Good times in College Station on Friday night, catching up with your peeps. I got down to brass tacks with Mays School of Business, Junior, Amy Solheim talking LinkedIn. It is important to build your professional brand while you are in college, especially if you plan to work as a generalist. I had talked with Amy about LinkedIn earlier this year, so when Amy shared she still had not updated her photo, nor her background header image, we whipped open some laptops and got after it. Next up for Amy is adding a compelling 'About' section, right, Amy?
If you are studying to be a brain surgeon, you can take a pass on LinkedIn. But most of your friends, including Amy, are gearing their studies in a more 'generalist' direction. I touched on this back on a Stay Whole Tuesday in March: Do good, make money, triumph as a generalist. Digging deeper here: Why specialization can be a downside in our ever-changing world, from Angela Chen on The Verge.
As Uncle Ricky likes to say, you need to get your 'front-porch' in order. If you wait until you start looking for a job, you will be way behind the 8-ball. And if you have an unkempt front-porch, you send a message that will be difficult to overcome.
(I could be YOUR) Advanced LinkedIn Strategy Coach ANDY.FOOTE puts it this way on his site LINKEDINSIGHTS.COM:
- When people check you out online, they search on Google.
- Your LinkedIn page is usually the first search result they see.
- You only get one chance to impress. Everyone is in sales now.
- Don't let your mediocre LinkedIn profile page hold you back.
- What is with the period in between your first and last name?
- How do you make that LinkedInsights.com icon pulse like that on your profile page?
