I write a lot about the power of a well-branded LinkedIn profile because I’ve had such good results with mine and I want you to benefit from my experience.
Recently, I came across a blog post by Guy Kawasaki, a technology ventures entrepreneur, about his extreme LinkedIn profile makeover.
What’s really helpful about his post is that he offers a screen view of his old LinkedIn Profile, pinpointing what you should do with each section to make yourself stand out and deeply support your personal brand.
He notes which spots in your profile funnel into boosting your chances to come up in search results when recruiters and hiring decision makers are searching candidates on LinkedIn.
One of the important LinkedIn features that may not be clear from his run down is the “What Are You Working On?” query. You’ll see the question listed on your home page in the left sidebar under your name and in your “Edit My Profile” mode.
If you don’t fill in an answer to the query, nothing appears in that spot in your profile, which is a terrible waste of a prime location – right under your name at the top, one of the first things people will see about you.
This spot affords you a great opportunity to stay top of mind with all your LinkedIn connections because, each time you refresh your answer, they’re notified of your latest project.
The number of characters you can input is limited, but it’s not that hard to put together a concise, on-brand statement that packs a punch. Include relevant key words that people will use when they’re searching for people like you.
Your answer to the query automatically fades away (after a week, I think), so remember to revisit it regularly to update your LinkedIn network and make yourself more visible to those searching job candidates.
Depending upon when you view Guy’s current profile, there may or may not be an entry for the query. Take a look at my full LinkedIn profile (you have to sign in to view it). If I’ve been keeping up well with it, you’ll see what I’m currently working on and get an idea of what this feature can do for you. If there’s nothing there, shame on me.
Related posts:
Create Big Buzz with Your Personal Brand and LinkedIn
Get LinkedIn and Attract Recruiters and Hiring Decision Makers to Your eBrand
LinkedIn and Blogging, Cohorts in Personal Branding and Executive Job Search
Linkedin was just added to the About.com top 10 employment site list with 2 other other sites but linkedin is the only social network:
http://www.linkedin.com (networking)
http://www.indeed.com (aggregated lists)
http://www.realmatch.com (matches you to jobs)
Top 10 employment site list here:
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/joblistings/tp/jobbanks.htm