Humanize You on LinkedIn - Tell Your Story to Make Your Brand UNIQUE!

We know today beyond the resume, the next stop for many recruiters, talent acquisition specialists, hiring managers and HR professionals is LinkedIn to "learn more about you."

What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?

Knowing that you need to stand out as an applicant in order to make that transition from applicant to a viable candidate, you can't just think of LinkedIn as a place to copy and paste your resume.

In my opinion, LinkedIn is the best social media platform to not be afraid to be our true authentic selves, to make meaningful connections (based on that authentic profile) and to start those conversation to build your knowledge networks with impact.

I have delivered dozens of presentations and conducted a number of coffee chats with young and experienced professionals on how to make your LinkedIn profile work for you and here are a few of those tips and tricks.

Tell Your Story...

In order to make you stand out as authentic and to call attention to what makes you "unique" it is done by telling your story. Your story is your brand and it shows how you got to where you are today, shares your experiences, promotes your passions, highlights your transferable skills and if done correctly it captures the essence of your brand.

#1 - Select a Photo - Look to get this done professionally if possible. If not you can do wonders with the portrait mode on an iPhone. Do not use a photo with others as this should simply be you in a clear and view-able photo. If you do use a photo with others be sure to crop it properly and view it on all devices. You may be surprised to see your significant other was not cropped for that iPhone even though it looked great on your computer.

#2 - Use a Personalized Banner - Your banner space is your space to communicate and share a bit more about you and/or or the company/organization that you work for. Again think about "the story" you want to tell and promote.

Show Your Personality...

3 - Create an Interesting and Compelling Header Statement - This is where you can come alive. We know that you are a Director of blah blah at company XYZ by reading below. Use this space to grab your readers attention and wanting to know more about you. Use interesting icons as "spacers." Bullets are okay but if you want to have some fun there are tons of sites for free icons on the internet that you can use. You like Golf? Music? Football? Tech? Let your reader know a little about you "golfer who is passionate about finance" with that eye-catching icon.

#4 - Introduce "Your Story" in the "About" section of the Header - Okay how many of you have read a person's "About" section and were left uninspired or maybe stopped reading all together because it felt like a resume summary and bland. There are various best practice discussions back and forth about writing this section in the 3rd person which in my opinion is a bit awkward and not authentic. If this is "about" you, make it "about" YOU. Have fun with your journey and all that you have done. Highlight those moments in time that you are most proud of and shout it from the mountain tops!

#5 - Share Your Media - Most people do not use this space and or are not sure how to use it. You can upload and or link to videos, publications, articles and or anything you may have done that you want to highlight to your audience. By sharing this in the header you are highlighting, early on, in your profile your core capabilities, transferable skills and passions. Explore this more and share what makes sense for you.

Make it Memorable...

#6 and #7 - Skills & Endorsements (DOS and don'ts) - You only have 3 skills that appear "above the line" for those viewing your skills, so make these 3 skills count! You can edit | move your skills "above and below the line" based on what you are doing now and what you want to be known for currently. Make this section work for you and grow with you as you learn new skills. One can click on "Show More" to see your other transferable skills however, this should be where your past and | or other skills reside for reference.

#8 - Skills & Endorsements - (dos and DON'TS) - As mentioned above the top 3 skills that are listed on your profile in this section will only appear to the viewer of your skills. Given today's markets and the fundamental understanding of the use of Microsoft products do NOT waste this important real estate with listing PowerPoint, Excel and Office where possible. You can share those "below the line" and bring attention to your top 3 skills that make you stand out. A good rule of thumb is to feature a sampling of tech skills and human skills if you are a person who has both skill sets. For students just starting out Microsoft skills are okay. Once you gain skills, through things like "work-integrated-learning,"look to move those Microsoft skills down "below the line."

#8 - Skills & Endorsements - (dos and DON'TS) - If you are a technical person it is great to feature those tech skills "above the line." If you look at this example, one might think this person is lacking "human skills." To be sure to showcase your overall skills look to feature both tech and human skills and include other tech skills "below the line."

#9 - Recommendations - Getting recommendations brings that human touch to highlight your impact with a personal touch. As a student, you are typically getting your co-op | internship | summer job documented for your school career services and as a part of the company's feedback loop. Why not ask that hiring manger to endorse you with a few sentences about your performance and what you did to impact the organization and achieve your goals? For experienced individuals, this is a way for you too to stand out with those recommendations and it brings a perspective to your "skills in action."

#10 - Accomplishments | Projects - This section has a number of sub-sections that can be used in various ways to highlight yourself and share your unique story. For "Projects" it is a way to share more details including links to websites to share an event, your portfolio, a YouTube Video to enhance your post. Personally, I use "Projects" to highlight the Thought Leadership | Speaking Engagements that I have developed, led and | or participated in as a way to re-enforce my capabilities, my skills and my brand. What is great about "Projects you can also add others to your post to share those whom you collaborated with to create your experience.

#11, #12, #13 - Accomplishments | Publications, Honors & Awards | Organizations - As mentioned above there are a number of sub-sections available in "Accomplishments" which can be tailored to your profile and brand. Utilize the "Publications" to highlight those key thought leadership pieces, "Honors & Awards" to showcase the recognition you have gained for your efforts and "Organizations" to highlight groups, companies and | or clubs that you are passionate it about and support. This is not to be confused with "Volunteer Experience" in your profile, using "Organizations" can be a way to show your involvement in groups that you work with and collaborate with to deliver results.

#14 - Articles - One tip and trick that I like to share the most with upcoming and experienced talent is the use of "Articles." I started my journey with Articles only 4 years ago, with much hesitation, thinking who would want to hear from me and what could I possibly write in a blog that could be informative and interesting? We all have a story. We all have experiences that make us who we are today. We all have something positive that we can share with others. With that mind-set, you can really bring true authentic self alive in your "Articles." Think, "I know what I did last summer," "I know the leadership skills and experience I gained from being a Pack Leader for Boy Scouts," "I know what it is like to be diversified talent as an international student moving to Canada." All of these topics could be a way to have fun highlighting and informing and sharing more about you, your personality and your uniqueness. Start today, what are you waiting for?

#14 - Activities - Lastly, think about what your read on LinkedIn. Think about what you find informative as a news piece, an article | blog, a post. Now think about how you want to share, comment and | or like these posts. Recruiters do look at what you do on LinkedIn so only look to connect with those posts that mean something to you and | or support your overall views and opinions.

This is by far not all of the functionality that you can use to humanize yourself on LinkedIn, however, hopefully it gives you some ideas and insights to build you brand and promote your capabilities and skills in a unique and different way. Most importantly have fun with it and remember...

"Be yourself no one can say you you are doing it wrong." - Charles Schultz, American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Peanuts. 

Written from my beach chair, North Myrtle Beach, Summer Vacation 2019 - BKC