A MASTERCLASS IN CREATING THE PERFECT LINKEDIN NETWORKING PROFILE
LinkedIn has become the MUST-HAVE tool for getting yourself a job. We were therefore very grateful to have Kerry Watkins, Founder and MD of Social Brighton, take us through exactly what we need to do to make it work for us.
Kerry advises that we need to treat LinkedIn as you would a real-life event or networking session to ensure you make more meaningful connections and see greater impact. She explains: “Your profile, in a nutshell, needs to highlight what you want people to know about you and how you want them to feel about you. It then needs to be easy for them to do what you want them to do”.
With your profile being one of your top results on google, focussing on it means you’re taking care of your personal brand and once confident in networking on it, you’ll be making the connections that lead to that next great role. Here’s Kerry’s tips on how:
Imagery: Make sure your profile picture is up to date, your head takes up most of the space and you smile. It’s also beneficial to brand your background, which could incorporate your logo or simply an image of your sector.
Headline: Think of your LinkedIn headline as your badge at a networking event. It will follow you around the room, so the 120 characters need to state exactly what you do and be compelling. Your headline is also what will come up in searches made on the platform.
About: The About section is your chance to expand on your headline with the top three things you want people to know, feel and remember about you. These can be your skills, approach to work or personality, but they need to be authentic and they need to be as close to the top as possible. Include at the end a ‘call to action’, such as “email me to discuss more how we can work together”.
Featured: The Featured section backs up the About section, making your profile more colourful. It can contain articles you have written, videos you have made or projects you have worked on.
Experience: This section needs to complement what is in your CV, making sure there is plenty of content explaining your most recent roles. Ensure you link to company pages of where you worked where relevant.
Volunteer experience, skills and endorsements: Including volunteer experience shows other interests and gives more of an idea of your personality. There should be at least 15 skills and endorsements added into this section.
Recommendations: Spending time building up your recommendations, ensuring they are as recent as possible, helps to install a confidence for other people in your skills and what you are like to work with.
Making connections: Begin by connecting with your first connections – those who are in your existing contacts or those you have worked with – followed by mutual connections called second connections. You can also find further relevant connections by searching on roles or industries. You can also simply search for a company you admire, then request to connect with the people who work there. Make sure you personalise your connection request, with something like: “What you’re doing in this space is really impressive, I’d love to connect.”
Engaging within your community: Commenting on and publishing posts is not only important for keeping your profile and visibility alive, but also for making further connections. Joining relevant to your industry groups and engaging within these helps you to be seen as a specialist in your field.
Once your profile is optimised and you’re confident with how to search for people and companies, publish content and engage with others, you’ll feel confident in finding that next opportunity. Kerry does 1:1 training if you needed any further help with your LinkedIn profile or, indeed, your social media brand. You can find her at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-watkins/
If you enjoyed Kerry’s tips, don’t miss out on the rest of our 2021 series of FREE webinars, featuring Business Experts with a huge range of specialities addressing how best to be work smart and work ready: https://www.flexibilitymatters.co.uk/events-and-trainings/zoom-training-seminars-2021/.
