Build Your Brand: LinkedIn Edition

Professional Hiring & Job Search Advice

Even if you are not actively job searching, it’s important to keep your LinkedIn profile updated like you would your resume. Over the last several years, LinkedIn has become the business professionals networking platform of choice. There are over 740 million users, and it continues to grow. Professionals are not just using the site to find a new job- LinkedIn has become the place to find information, read industry articles and news, make new meaningful connections, and to keep in touch with old ones. If you are not on LinkedIn or don’t have a complete professional profile, it’s looked at negatively in today’s digital environment. Past and current co-workers, industry professionals, and civic colleagues all want to be connected to you in order to network, share information, and help each other. So, whether you are looking to create a new LinkedIn profile or update yours, there are key areas to include and pay attention to.

Professional Picture

This is probably the most important section and the start to develop your professional brand that most don’t get right. There are lots of profiles without a picture, or even worse, a picture that is not suitable for a professional networking site. Even if you aren’t job hunting, it’s never a good idea to have anyone other than yourself in the photo. Profile pictures should always be of you in either professional or business casual attire with a clean background. The best backgrounds are typically a solid color-preferably white- or can even be outside with a clean backdrop. If your organization does not offer professional headshots, there are local photographers that advertise headshots, usually at a discounted rate. You can even ask a friend or colleague to take one. The thing to remember is that this is a business networking platform, and the picture is your first impression to others and it’s your personal brand, so make it a positive one.

Full Work History

Include the last ten years of work experience. It’s a good idea to include a short description or few bullet points of your job responsibilities for each role. If you have been with the same organization and held multiple roles or have been promoted, list each title separately to show diversity and progression. Lastly, if you are passively or actively searching for a new role, make sure you add a copy of your resume to your profile, including contact information. This will ensure recruiters or prospective employers can see your full experience and contact you directly if interested. It’s especially helpful to include your contact email in the event you aren’t regularly on LinkedIn checking messages, or if your account is not connected to your personal email to ensure you don’t miss communication.

Honors & Awards

Adding your honors, awards, and professional accolades in this section is a great way to personally keep track of all that you have been recognized for in the past, but will help you stand out from the rest.

Especially if you are job hunting, this section will allow you to stand out from others in your field by showing you have been recognized and all what you have accomplished throughout the years. This could be an award as a top performer, getting company wide recognition for a project, or even for industry or community service awards.

What Are You Open To?

In this section, you have three options. Are you open to new opportunities, open to providing services to others, or are you hiring for your organization? Even if you aren’t actively searching for a new role, it’s always a good idea to have “open to opportunities” on your profile. Many have said that the best opportunities are presented when you aren’t searching. You could quite possibly close the door to your next dream opportunity by not being open to a discussion. Sure, you might have more recruiters or companies contact you if you list yourself as open to opportunities, but you could also be presented with an amazing opportunity, or at the very least make a new professional connection.

Alternatively, by selecting you are hiring, you can show users that you are open to their InMail or connection request, possibly for a position you are hiring for. This helps the job seeker feel more comfortable reaching out due to your hiring status displayed on your page.

Ask For Recommendations

This is one of the sections that I never miss on a LinkedIn profile. Do others like working with you, supervising you, or working for you? This section also shows the value you and others have placed on your professional relationships and gives insight into what it might be like working with you or if they would like to be connected with you.

It’s always a good idea to ask 2-3 of your professional contacts to write a recommendation for you each year. You can offer to write one back as a thank you to help build their profile. This keeps your profile current and interesting. This critical piece is almost always missed and can be vital to building your professional brand long-term.

Build Your Network

Once you have completed your profile and are ready to engage with others on LinkedIn or dive into the job search, you will need to start building your professional network. It’s important to add only those you think could enhance your network or that you can contribute to professionally. In the beginning of my path to building my personal LinkedIn brand, I thought the more connections, the better- this was a mistake that I learned early on! To this day, I only accept contact requests or ask others to connect if it makes sense for myself and the potential new connection. Meaning, those that you feel should be a part of your network, whether it be in the industry you are in, people you know or have worked with, gone to school with, or those you have things in common with and see the potential for meaningful connections. You don’t want to blindly connect with others to simply build your network because it won’t bring value to you or others.

When you send a request, add a note or introduction. Explain why you would like to connect and make it genuine. Unfortunately, like with anything else, there are a lot of people that use LinkedIn as a direct sales method, so you want to be clear on your intentions for the connection.

Once you create or update your LinkedIn profile, you will be on your way to start networking and building your online professional brand. You can engage with articles or others posts, congratulate and celebrate others on their accomplishments, or be a connector for others to build their professional networks.
Lastly, make sure you contribute in a positive way, be genuine, and keep it professional.

Once you create or update your LinkedIn profile, you will be on your way to start networking and building your online professional brand. You can engage with articles or others posts, congratulate and celebrate others on their accomplishments, or be a connector for others to build their professional networks.

Lastly, make sure you contribute in a positive way, be genuine, and keep it professional.