“Are you on LinkedIn?” “Can I connect with you through LinkedIn?” “Message me on LinkedIn, and we will set up a time to talk.” Have you heard any of these phrases in your professional conversations over the past few years? They make a point…if you aren’t on LinkedIn AND actively engaging and networking on the site, then you probably either don’t have a great LinkedIn profile, or you are not using the site and all of its features to enhance your career.
Today’s executives are constantly on the move. If you’re an exec who is trying to increase organizational revenue, improve operating efficiency, or even build your individual value proposition for your next career move, being active on LinkedIn will benefit you in all of these areas. When creating a strong presence on LinkedIn and using it to your advantage through connecting and networking with the right people and groups, you will find that moving your career and/or business forward is easier than you thought. Here are a few quick tips on how to use LinkedIn to get you seen, heard, and respected in your professional circles:
Building Your Profile:
LinkedIn has so many features and options – it can truly be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be! Building your profile to effectively market you and the value you can provide must be done creatively and strategically to show that you are at the top of the game in your field.
Fill your profile out completely. Try to put information in as many sections that are applicable to you.
Add relevant credentials after your name at the top of your profile. If the job or board position you’re vying for recommends an MBA and you have the credential after your name, then the reader does not have to go through the entire profile to find out that you have achieved this level of expertise.
Use keywords or skills in your headline and not just a job title. This not only shows your creativity but is also a strong strategy for being found through SEO searches.
Be sure your profile photo is current and professional looking. Upload a customized banner to add some pizzazz to your profile – having the common LinkedIn blue banner just doesn’t cut it.
Don’t just write a small paragraph in the “About” Instead, use this space (2,600 characters) to introduce yourself to the reader using descriptive keywords, a few quantifiable career highlights, a bulleted list of skills, etc. You can really get some bang for your buck if you can craft an innovative and clever career summary for this section.
Be sure your work experience is consistent with the experience outlined on your resume (dates, titles, achievements, etc.). Inconsistencies between the two documents (yes, hiring managers do check) will either show a lack of attention to detail or that you are being less than honest. Either way, your credibility with the reader just took a nose-dive.
Only include relevant education College degrees and professional development or training activities are great but including your high school years are not.
Certifications and licenses matter, especially if you don’t have a college degree! So many people forget to add their certifications to their profiles.
Memberships in professional organizations can be key in showing that you have been active on corporate boards or are involved in groups within your industry. Many corporations are also interested in candidates who are service-minded within their communities, so including recent volunteer work is also good to include on your profile.
Including your skills is imperative! If you are unsure of the skills that are best in your field, LinkedIn will suggest some for you! Again, this is another section where you need to be creative and strategic. Instead of “Operations”, put “Operations Management” as an entry in this section. Be sure to “pin” your top three skills so the reader can see what you excel at the most at a quick glance.
These are just a few ideas that will help you to build a strong LinkedIn profile. However, you’re not done yet, because building a profile is only the first step in showing your credibility in your field. The next step is to be active on the site.
Networking and Engaging on LinkedIn:
You can connect with hundreds of colleagues and friends on LinkedIn, but if you are not actively engaging and networking on the site, your connections really aren’t going to be of any significance in helping to amplify your value proposition or your credibility for what you do.
Give and ask for recommendations. You don’t need a ton of them – but a few key recommendations from supervisors, clients, board, members, etc. can really help to vouch for who you are, your expertise, how you lead, and the value you can provide in your field.
Connect with key people in your field. Yes, you will have colleagues and old friends who may want to connect with you, and that’s okay. But LinkedIn isn’t about the quantity of connections you have. It’s more about the quality of your connections.
Join industry-specific groups and follow their pages. Watch for posts and other publications that are of interest to you and add your two cents of expertise by commenting on the posts. If you’re in an active job search, this is also an ideal way to see what opportunities are available in your field, especially if you’re targeting a specific company.
In today’s professional (and unpredictable) world, being on LinkedIn is crucial. Making your presence strong and credible is even more important. Build your profile and connections, and then network and engage on a daily basis, or as often as you can to show who you are, what you have achieved, and the credibility and value you offer in your field. You won’t be sorry and may even snag the career opportunity of your dreams!
When a job seeker realizes networking isn’t optional today, they will have a better chance of finding a job quickly. Even executives with extensive careers and who are considered to be experts in their industry have to always be working on their c-level personal branding. There are many misconceptions about networking, including the common belief that it’s not necessary to find a job. Here’s what you need to know about networking to clear up those misconceptions.
Networking Isn’t Asking For Favors
It’s natural for people to not like asking for favors, so they choose to skip networking events. However, your mindset going into a networking event should not be to ask for favors. Rather, it should be to generate engaging conversations with like-minded professionals and see where the relationship goes from there. Asking someone for a favor is not recommended since it could negatively impact your c-level personal branding.
Networking Isn’t Always Formal
If you’re intimidated by the thought of going to a formal event with hundreds of other people, then start out smaller. Make connections through your LinkedIn profile and if you make good conversations with someone, ask if they would like to grab coffee or lunch. Networking doesn’t have to be defined as attending a formal event. Making conversations with people informally is still considered networking and can even be more valuable since you have a one-on-one connection with the person.
Networking Is A Way To Tap Into Hidden Job Markets
The best executive resume writing service can educate you about the hidden job market if you aren’t aware of it. High-level executive jobs aren’t often posted on job boards or anywhere else. You have to know someone to even know there’s a job available. Networking is a perfect way to do it. Keeping up with connections on your LinkedIn profile is an effective method and could lead you to opportunities you didn’t even know were available.
Networking Is Beneficial For Reconnecting
Take some time occasionally to go through your list of connections on your LinkedIn profile and reconnect with them. You don’t have to be actively searching for a job to do so. Your connections will likely appreciate you reaching out to them just to get an update on how their career is going. It’s great for c-level personal branding to always keep your name at the forefront of people’s minds, and making simple conversations is a great way to do it.
Professional Resume Services always stresses the importance of networking to executives who visit us. We can give you tips on how to effectively display your LinkedIn profile, boost your c-level personal branding and much more. A quality resume is only one component of a successful job search, so feel free to reach out to us at any time to ensure you’re covering all bases with yours.
You can take your job search or career to the next level by using all of the features LinkedIn offers to your advantage. The truth is, though, many executives aren’t proactive enough in this regard. A key aspect of your LinkedIn profile development is joining various groups related to your industry. These groups allow you to network with professionals who aren’t currently a part of your network. Whether you’re actively searching for a job or just looking to build credibility, joining groups with your LinkedIn profile is valuable. Here are a few of the most important aspects of LinkedIn groups.
Build Your Credibility
An executive LinkedIn profile writer can help you build your actual profile, but it’s up to you to continue building your credibility. This means posting original articles, commenting on other original articles, participating in meaningful discussions and more. You can build your credibility by offering expertise and not expecting anything back in return. The more your name shows up in these groups in a positive manner, the better the reputation you’ll have.
Learn From Other Experts
When you’re in a LinkedIn group with other experts in your industry, you will almost definitely learn something new. Use this knowledge to your advantage in your current job or use it as a springboard to land your next job. When you approach LinkedIn groups with an open mind, you may come across great opportunities you never expected going in.
Expand Your Network
When you engage in conversations with other group members, they will surely visit your LinkedIn profile. And more often than not, the visit will turn into a new connection to expand your network. At this point, you will be able to see any updates they post to their profile and vice versa. Keeping in touch with your connections is valuable in many ways, even if you’ve never even met them in person.
Create Networking Opportunities
Sometimes you’ll come across people who are close to your home or office and can easily meet up with them for coffee or lunch. Conversations in LinkedIn groups can lead to direct message conversations from your LinkedIn profile. And if there is mutual interest, you can both attend a formal networking event or simply meet up to exchange ideas. Simply being conversational is the first step to creating valuable networking opportunities that can lead to much greater things.
Professional Resume Services focuses on crafting perfect resumes as well as helping clients with their LinkedIn profile development. Many executives overlook important aspects of LinkedIn and we are here to help them take advantage of them. You don’t have to be actively searching for a job to participate in LinkedIn groups, so contact us at any time to see how valuable they can be for you.
3 Ways to Leverage LinkedIn During Your Executive Job Search
Simply having a LinkedIn profile is better than not having one at all. However, you’re missing out on great opportunities if you don’t take advantage of everything the platform has to offer. Whether you’re unemployed and searching for a job or if you’re ready to move on from your current employer, prioritizing LinkedIn profile development can be a great first step in getting into the position you want. Here are a few effective ways to make the most out of your LinkedIn profile during an executive job search.
Find Networking Opportunities
Any good professional LinkedIn profile writer will suggest using the platform as a way to reach out to people and discover networking opportunities. One of the worst things you can do is find people who work at the company you’re interested in and messaging them to let them know you’re searching for a job. The better approach would be to do your research and find mutual connections so you have a way to connect with the person. Invite them to a networking event you will be attending in the near future, or maybe even invite them to coffee or lunch just to discuss career opportunities.
Complete Your Profile With Relevant Keywords
Your LinkedIn executive profile won’t help your job search if you don’t have the right amount of relevant keywords. Employers have a specific set of search terms they likely use to find qualified candidates, so working with a professional LinkedIn profile writer to ensure they are incorporated properly is very valuable. The keywords themselves are important, but the location of the keywords is also an overlooked factor. SEO is a big part of LinkedIn, so focusing on it as part of your LinkedIn profile development is critical.
Inform Your Connections of Your Job Search
There’s usually no harm in letting your connections know you’re actively looking for a job. Of course, the only problem this could cause is if you’re still employed and your current employer somehow finds out about your messages. But if you’re unemployed, a professional LinkedIn profile writer may suggest putting a message in your contact section indicating you’re open to opportunities. Sometimes recruiters will only reach out to people if they know for sure they are looking for a new job.
Professional Resume Services is here to help you utilize the most important aspects of LinkedIn to boost your job search efforts. While the platform is an important one to be on and be active with during your job search, there are plenty of wrong ways to use it as well. If you haven’t had to go through a job search in a while, it’s understandably difficult to know exactly what you need to do. When you find yourself in this situation, feel free to reach out to us at any time and we will guide you along the way.
A major part of a job search involves making your personal brand appear to be what you want it to be. However, executives often make the mistake of gearing their c-level personal branding more toward what they want others to perceive of them, rather than showing who they really are. The problem with this is recruiters and hiring managers can see right through it. All it takes is a little bit of inconsistency and your job search could be ruined. So when it comes to personal branding for senior level managers, being truthful and honest are the best ways to go.
Why Some People Are Hesitant To Show Their True Brand
Some people resist demonstrating their true brand because they don’t want the world to know what their personality is. If you haven’t conducted a job search in several years, you may remember thinking your resume needs to follow a certain pattern or standard and shouldn’t deviate from the norm. Times have changed now and hiring managers want to know who they are hiring as a person and a professional. While it’s understandable to be uncomfortable showing your brand, it’s important to also know that differentiation is critical when it comes to being recognized.
A Personality Fit is Important To Employers
When you show some of your personality on your LinkedIn profile, recruiters will get a glimpse into who you are as a person. A solid mix of professional achievements and personal experiences will bode well on your LinkedIn profile and will increase the chances of you getting noticed. The more natural the language in your profile sounds, the better your c-level personal branding efforts will be, especially when you back it up in your verbal language and your resume. Companies prioritize hiring people with good personality fits now, so never hesitate to show a little.
Your Personal Brand Presents Unique Value
Without c-level personal branding, executives have no real way of standing out among dozens of other job applicants. You have a great opportunity to distinguish yourself with your personality and tie in how your personality offers value to the company. This could mean working well as a team, the ability to think creatively, be a leader or anything else. Professional achievements for executives often seem similar on paper, so your personal brand could be what sets you apart and gives you a better chance of landing the job you want.
Professional Resume Services is here to help executives make sure all bases are covered when it comes to their job search. Personal branding is a much larger aspect of a job search today than it was several years ago. Sometimes all it takes is optimizing your LinkedIn profile, while other times you may need to work on your entire online presence to show your true brand. Regardless of where you’re at in your searching efforts, feel free to give us a call if you need assistance along the way.
How to Make Your Social Networking Work for You, Not Against You
Networking has changed in many different ways over the last several years. Nowadays, many people who attend actual networking events are already familiar with the people in attendance, even though they’ve never actually met before. The power of social networking is phenomenal and plays a significant role in c-level personal branding. Everything you do online is critiqued and criticized, so it can be easy to make mistakes and derail your job search. Here are a few effective ways to make your social networking efforts work in your favor.
Make Engaging And Insightful Posts
Before you even begin reaching out to potential connections, see if a professional LinkedIn profile writer can help you optimize your profile as much as possible. Once you’ve got the basics covered, then put together a string of insightful posts that are attractive for your targeted audience. This should include a mix of original thoughts, ideas or article, as well as articles from other sources. And when you identify people you want to connect with, start sharing their articles and posts as well and they will take notice of you.
Interact With People Appropriately
You definitely don’t want to appear to be a stalker, but you also want to reach out to people appropriately to demonstrate your c-level personal branding. Targeting people on LinkedIn or other social media platforms means identifying people who work for companies you may be interested in working for. It could also mean connecting with people and developing mutually-beneficial professional relationships with them. You can start off by making subtle comments on their social media posts and eventually reaching out to them to introduce yourself.
Build Your Online Brand And Work Towards Meeting In Person
A big part of c-level personal branding online starts with LinkedIn profile development. A solid profile is attractive and can tell anyone who visits it a lot about who you are. Once you’ve interacted with a connection for a while and can see the value of meeting them in person, don’t hesitate to extend an invitation to them to do so. However, without building this social networking relationship upfront, the chances of them accepting your invitation are very low. Developing positive social networking relationships can open up doors to many different opportunities in your future.
At Professional Resume Services, we believe LinkedIn profile development is a critical aspect of your job search efforts. Too many executives make critical mistakes with their social networking and they damage their job search as a result. The main thing to remember is to always be conscious of what you post online and ask yourself if it helps your c-level personal branding or hurts it. To learn more about how social networking works and how you can benefit from it, feel free to contact us at any time.
How to Use Your Time Wisely When Searching for an Executive Job
Not too many people truly enjoy the time they spend searching for a new job. While working with an executive resume writer can be an enjoyable and pleasant experience, it’s not the first place executives want to be at any given day. Sometimes you can’t control how long it takes an employer to hire a candidate, but you can take some steps to use your time more wisely and shorten the search process. Here are a few effective time management tips to consider when job searching.
Know Exactly What You Want
Think about your past experience, what value you bring to the table and what you actually want to do. There may be some aspects that are non-negotiable, so be sure to identify those in your thought process. Just remember to be realistic in this regard so you don’t eliminate yourself from too many potential jobs. Once you know exactly what you want out of a job, you can start writing an effective resume geared toward it.
Be Realistic When Setting Goals
If you’re unemployed and looking for a job, it’s usually unrealistic to think you can spend eight hours per day on a job search. Burnout is just as real with a job search as it is with jobs themselves, so consider designating a couple of hours each day to work hard at it. This can involve visiting a professional resume writing service, attending a networking event, tweaking your social media profiles and more. Setting realistic goals will help you prevent burnout and keep you motivated.
Network
Many job openings are filled through networking rather than through traditional channels. Your time can be spent wisely by attending and actively participating in networking events. You never know whom you might meet at these events, so always be sure to bring your best. And it’s wise to also ask an executive resume writer to take a look at your resume to ensure it’s polished enough to bring to these important events.
Get Professional Advice With Your Resume
You don’t want to waste any time sending out resumes with mistakes on them. You could essentially be spinning your wheels with your job search and not even know it. Get ahead of any potential issues by working with a professional resume writing service upfront. They can help identify and fix any problems on your resume and modernize it for today’s job searching landscape to make your time be spent more efficiently.
Professional Resume Services is known as a professional resume writing service, but we are much more than just that. We enjoy the opportunity to be involved in an executive’s job searching efforts and help them find the job they desire. The landscape of job searching has changed drastically over the years, and we are here to help guide you in the right direction. Never hesitate to contact us if you need any guidance along your journey.
The vast majority of employers today look on social networks before even considering bringing a candidate in for an interview. Too many executives believe they don’t need an online presence since the experience on their resume speaks for itself. However, sometimes not having an online presence at all is perceived as being just as bad as having a negative presence. At the very least, it’s important to work with a LinkedIn profile service to develop a profile you can point to online for recruiters. Here’s what you need to know about social recruiting today.
Why Employers Look For Social Proof
Any professional LinkedIn profile writer will tell you a resume is great, but you have to back it up with social proof. Employers want to be able to validate who you say you are from your resume and learn more about your life in general. They will look at your LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Facebook and any other profiles you have to gather this information. They aren’t necessarily stalking you, but rather, they just want to be sure you are who you say you are before they make an investment in hiring you.
Social Networking Can Help And Hurt Your Personal Brand
A good rule of thumb before beginning a job search is to clean up your online presence. Start by doing a Google search of your name and see what results show up. A good LinkedIn profile service can help you incorporate the right keywords into your profile to give it a better chance of showing up higher in the results. If all the right things show up with a Google search, then you will likely enhance your c-level personal branding significantly. On the other hand, you can hurt it just as quickly if you have some things about yourself you don’t want others to know on your profiles.
Always Be Consistent Across All Platforms
When it comes to c-level personal branding, recruiters and hiring managers look for consistency across all platforms. A professional LinkedIn profile writer can help you develop your profile based on your resume, and it’s up to you to make sure your other social networks are consistent as well. Nothing will hurt your chances of landing a job more than when a recruiter can’t get a feel of who you are by looking at your resume and online presence.
At Professional Resume Services, we know social recruiting is more of the norm today than it has ever been before. That’s one of the reasons why our LinkedIn profile service is helpful for executives. Details matter when crafting the perfect profile, just like a resume or cover letter. We are always available to help with every aspect of a job search as well as offering helpful advice to boost your c-level personal branding. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time if you need assistance with any stage of your career.
