LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies

LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies

by Donna Serdula
Released December 2016
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781119287087

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Book description

Optimize your LinkedIn profile—and get results

Your LinkedIn profile is essentially a platform to shape how others see you, highlight your abilities, products, or services, and explain how your work impacts lives. Yet many people simply copy and paste their resume and expect job offers and networking opportunities to start rolling in—but that isn't how it works. LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies shows you how to create a profile that enhances your personal brand, controls how others see you, and shapes a successful future for your career.

Whether your goal is job search, branding, reputation management, or sales, people are Googling you—and your LinkedIn profile is more often than not their first point of contact. With a focus on who you are, the value you deliver, and the culture you cultivate, the profile you'll create with the help of this guide will make that first connection a positive one—giving you a better chance to see results.

  • Create a powerful LinkedIn profile
  • Discover your personal keywords
  • Showcase your experience and accomplishments
  • Be seen on the world's largest professional social network

You never get a second chance to make a great first impression, and LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies helps to ensure you're presenting yourself in the best possible light.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. How This Book Is Organized
    4. Icons Used in This Book
    5. Beyond the Book
    6. Where to Go from Here
  3. Part 1: The Strategy Before the Siege
    1. Chapter 1: Determining Your LinkedIn Strategy
      1. Determining Your LinkedIn Goal
      2. Figuring Out Your Target Audience
      3. Creating a Compelling Tone
    2. Chapter 2: Getting Found on LinkedIn
      1. Using LinkedIn as a Search Engine
      2. Ensuring a Compelling and Attractive Search Result
      3. Understanding the Importance of Keywords
      4. Using Online Keyword Tools
      5. Ranking Higher with Profile SEO
      6. Building Off Profile SEO
    3. Chapter 3: Understanding Skills and Endorsements
      1. Showcasing Your Skills
      2. Obtaining Endorsements
  4. Part 2: Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started
    1. Chapter 4: Optimizing the “Behind the Scenes” Sections
      1. Managing Profile Changes
      2. Turning On Your Public Profile
      3. Creating a Personalized URL
      4. Improving Your Profile’s Strength
    2. Chapter 5: Establishing Your Calling Card
      1. Using the Name Field Correctly
      2. Filling Out Location and Industry
      3. Including Your Contact Information
    3. Chapter 6: Impressing with the Right Profile Picture
      1. Why You Need a Profile Picture
      2. Determining If You Need a New Profile Picture
      3. Using a Photo Already Taken
      4. Working with a Photographer
      5. Taking Your Own Profile Picture
      6. Choosing and Uploading Your Profile Picture
    4. Chapter 7: Developing a Compelling Headline
      1. Grabbing Your Reader’s Attention
      2. Adding Flair to Your Headline
      3. Saturating Your Headline with Keywords
      4. Creating a Benefit Statement Headline
      5. Adding Your New and Improved Headline to LinkedIn
  5. Part 3: Detailing Your Career Trajectory and Creating the Ultimate First Impression
    1. Chapter 8: Getting Your Experiences Ready
      1. Referencing Your Resume
      2. Determining Which Experiences to Keep and Which to Merge
      3. Creating a Work History for Recent Graduates
      4. Dealing with Employment Gaps
    2. Chapter 9: Creating a Powerful Experience
      1. Adding a New Experience
      2. Less Is More — Stop Disqualifying Yourself
      3. Editing an Existing Experience
      4. Reordering Concurrent Experiences
      5. Removing an Experience
      6. Reattaching Recommendations to Different Experiences
      7. Optimizing Your Job Title with Keywords
      8. Examples of Great Experiences
    3. Chapter 10: Writing a Compelling Summary
      1. Editing Your LinkedIn Summary
      2. Writing in First Person
      3. Avoiding Resume Speak
      4. Revisiting Your LinkedIn Goals and Target Audience
      5. Catching Your Reader’s Attention
      6. Creating Your Professional Manifesto
      7. Formatting a Sleek LinkedIn Summary
      8. Examples of Compelling and Engaging Summaries
  6. Part 4: Rounding Out Your Profile and Adding Finishing Touches
    1. Chapter 11: There’s More to You Than Your Jobs
      1. Showcasing Organizations
      2. Uncovering Your Honors and Awards
      3. The Three P’s: Projects, Publications, and Patents
      4. The Two C’s: Certifications and Courses
      5. Adding the Languages You Speak
      6. Creating a Profile in Another Language
      7. Adding Your Education, or Lack Thereof
      8. Adding Volunteer Experiences
    2. Chapter 12: Making Your Profile Personal and Unique
      1. Leveraging the Additional Information Section
      2. Adding Multimedia to Make Your Profile POP!
      3. Reinforcing Your Brand with a Background Image
      4. The Importance of Recommendations
    3. Chapter 13: Following Groups, Companies, and Influencers
      1. Understanding the Importance of Groups
      2. Cultivating Your Following Section
      3. Following News
      4. Showcasing Influencers on Your Profile
      5. Publishing on LinkedIn
    4. Chapter 14: The Final Review and Reveal
      1. Rearranging Profile Sections
      2. Viewing Your Profile as an Outsider
      3. Your LinkedIn Profile Checklist
      4. To Pay or Not Pay for LinkedIn
      5. Benchmarking Your Profile’s Success
      6. Marketing Your Profile
  7. Part 5: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 15: Ten Profile Do’s and Don’ts
      1. Do Use a Professional Profile Picture
      2. Don’t Use LinkedIn’s Default Headline
      3. Do Turn Off Your Update Notifications
      4. Do Use Eye-Catching Symbols Sparingly
      5. Do Include Your Contact Information
      6. Do Add Multimedia Files
      7. Don’t Stuff Keywords
      8. Don’t Go Back 30 Years
      9. Do Get Recommendations
      10. Do Add Interests
    2. Chapter 16: Ten Tips for a Perfect Profile Picture
      1. Hire a Professional Photographer
      2. Use Lots of Light
      3. Use a Nondescript Background
      4. Dress to Impress
      5. Adjust Yourself
      6. Keep the Camera Close to Eye Level
      7. Say No to the Mug Shot
      8. Crinkle, Smile, and Jut
      9. Use Photoshop Lightly
      10. Crop Your Image
    3. Chapter 17: Ten Tips to Expand Your Network
      1. Import Your Address Book
      2. Import a Contact List
      3. Let LinkedIn Help You Connect
      4. Join One Hundred Groups
      5. Start a LinkedIn Group
      6. Make Connecting a Process
      7. Link to Your Profile
      8. Brand Yourself a LION or Just Connect to Them
      9. Join Open Networking Lists and Groups
      10. Use an App
    4. Chapter 18: Ten Tips to Leverage LinkedIn
      1. A-B-C … Always Be Connecting
      2. Connect and Stay in Touch
      3. Gather Business Intelligence
      4. Get the News
      5. Get Social Proof and Credibility
      6. Get Past the Gatekeeper
      7. Rub Elbows in Groups
      8. Find Assistance
      9. Showcase Thought Leadership
      10. Network in Your Pajamas
    5. Chapter 19: Ten LinkedIn Profile Resources
      1. Get Inspired and Excited
      2. LinkedIn Headline Generator
      3. Virtual Phone Numbers
      4. Say No to AOL and Hotmail Addresses
      5. Symbol Variations
      6. Stop the Typos
      7. SlideShare
      8. Photographer Directories
      9. Background Image Libraries
      10. Online Image Apps
  8. About the Author
  9. Advertisement Page
  10. Connect with Dummies
  11. Index
  12. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies
  • Author(s): Donna Serdula
  • Release date: December 2016
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119287087