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Elevating your LinkedIn Presence

Elevating your LinkedIn Presence

Filter tag: AI and Digitisation, Change Management and Executive Outplacement, Leadership Capability, Strategies for Growth

In just 22 years, LinkedIn has gone from an experimental social media app created in its founder’s bedroom to the world’s stand out digital business platform. Here, we look at how to create a standout profile to build your personal brand and how to use the platform for executive and senior leadership job searches.

With a billion members in 200 countries and territories, LinkedIn has changed the way professionals connect and interact, a development turbo-charged by the lockdowns of the Covid pandemic.

While many see it simply as a live CV/recruitment service, it is a far more valuable resource than that with several functions that can be incredibly useful to anyone in any post in any sector. They include networking, influencing, subtle marketing and branding through delivery of quality content (no spamming or unsolicited sales approaches allowed) and research/learning.

For example, if you need to understand the opportunities and risks of AI in your business, LinkedIn is a good place to start. Companies including our own invest considerable resources in creating high quality, original and free to access content on topics like this, relevant to their target audience.

In this first part to our LinkedIn blog series, we will explore how to create a brilliant profile to build your personal brand and project a polished, professional front to support your career transition or development.

Part two will explain how to use the platform for executive and senior leadership job searches and ensure recruiters & other key stakeholders find you. Later in the year, we’ll show you how to grow your followers, promote your personal brand and increase your influence by posting relevant content to showcase your talent.

 

How it works:

Knowing how the LinkedIn algorithm works is key to getting the best use out of it. Unlike other social media sites, it is designed to avoid posts going viral, focusing instead on relevance, quality of content and meaningful connections between individuals with common interests and similar profiles.

The more time you spend using it, the more it can understand your needs, refining its selection of content and connections to organisations and people that will prove increasingly relevant and helpful.

 

Using LinkedIn Effectively

Today, the first contact any potential new business partner/employer/employee is likely to have of you will be digital, most probably through LinkedIn, which is why you need to be skilled in promoting yourself on it.

In person, it is said that we make 1,000 computations about an individual within seven seconds of meeting them. We read appearance, body language, personality – we respond through experience, instinct and chemistry.

Online, there are only visuals and words to go on. In some ways, this makes it easier – we can control how we present ourselves. In other ways, it makes it harder – with fewer readable clues, a single mis-step could carry far more weight than all the positive signals being sent out.

Think about what happens when you cast an eye over a LinkedIn profile. Your brain whirrs into gear, scanning for clues to build a picture. And, yes, you will form a fairly instant opinion based on what you see. You may even decide whether you want any further contact based on this first, rudimentary judgement. Without even realising, people who have not grasped the importance of this may be denying themselves the chance to make a better second impression in real life once the LinkedIn verdict is in.

Every day, people are doing the same to you which is why it is essential to get it right and fully exploit the power of this global connectivity.

 

Getting your profile right:

  1. The basics: your profile needs to be easily discoverable, informative, up to date and professional. The right people need to be able to find you. Many professionals would be unimpressed if they struggle to find you and then find your profile lacking compared to peers. Pages with complete profiles get 30 per cent more views per week. Get your message across by writing in clear, plain English (or your language of choice). Avoid jargon, cliches and overly florid language. (Here’s a list of words to avoid). Check and double check for typos or errors or get someone else to cast a fresh pair of eyes over it for you, preferably a knowledgeable mentor or coach.
  2. Ensure your photo reflects the image you want to present. It’s fine for a creative executive to look a bit whacky, but if you’re a finance director or working almost anywhere else in senior leadership, a professional head and shoulders with office attire and clear background is essential. Use company insignia if appropriate and ensure you are recognisable. No flattering 20-year-old photos!
  3. Add detail. The more you include – school, university, previous employers, achievements, awards, professional learning, etc – the more search tags are available for people to find you and the more connections and relevant content will come up for you.
  4. Write a stand out headline and articulate, succinct summary that lists your experience and skills in your target sector. It should read as a story with a personal touch to single you out and give you that elusive quality which never fails to attract the right people: likeability. So, if you’re on the board of a charity or have a burning ethical mission in which you are highly active, mention that, as long as it’s relevant. It’s a good idea to seek second opinions from a trusted mentor or career coach. How does your profile come across to them?
  5. Use keywords for your industry and role and include your location and areas of expertise, in terms of skills, experience and geography. The more specific information you offer to potential recruiters and employers, the more easily they will find you and the better the matches. So, if you’re fluent in Mandarin, a member of a professional association or you’ve work for or partnered with renowned global organisations, name them.
  6. Think carefully about which skills to list. LinkedIn offers keywords for Skills in three categories: All, Interpersonal Skills and Industry Knowledge. Think of soft skills too – the most in demand is creativity. List as many as you can justify if challenged. You need to think about examples you could give to illustrate any if asked in interview so stick to what you really know. Endorse other people’s skills and they are likely to return the favour, adding to your credibility and chances of finding a job – eight out of 10 people who secured a role on the platform within three months had at least 10 endorsements.
  7. Consider upskilling to meet evolving or in demand requirements in the changing marketplace. It’s a good idea to look at leaders in your field or desired area of work to see what skills they are listing. LinkedIn has seen the number of members adding Generative AI skills like Copilot and ChatGPT rise by 142 times while non-technical professionals enrolling on AI courses has increased by 160%. (Rialto can benchmark your skills against the current market in your sector and function and help you fill in any gaps.)
  8. Keep your profile up to date. It’s a good idea to get into the routine of dedicating time every month to maintenance; check it’s up to date, keep an eye on trends and stay ahead of the curve. The platform is always releasing new AI-powered tools to nudge you in the right direction. Use them!
  9. Link to any successful accomplishments, videos or published articles in the Add Project section. These can be specific to your field or beyond to showcase your range of interests and skills.
  10. Learn from the best. LinkedIn analyses some of the most successful profiles on the platform and explains why and how they work so well

Once your profile is sparkling and complete – check your rating, you want to be at all-star – it’s time to optimise it and start networking to get closer to that dream position. To learn more about this read part two to this Blog series, which explains how to use the platform for executive and senior leadership job searches and ensure recruiters and other key stakeholders find you.

Later in the year, we will show you how to grow your followers, promote your personal brand and increase your influence by posting relevant content to showcase your talent.

There’s no getting away from the fact that LinkedIn is now an essential tool for anyone in business. Whatever stage of your career, it’s worth investing your time and energy in it. First, ask what you want from it and dedicate your resources to that end. If you want to fully harness its many features and use it to offer a refined and finely-tuned personal brand, it’s worth getting professional support, particularly if you are seeking a senior role with a competitive salary in this difficult market.

Rialto can help you use LinkedIn effectively as part of a strategically structured, personalised executive career transition and job search. Contact us for a free initial consultation.

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