. Specific recommendations that fall under specific roles should be written for those roles. As a nice backlinking feature, those who have written a recommendation for you will have that recommendation in their profile.

3) Get endorsements. These not only highlight your skills, but they also help people find your skills, and therefore you, in search results. The more endorsements you have for specific skills, the higher you will appear in search results for those skills. Endorsements are a form of recommendations, but they are also an easier and quicker way to recommend your colleagues.

4) Build up connections. Start looking for former and current colleagues for recommendation and endorsement opportunities for them and for yourself. When connecting, it’s usually recommended to select the “we’ve done business together” and even personalize the request to connect by providing context of how you know that person or who you have in common. Make sure you only connect with people you know or have met.

5) Join groups. LinkedIn is the perfect arena to network with like-minded people who are in the same industry as you, which is why groups were initiated. Join relevant groups that interest you, and stay up to date on group posts. “Like” posts and comment in conversations where you can provide advice.

By: ParadigmNext https://paradigmnext.com.com

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+ParadigmNextChicago

ParadigmNEXT, Inc. is a digital markeitng and branding agency headquartered in Chicago. We provide branding, identity, integrated marketing, social media strategy, art direction, web-design & development, startup incubation, commercial video production, product development, and commercial storefront development services to a wide array of clients ranging from bootstrapped startups to successful longstanding companies.