{"id":237,"date":"2018-09-19T21:12:04","date_gmt":"2018-09-20T02:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/?p=237"},"modified":"2018-09-26T21:13:00","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T02:13:00","slug":"quickly-make-your-linkedin-profile-stand-out-from-the-masses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/quickly-make-your-linkedin-profile-stand-out-from-the-masses\/","title":{"rendered":"Quickly make your LinkedIn profile stand out from the masses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your LinkedIn is your brand. That\u2019s it. Whether you are job hunting (or people are hunting you), or are showing off your business, insight, acumen, or simply networking; your profile on LinkedIn needs to stay appealing and not drive potential headhunters, bosses, clients, or networking groups bananas<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with a three part list of what you MUST do, what you SHOULD do, and what you COULD do. <\/p>\n

Here’s what you MUST DO (as in, do it now). <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get a #GREAT LinkedIn photo<\/strong>. Nothing sells you like the right profile picture. No selfies. No mountain biking. Get a professional headshot. Don\u2019t lie about your age. Wear what you wear when you\u2019re on the job. Smile. People are visual. <\/li>\n
  2. Simplify your profile<\/strong>. Cut the buzzwords<\/a>. Cut out excess skills that don\u2019t add to your vision or that don\u2019t represent the kind of job you want. (i.e. most of us can use Outlook but few of us need to mention that skill because we don\u2019t support Outlook). Focus on the skills that are important.<\/li>\n
  3. Keep it current<\/strong>. Your LinkedIn should reflect your career and current responsibilities. Update the description. Add new projects. Change your groups as you change in your career and move towards new levels. Indicate when you receive a promotion. <\/li>\n
  4. Extra, Extra! Headlines<\/strong>. Don\u2019t use something lame for your headline. How would you want to catch a headhunter to look at you if you could only say 10 words? Make it standout. There are thousands of managers \u2013 but only one you.<\/li>\n
  5. Custom URL<\/strong>. Just do it. Pick your own URL. It\u2019s FREEEEEEE. <\/li>\n
  6. Get the app<\/strong>. Make LinkedIn a part of your mobile life and check it more often than you do Snapchat. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here’s what you SHOULD DO (Set aside some time at Starbucks and go do this in the next month). <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Tell your story<\/strong>. Your summary should bring to live the content of your career. Don\u2019t leave that section blank. Spend some time crafting a cool story. Run it by your professional mentor. Send it to your English major friends. <\/li>\n
    2. Connect<\/strong>. Add colleagues. Add partners from other organizations. Use connections to broaden your network. Synch your profile with your address book. Add people after a conference. <\/li>\n
    3. Endorse your connections<\/strong>. Identify people you\u2019ve worked with and give them the endorsements \u2013 which can get them to come endorse you!<\/li>\n
    4. Ask for recommendations<\/strong>. Ask a colleague, partner, or manager to write you a recommendation to help advertise your skills.<\/li>\n
    5. Add a nice cover photo<\/strong>. Again, visual people.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Here’s what you COULD DO (If you\u2019re feeling dedicated, what you can do to give yourself an extra edge.)<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Share your media<\/strong>. Upload presentations, videos, speeches, or projects that you can share. (Don\u2019t violate company policy though!).<\/li>\n
      2. Publish original content<\/strong>. LinkedIn has a vibrant publishing feature and sharing your original work (or content you\u2019ve published elsewhere) is a great way to share your voice. <\/li>\n
      3. Post status updates<\/strong>. Share your reactions. Share articles. Repost from influencers. Be active and keep your feed vibrant. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        That\u2019s a quick list to get started. So go start your LinkedIn makeover!<\/p>\n

        This story was originally published on our news site, The American Genius<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Most of us have a love\/hate relationship with LinkedIn, but no matter your feelings, you should be the one who stands out in a crowd – here’s how.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6,15],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-advice","tag-adj","tag-linkedin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/09\/job-seekers-linkedin.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/adj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}