Tags

, , , , , ,

Do you look like a dud, or a star?  If your LinkedIn has a long, boring profile, 10 contacts, and no Group activities, then you are missing out on a prime opportunity to showcase your professional self. You could in fact be inflicting damage to your own personal brand.
 
 The foundation of your personal digital brand is LinkedIn.  Follow the  steps below to establish a powerful LinkedIn presence.  To get the most out of LinkedIn spend time every week to update your status, add contacts, recommend colleagues and contribute to Group discussions. 
 

For more about personal branding read Dan Schwabel’s PersonalBranding Blog.  For additional LinkedIn tips go to Mashable’s How to get more out of LinkedIn.

1. Make your Profile stand out

 

- Photo:  upload a professional, recent picture of yourself.

- Summary: write a professional bio in first person. Make it conversational, it is you telling someone else about what you do. Keep it short. Include your professional expertise, interests and current position.

- Experience: Add a list of previously held posts with a 1 sentence description. This is NOT a resume, keep it brief.

 2. Generate a robust set of Contacts

 

- Search and find colleagues, friends, former classmates and business associates and invite them.

- Use the advanced Search to find individuals by business, school or location.

-  You will see that active business professionals will have 100+ contacts.

 3. Join Groups that support your interests and career

 

- Search and find Groups that match your interests and bio. These could be professional associations, universities attended, former employers, and topical interest groups.

- Monitor and participate in Group Discussions to stay informed, find topics for conversation starters and create visibility and interest in your point of view.

About these ads