I have recently been a part of a pilot program at Autodesk, using a corporate LinkedIn tool called Sales Navigator. Sales Navigator is basically a souped-up version of LinkedIn (cost about $100 a month) that helps sales people find leads and relevant information about their accounts. As part of the program, we were encouraged to take a look at our LinkedIn profile and make changes using specific recommendations. I want to list those here and later help Sally, Emily, and Mom with their LinkedIn accounts.
You can see my profile here. Handsome fellow and quite accomplished, wouldn't you say? Here is a short video that discusses most of the steps below. And here is a good slide share that does the same.
- Upload a professional photo
- Write a compelling headline - that tells others what you do
- Customize your profile URL, example: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gpagesingletary
- Let you summary tell your story
- Update your contact info (current email and phone number)
- Add relevant website links in your contact info (you can have three)
- Update current and past positions
- Add rich media (usually videos that are relevant and inspire you)
- Add your school (and use those contacts to help you)
- Add your skills
- Follow relevant companies and groups
- Ask for endorsements
- Begin sharing relevant articles, comments, etc. Understand the difference in 'Like' and 'Share'
- Reach out and connect with others whom you know
Since Emily is about to begin a job search and has some immediate networking opportunities, I have been helping her by making some changes to her profile, per the suggestions above. You can view the latest here. It still needs some work, but I think it is looking good! Comments welcome.
Love,
Dad
