Is Your Brand Established on LinkedIn?

I work with job seekers every day, and as part of my questioning, I always ask how they are sharing who they are through LinkedIn and other social media.?The most common answer for their LinkedIn profile is, “I do not believe that my LinkedIn is very good.”?We look at their LinkedIn profile, and most of the time, it is very rudimentary in content. ?Most do not have a banner (just the tri-color grey banner – LinkedIn’s default).?It shows their picture (most of the time), and it shares their name and city where they live.?It shows their title as their current position at their current employer (another LinkedIn default), and they may or may not have an About section.?It also has a compilation of their current and prior work experiences with their company, title, dates, and maybe some detail – usually in a bullet-pointed job posting style.?The profile may have their education and some skills.?However, it does not share who they are, their passions, or what they do well.?Does this sound like your situation?

A solid LinkedIn profile is very important.?Most employers will go to your LinkedIn profile when you apply for a position.?They are looking for many things, but most importantly, how you communicate information about yourself.?Think about this statement for a while, and I will explain why this is important later in this article.?

Let’s look at the key sections in a profile.

The Banner Section:?This section is so important.?It is the first thing that anyone sees when they go to your profile.?It needs to be an attention grabber.?That banner was a great addition to the profile that LinkedIn included many years ago; however, when you go to most profiles, it is either the default grey banner or a visual that does not share visually what the person does for a living.?The banner was not meant to be a picture of you and your family on vacation unless that is your job, then that is a different story.?What needs to be reflected in the banner is a visual, picture, graphic, image, or something that depicts what you want to do or currently do well.?A person who looks at your profile will have an initial thought as to what you do just by looking at your banner.?That thought needs to be answered by you as, “yes, that is what I do.”?Also, different people will have different thoughts, so your answer needs to be yes to most of those thoughts.?Finding the right banner that truly reflects what you do is the first thing you need to do for your profile.

Your Picture and Title:?Your picture needs to be professional, but you do not need to go out and pay a lot of money for a professional portrait.?The cameras on today’s cell phones are excellent.?Dress the part for the type of role you are pursuing and have someone take a smiling picture of you against a solid backdrop (plain color wall with a neutral color).?Together with your banner, your picture will complete the visual part of your brand.?The title under your portrait is also very important.?LinkedIn’s default is to show your current position at your current company.?That is not necessary.?People can scroll down to see where you are at and what position you are in.?What needs to be in this section is more of a descriptor – wording that describes what you do and why you do it.?These words need to describe what the viewer sees in the banner.?Remember, this section at the top (banner, picture, and title) is the only part of your profile that viewers will see when they go to your profile.?They must scroll down to see everything else.?So, make this section the attention grabber section.

About Section: The About section is your story and should be a narrative about you.?In this section, you will share who you are (professionally), what you do, your passions, and even your goals for a career.?Remember, LinkedIn is a professional networking media; therefore, make sure you keep the information in the About section about your professional working experiences.?Think along this line of thought – every company (big company, small business) that has a good website has a very good About page.?That About page is their story.?They tell about themselves – what they do, why they do it, and even their goals.?They talk about themselves as if they are talking directly to the reader – in the first-person language (I, we, me, my, etc.).?This is how you should write your About section on LinkedIn.?Tell your story like you are talking directly to the reader.?What this will show is excellent written communication skills. You will show this, not state it.?Excellent communication skills are what employers, clients, and partners are looking for in a person.

Experience Section:?This section needs to reflect what is on your resume (name of the company, your title, and the dates that you worked), but the detail about the position should be written very similar to what we talked about in the About section.?Write that information like you are talking to the person – tell your story about your role and what you accomplished.?Do not bullet point the information as you do in a resume.?Here is your opportunity to share some accomplishments in a narrative fashion.?Start your narrative by sharing what the company does in one succinct sentence, and then share what you did in the role.

Education Section: Put only collegiate experience in this section (no high school information).?Put your highest academic achievement first (Doctoral, then Master, then Bachelor, then Associate).?Do not pluralize your degree (Master’s) – write the degree just as it is written on your conferred document.?You can have the dates that you graduated or not – your choice.?If LinkedIn has the option just to put the year you graduated, that would be best.?Do not put activities or clubs unless you are new to the work world, then add those and take them off as you acquire actual work experience.

Skills Section: This section is very important.?You have up to 50 skills that you can add here, and you want to put in all 50.?You can highlight the top three skills that you want to share with the reader.?Those skills will stay there if you move them to the top.?The skills that you want to share in this section should match up with skills in job descriptions advertised on LinkedIn.?Look at the many postings and make sure your skills match those postings – just make sure you have those skills – do not fudge your skills.

There are many other sections within LinkedIn that can be shared on your profile as well.?If LinkedIn optimization is something that you need assistance with, I can help.?Contact me to learn more.

About Richard Glass

Mr. Glass has been connecting talent with employers for over 20 years.?He has helped thousands of early, mid, and late-career professionals and executives learn what it takes to professionally brand themselves on LinkedIn and stand out amongst their competitors.?He has also written thousands of resumes and cover letters through his services at RTG Enterprises.?He provides solid professional development to job seekers and solid staffing and solution expertise to employers.?His expertise includes strategic relationship development, business development, entrepreneurship, career counseling and coaching, networking, resume and cover letter writing, personal and business branding, and philanthropic giving.?He has worked with employers in the public and private sectors, including higher education, public and private K-12 schools, federal, state, and local governments and agencies, Fortune 1000, mid-size and small businesses, non-profits, and ministries.?

About RTG Enterprises

At RTG Enterprises, we specialize in assisting our clients in the whole career search process – which includes career assessment, building a brand and resume, how to research occupations, employers, and geographies, networking, interview techniques, salary negotiations, and onboarding. ?All professional people have mentors and coaches. ?Whether you are a new graduate, a seasoned professional, or an executive, RTG has a Career Coaching Plan or Professional Resume Writing Package for you. ?Contact us to be your coach today for your success tomorrow. ?RTG customers include executive management (C-suite), information technology professionals, engineers, teachers, professors and administrators, accounting and finance professionals, human resource professionals, business development and sales professionals, marketing and communication professionals, law enforcement professionals, and transitioning military personnel. ?Find more information at https:rtg-enterprises.com or contact Mr. Glass at [email protected].?