Go All-in on LinkedIn

I'd been dabbling for years with LinkedIn as a great way to stay connected with colleagues and professionals with similar interests. I had a peer of my comment that my LinkedIn profile was too generic--a couple jobs listed with some dates.  I decided at that point to make sure that LinkedIn became a tool to put my best foot forward and allow people to see who I really was professionally.  I can't say enough how this mindset--and much more detailed profile--benefit me when I lost my job in June 2013.     

I soon realized that my chances of getting a job increased exponentially when I utilized LinkedIn in my search. The use of LinkedIn may not be the best course of action for everyone. For example, if you are looking only at small businesses locally, it may be easier to go into each specific organization to set up an appointment. However, even with this example, it is prudent to at least glance at LinkedIn to see if the owner has a profile.

LinkedIn has become so important as a networking tool that business-savvy individuals pay content experts to assist them in creating the most effective LinkedIn profile. A friend of mine, Donna Serdula, does this professionally, and has written "LinkedIn Makeover: Professional Secrets to a Powerful LinkedIn Profile", a great reference book to help ensure that your own profile is the best it can be. If you’re looking for specific strategies for making an impact on LinkedIn, I recommend checking out Donna’s book.

By going “all-in,” I mean doing more than replicating your résumé. Use more space to make a visual impact on your LinkedIn profile. You should make the assumption that recruiters and hiring managers will be looking for your profile after you have made contact—this assumption is a pretty good bet for many large employers today. If they don’t find a profile for you, or find a quickly-put-together profile, that tells them a story.What story do you want told about you? Among the many candidates applying for jobs, a quality LinkedIn profile is a must to set yourself apart.

 The basic free-service of LinkedIn is a great starting point and is often sufficient to meet most people’s needs. LinkedIn does have Premium paid-membership with benefits that include a more advanced search feature, seeing who has viewed your profile, and allowances to send more messages. I will leave it up to your individual preferences and needs to determine if the investment is worth it to you.

Tom Dowd, AKA Transformation Tom?, runs his own company Thomas Dowd Professional Development & Coaching, LLC with the mantra, “Transform into who you really want to be professionally.” He is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Communication degree, concentrating on interpersonal and organizational communication. Tom is a prize-winning speaker, an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author, trainer, coach, and radio host. His books include “The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World,” “From Fear to Success: a Practical Public Speaking Guide,” "Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job," “Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance,”and “The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood.”

Learn more about Tom and how to start your own transformation at www.transformationtom.com.