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onlineKate Mulcrone

What’s the first hit when you Google yourself? Probably your LinkedIn profile — and

that’s good news. When you optimize your LinkedIn presence, you can practi-cally tell Google how to put your career in context for people on whose profes-sional radar you’d like to be, whether you know it or not.

“So few people realize that they con-trol how others perceive them and that their online presence is truly who they are, digitally,” Donna Serdula, author of LinkedIn Makeover: Professional Secrets to a Powerful LinkedIn Profile and the forthcoming LinkedIn for Dum-mies, said in an interview with Convene.

“You need to consistently revisit where you are online. When you Google your name, what comes up?”

When Serdula speaks to groups about how to leverage social-media networks in business, she stresses that LinkedIn is a critical reputation-man-agement tool for professionals in all industries. “Your resume is your profes-sional past, and your LinkedIn profile is your career future,” she said. “It’s who you are. You have a chance to control how people perceive you through your LinkedIn profile.”

T H I N K B E YO N D T H E R E S U M E  First, Serdula encourages audiences to put more effort into building out their LinkedIn profiles. “You have a chance to really control how you’re perceived,” she said, “but most people just copy-and-paste their resume.”

It’s important to think beyond the “resume block” to create a stronger profile. Don’t limit yourself to a list of duties you performed, think about

how each of your jobs has fit into your career path, and contextualize your employment history based on your future goals. “Recognize that you can really be very strategic and you can design and define perception,” Serdula said, “by stating very clearly who you are and what you want.”

C O N N E C T, C O N N E C T, C O N N E C T

One of the most common questions Serdula gets after presentations is whether or not to connect with people you’ve never met on LinkedIn. “A lot of times people worry about who they’re connecting with, and don’t see the bigger picture that there is a LinkedIn network that is three degrees out,” she said. “It’s not just who you connect to, but who your network is connected to. They don’t realize that opportu-nity isn’t just with who you know. It’s

Missing LinksIf your idea of getting the most out of LinkedIn is to copy-and-paste your resume and only connect with the people you know — you need to rethink your approach.

‘Your resume is your professional past, and your LinkedIn profile is your career future. It’s who you are. You have a chance to control how people perceive you through your LinkedIn profile.’

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PCMACONVENE .ORG JULY 2016 P C M A C O N V E N E 3 7

B R E A KO U T

Strictly Professional

“LinkedIn is not the easy social network to get your hands around,” according to Donna Serdula. That’s especially true when it comes to the distinction between LinkedIn and other social-media platforms.

“I truly believe you need to, first and foremost, think to yourself, Why am I on LinkedIn? What am I trying to get out of it?,” Serdula said. “LinkedIn is not Facebook and it’s not Twitter. It’s purely professional. It’s career-oriented. You’re not going to get on LinkedIn and use it to post statuses about football and TV shows. It is a place to go for your industry, for your career.”

In other words, keep your Linked-In presence strictly professional.

“You determine how people perceive you,” Serdula said, “and you need to be looking at who you are online, what is that digital footprint, what does it say?”

O N T H E W E B

› For more information about Donna Serdula, visit linkedin-makeover.com.

› For information about Digital Event Specialist (DES) certification, news about virtual and hybrid events, educational opportunities, a resource directory, and more, visit PCMA’s Virtual Edge Institute at virtualedgeinstitute.com.

worthwhile to look and be a little bit more open — maybe not so open that you’re connecting with everyone and their brother, but to be open.”

Serdula sees the social/professional balance on LinkedIn as similar to the dynamic at a business reception.

“When you go to a networking event, or when you go to a conference, you don’t stand in a corner only shaking hands with the people you know,” she said. “You want to network. You want to move out. You want to see who else is out there. You want to meet people. I find that that’s the way a person should approach LinkedIn, but they often just want to stay in the corner connecting to the people that they know.”

D O M O R E T H A N JO B -H U N T  Serdula also reminds her audiences that LinkedIn isn’t just for job hunting.

“Some people are on it for reputation

Virtual Edge InstituteWhat should meeting planners keep in mind when maintaining a professional social-media presence?

J E F F H U RT› Executive Vice President, Education and Engagement, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting› Member, Virtual Edge Institute Advisory Board

Whether you use social media to communicate, market your services and events, generate leads, learn, stay abreast of trends, network, be found via search, or develop a thought-leader status, you need a profile that reflects who you

are. You want to do what you can to help your professional social-media profile stand out from the rest.

Whatever you do, don’t con-fuse that word professional with stale, uniform, ubiqui-tous sameness. You want to be unique and showcase your rock-star meeting ex-traordinaire status. Use short, headline-type words to speak directly to your audience as you clearly and concisely

state your specialty, expertise, and sweet spot. Post a cur-rent professional photo that shows your personality, and avoid using the same pose that everyone else has.

And if you cringe at the thought of new custom-ers, potential employers, business partners, and sponsors finding you online, it’s time to embrace some 21st-century TLC! Ask your kids or nieces and nephews to help you create that first bold and distinguished social-media profile.

management,” she said. “Some people are on it to be seen as thought leaders. Some people are on it for funding, for partnership. And some people are on it to recruit better candidates.

“I always say, dig your well before you’re thirsty,” Serdula said. “Get on it to help people and have fun and deliver value and inspire people. That’s when you’re going to find that good things start to happen. Post articles about your industry. Use it for your perceived marketing. This way people see it and remember you. I think a lot of people still have a non-social-media mindset. They look at LinkedIn and they don’t see it in a strategic manner. They don’t look at it as a way of getting them to the next stage of their career. They don’t look at it as helping them move through their career.” .Kate Mulcrone is Convene’s digital editor.

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