It’s only natural to be concerned about your privacy with anything you post online about yourself. In fact, sometimes people will refuse to use social media platforms, including LinkedIn, due to privacy concerns. While everyone has their own views on this subject, it’s also important to know the ramifications of not having an executive LinkedIn profile when conducting a job search. Here are some of the main points you need to know about the consequences of not having a LinkedIn profile.
Hiring Managers Expect To See A Candidate’s LinkedIn Profile
In this day and age, recruiters and hiring managers will look at an executive LinkedIn profile before they even look at a resume, in some cases. If you don’t have a profile set up, it could send a message that you’re behind the times, aren’t technologically savvy and more. While these may not necessarily be fair assumptions, it’s the reality of the times we live in today. If you’re truly concerned about privacy, consider working with LinkedIn profile development services you trust so you can feel more comfortable with the information put online about yourself.
You May Miss Out On Opportunities
Many job opportunities are only posted on LinkedIn or are found by networking through LinkedIn. When you optimize your LinkedIn profile, you give yourself more visibility to be discovered by recruiters and could be presented with more opportunities than you would get without having a profile. A secret many employers won’t tell job candidates is they will check their LinkedIn profile immediately after looking at their resume. If a resume presents a good candidate, but a hiring manager can’t find any other information about the person online, it could get their resume thrown out of the candidate pool.
Carefully Weigh Your Risks
It’s understandable to be concerned about privacy of your executive LinkedIn profile. However, you also have to be conscious of the times we live in and weigh your risks. Networking is such an essential component of developing a career today, and LinkedIn provides a valuable platform for doing so. Not having a LinkedIn profile may not necessarily mean you’ll be unemployed, but the chances are greater of you not finding the job you’ve always desired. Professional Resume Services not only helps develop the perfect resume, but we also enjoy helping executives strategize their job search. Our LinkedIn profile development services are top notch and we know how to design it strategically to help get you noticed. Privacy concerns are always valid, and we can help answer any questions you may have about them. Feel free to contact us at any time if you have any reservations about using LinkedIn to enhance your career.
Everything You Should Know About LinkedIn Influencers
The LinkedIn Influencer program has been around for several years and has only gained in popularity. “Influencers” are generally people who have succeeded in business and life; however, their footprint could be expanding soon. The program helps those people boost their brand, and it also helps followers and readers get some valuable insight into their minds and professional expertise. Any member of LinkedIn can read their posts, and it doesn’t take a LinkedIn profile service to figure it out. However, what exactly was the LinkedIn Influencer program designed to do? Here is some great information.
Diversity in Both Influencers and Readers
The diversity in the Influencers program means there is also great reader diversity. Any given article an Influencer posts can reach tens of thousands of unique views in a short amount of time. With a few hundred Influencers in the program, regular followers can get some valuable insight from a variety of sources.
Reach Larger Audiences
Entrepreneurs and executives who are a part of the LinkedIn Influencer program have reaped the benefits of gaining new followers. They can reach a new audience simply by posting their professional thoughts on LinkedIn. However, this also gives a chance for followers to interact with those Influencers and their followers as well. Before you get too active in the conversation, though, be sure to get with a LinkedIn profile writer to polish up your online presence.
What to do as a Follower
There are a couple things a follower, who isn’t an Influencer, can do to take advantage of the program:
Find Influencers relevant to your situation. You don’t have to limit yourself to the amount of Influencers you follow, but you can easily find a handful you relate to. When you follow them, you’ll be able to easily see what they write and can check out their past and current posts.
Get involved with conversations. You can comment on posts, reply to other followers’ comments and more. You may or may not receive a reply from the Influencer themselves, but being active in conversation will get your name recognized without even having to use a LinkedIn profile service.
At Professional Resume Services, we understand the value in LinkedIn profile development services, and can help you navigate the Influencer program for your benefit. If you’d like more information, or need a LinkedIn profile writer for any reason, feel free to contact us at any time.
Recent LinkedIn Changes: What Executives Should Know
LinkedIn has recently made some changes to their platform, and executives need to know about them. Some of these changes are minor and won’t affect how you use the website, but it’s always good to minimize surprises. We understand some executives don’t spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, so it’s important to get assistance from LinkedIn profile development services at the very least. This will help ensure your online presence is as up to date and professional as possible. Here are some of the changes you should be aware of, whether you develop your LinkedIn profile personally or not.
Gauging Profile Effectiveness
If you frequently viewed your profile ranking based on your connections, you may notice the feature is removed. This was a great tool to allow users to gauge their profile effectiveness. The most current way to determine profile effectiveness is to look at the amount of activity generated. Any LinkedIn profile service can quickly determine how effective your profile is and what you can do to give it a boost.
Messaging Changes
The InMail feature is no longer free. So if you used that feature often, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid membership. You can still message people who aren’t your connections for free, but you’ll have to do some research to figure out how to email them directly. The messaging feature for your connections has gone to a similar platform as Twitter and Facebook. The key to messaging people you aren’t connected to, without InMail, is to be in the same groups as them so you can then message them directly.
Learn to Adapt to Change
Change always happens in business, so it’s no surprise LinkedIn has had to make some necessary changes to their platform. Most of these changes are self-explanatory, but if you need a LinkedIn profile writer to help you navigate them all, don’t hesitate to hire one. The best LinkedIn profile development services will help you understand what changes are most important and how you should adapt to them. Decide what you use LinkedIn for to determine whether a paid membership is worth it with these new changes in place. Professional Resume Services keeps people up-to-date on latest developments of LinkedIn, so professionals and executives won’t be taken by surprise. If you feel the need to utilize a LinkedIn profile service to help you adapt to the recent LinkedIn changes, feel free to contact us at any time.
Everything You Should Know About LinkedIn Endorsements
If you’re new to LinkedIn, or just noticed the endorsements feature, there are some things you need to know. Recruiters and hiring managers take all endorsements with a grain of salt, but they still usually won’t hurt your chances of landing an interview. These endorsements can come from former or current co-workers, friends or even family members. The point is to highlight your skills and post them on your LinkedIn profile for everyone to see. Many LinkedIn profile development services will help you manage your endorsements so you can highlight the important ones and make your profile stand out more. Here are some things to keep in mind about LinkedIn endorsements.
Manage and Edit Your Endorsements
Sometimes your family members or friends will endorse you for a skill without even knowing if you’re good at it. Recruiters may view that negatively since it’s possible you’re using them to boost your endorsements. The key to good LinkedIn profile writing is to highlight the professional endorsements from people you’ve actually worked with in the past.
Return the Favor with Endorsements
If a colleague endorsed you for a skill, be sure and return the favor and endorse them with one of their skills as well. LinkedIn profile development services suggest staying as active as you can on LinkedIn to show you are well connected. Endorsing others will help give you a better professional reputation.
Endorsements Show What Professionals Think of You
LinkedIn endorsements should be thought of as completely separate honors than recommendations. A recommendation is generally a few sentences stating what a person is good at and how they can bring value to a company. An endorsement is just a quick acknowledgement of a skill without any explanation. Still, other professionals will take notice if you have several endorsements and may contact you if you are endorsed in a skill they require.
Don’t Take Endorsements Too Seriously
The main thing the best professional resume writers will tell you is to not take LinkedIn endorsements too seriously. With the social media world today, everything seems like a popularity contest with how many “likes” you can get on a post or a picture. LinkedIn doesn’t work that way. They are nice to have, but don’t get too down on yourself if you don’t have multiple endorsements coming in every day. LinkedIn profile writing can be tricky. We understand the struggle some executives have, so feel free to contact us if you are ever uncomfortable with how your LinkedIn profile looks.
The Why and How of Incorporating Social Media Into Your Job Search This New Year
Traditional approaches to finding a new job are no longer viable options. Nowadays, if you don’t have an online presence by way of social media, then you will find yourself way behind the curve. As an executive with years of experience, you may not think social media is important for your career, but you could be missing out on great opportunities. With the competition being as high as it’s ever been, LinkedIn profile development services are constantly helping executives stay on top of the curve. Here are some important things you need to know about how and why to incorporate social media into your job search.
Why is Social Media Important?
The majority of executive jobs aren’t posted online. Companies are using recruiting services and headhunters to find the best talent to fill their jobs, which further stresses the importance of LinkedIn profile development services. If you don’t have a complete social media presence, then your chances of being found are slim-to-none. Hiring a LinkedIn profile service to help you develop your profile is a great way to start off your job search the right way this year. You need to have the right keywords, phrases, skills and experience listed on your profile in order to get recognized. Executives don’t always know or understand what recruiters are looking for, so different services can help polish up your profile to make it as effective and recognizable as possible.
How to Carefully Incorporate Social Media Into Your Job Search
Social media can put you ahead of the curve or it can seriously diminish your chances of getting a job, depending on how you utilize it. Just like headhunters use social media to find executives to fill positions, you can use it to your benefit as well. Instead of replying to a job post online, look up some high-level people at the company on LinkedIn and reach out to them personally. This could help your name stand out, but you also want to be careful not to overdo it. If you don’t receive a response within a week, you can follow-up, but don’t keep bugging them to the point where they ignore you completely.
How to Begin
Start by looking into LinkedIn profile writing services. These services will help you with the dos and don’ts of social media when it pertains to your job search. Once you have an understanding of how social media can work for you and against you, you’ll be able to jump-start your job search this New Year. For more information about the ins-and-outs of the relationship between social media and your job search, feel free to reach out to us at any time.
LinkedIn is one of the best online social networking tools you can use to help land the job you want. However, there are some myths you need to know of in order to completely reap the benefits of your LinkedIn profile service. Some of them are helpful to know about, while others could completely put a halt to your job search if you aren’t careful.
Myth #1 – Only Connect With People You Know Well
The first thing LinkedIn profile development services will tell you is you don’t want to connect with just anyone, but you also shouldn’t only connect with people you know personally. There’s nothing wrong with sending an invitation to connect with someone who you met at a social event, or maybe even in a virtual group on LinkedIn itself. As long as there is a mutual benefit to be had, the other person will appreciate the invitation.
Myth #2 – LinkedIn is Only Beneficial for Job Hunts
When utilized correctly, LinkedIn can help develop your personal brand and properly depict your career progression over the years. If you need to, consult a professional LinkedIn profile writer to help keep your profile up-to-date. Even if you aren’t actively looking for a job, a recruiter may come across your profile and offer a better opportunity to you. Also, by using LinkedIn actively, you can keep track of your connections and find out some interesting things about your industry from real people who are in it with you.
Myth #3 – Building a LinkedIn Profile Will Create Job Offers
It doesn’t matter if you are a professional LinkedIn profile writer or not, simply posting a profile won’t send job offers flying in to you. It’s possible for you to receive a few inquiries, but you also have to be somewhat active on the site. Even more importantly, if you are searching for a job, make it clear in your profile. Put your contact information clearly where a recruiter can see it to make it easier for them to get in touch with you.
Myth #4 – LinkedIn Groups Don’t Provide Real Benefits
Some people think LinkedIn groups won’t benefit them much. However, if you ask a LinkedIn profile service, they may tell you you’re not using LinkedIn groups properly. Many people join groups, but don’t engage in them. If you start conversations and intellectual discussions, other people are more likely to join in. By networking with other executives, you’ll be able to help each other stay on top of your respective industries. The more the people in the group see your name, the more they will remember it if a job opportunity ever becomes available. There are a lot of facts and myths when it comes to online networking, and LinkedIn is no different. Whether you’re just beginning to create a LinkedIn profile, or if you are stuck and need to give yours a facelift, feel free to reach out and we will be happy to assist you in any way we can.
Why Shouldn't You Treat Your LinkedIn Profile in Quite the Same Way as Your Resume?
It takes a lot of hard work and effort to craft the perfect resume. When you’ve finally got it just how you want it, you may be tempted to copy and paste the information into your LinkedIn profile. However, the two should be separated for a few important reasons. The substance of your profile can be similar to your resume, but you need to add a little more style and creativity. Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t treat LinkedIn the same way as your resume.
Repetitive Information is Boring
If an employer likes your resume, they might get online to check out your social media pages. A LinkedIn profile with the same exact information is boring. Employers want to find out new information you normally wouldn’t include on a formal resume. Tell a story or two about certain accomplishments you list on your resume. If you have a hard time distinguishing the two styles, you may benefit from LinkedIn profile writing services. Just think of LinkedIn as an extension of your resume rather than a copy of it. Create an interesting summary, make it personal (you can use personal pronouns such as “I”, “me” or “my” here. Make it uniquely yours.
Support Your Claims
Your resume is designed to make you look good in short statements. LinkedIn allows you to support those statements with evidence. If you’ve received an endorsement or a recommendation from a former supervisor or boss, include it on your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is designed to let you show your accomplishments instead of just talking about them. The more detail you go in to support your claims, the better off you’ll be.
The best place to start is listing any specific accomplishments regarding a past job. Go into detail about how you were able to accomplish something and how you helped the company grow or succeed as a result. Employers want to know how you did a task just as much as they are interested in what you did. Your LinkedIn profile is the perfect place to showcase that.
Be Conversational
Any LinkedIn profile development services will tell you to avoid resume language when creating your profile. The more conversational you are in your writing tone, the more you will relate to the person reading about your skills and expertise. If writing isn’t your strong suit, consider having a friend or a professional read over your profile before you publish it. Without sounding like you’re bragging on yourself, you need to highlight what you’ve done at past jobs and how these achievements make you a good fit for the job you’re looking for.
Developing a LinkedIn profile different from your resume may seem like a tough task. However, once you find the perfect balance between professional and casual, it won’t be difficult at all. If you need help getting started, or at any point in the process, feel free to get in touch with us.
Be Sure to Avoid These Five Typical Mistakes While Networking
Companies are leaning on referrals more and more these days. A referral allows the company to find an excellent candidate without paying a pricey recruiter or hiring multiple HR people to sort through resumes. It’s a win-win for businesses, employees (who often get referral bonuses) and job seekers.
… Except when you’re a job seeker who doesn’t know how to network. With networking becoming more and more important in the competitive job market, those who cannot connect end up without a job (or at least one they like).
So make sure you get that dream job by upping your networking game and avoiding these five mistakes:
Displace Face-to-Face
Repeat after me, “You cannot do every aspect of your job search online.” Individuals starting to look for employment often immediately turn to the Internet to find their next gig. We forget that people were finding jobs before the advent of the world wide web. You can, too! Get out there and meet people in person. It’s much easier to reject an email than the face in front of you.
Give Before You Get
It’s vital to give before you get – when talking about networking. You cannot expect someone you just began developing a relationship with to give you exactly what you want immediately. You need to let the relationship grow. The quickest way to develop a relationship is to provide the other person value.
Lame LinkedIn Profile
While face-to-face contact cannot be replaced, utilizing LinkedIn comes in a close second. If you have a lame LinkedIn presence, you’ll be missing out on a number of opportunities. Every HR director and recruiter is constantly on LinkedIn building their networks. You should be, too! This means updating your profile constantly and finding ways to add value to the platform.
P.S.: If you’re struggling to gain ground on the best business social media site, it may be your profile. Luckily, LinkedIn profile development services and LinkedIn profile writing services are our specialties. Click here to learn more.
Become a Professional
If you’re using social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to network, then you must keep your image as professional as possible online. That HR professional with a perfect gig for you doesn’t want to know how “turnt” you got last weekend with the “squad” in Vegas. Trust me. Instead, try sharing that industry-specific insight you found in Forbes with a little commentary. Keeping your social media clean is just as important as using professional resume writing services.
Go to Contacts
Many would-be-great networkers fail to do one thing properly: follow through. These people are great at making introductions, contacts and more, yet they find their networks stagnating because they fail to stay in touch, give and follow up. If there’s one thing you should take from this piece, it’s to always follow up with contacts that could benefit you down the road. Keep developing those relationships!
