Download - Maximize Your Use of LinkedIn!€¦ · Maximize Your Use of LinkedIn! ~~~~~ The Reality • LinkedIn is currently the most powerful professional online networking tool. • Worldwide

KeithCarlson,RN,BSN,NC-BC NurseKeith.com

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MaximizeYourUseofLinkedIn!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TheReality• LinkedIniscurrentlythemostpowerfulprofessionalonlinenetworkingtool.

• Worldwideusersnumberinthehundredsofmillions.

• Forbuildinganauthenticonlinenetwork,there’snothinglikeit.

• LinkedInisactuallyapowerfulsearchenginedisguisedassocialmedia

• ManyemployersandcolleaguesimmediatelyGooglethosewhoapplyforpositions,andrareonesevenrequireaLinkedInprofileratherthanaresume.

What’stheproblem?

• Manyuserssimplydon’tknowhowtoeffectivelyusetheplatform.

• People“collect”connectionsandcontactsbutdonothingwiththem.

• Usersdotoomuchself-promotionandnotenoughpromotingofothers(thisisarampantpracticeonmostsocialmediaplatforms).

• Notfollowingupisoneofthecardinalsinsofnetworking(alsorampant).

• There’snoexcusefornetworkinginawaythatdoesn’tfosterrealrelationships.

• ManypeopleerroneouslyseeLinkedInassimplyanonlineresume.

• Valuableonline“realestate”andopportunitiesarewastedbysomanyuserswhodon’tknowbetter.


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Whatcanyoudo?• Maximizeyourprofile

• Learnhowtousekeywordstoenhanceyourvisibility

• Searchforkindredspiritsandcolleagues,invitingthemtoconnectthroughpersonalizedinvitations

• EnhanceconnectionswiththosewithwhomyoufeelmostalignedbyofferingtoconnectviaphoneorSkype(oreven“inreallife”)

• Buildrelationshipsbysharingandconnectingwithothers

• Endorse,recommend,andsupportothers

• Request(andgive)recommendations

• UseLinkedInPulsetowritetargetedpoststhatshowcaseyourexpertise

• Joingroups,takepartindiscussions,andconnectsomemore

• Startyourowngroup

• Followcompaniesandbrandsyouadmire


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Itallbeginswithyourprofile

YourLinkedInprofileisyourprofessionalwindowontheworld.Itshowcaseswhoyouare,whatyoudo,whatyou’vedone,andwhoyouknow.Yourprofilecanbeminimal,elaborate,orsomewhereinbetween.Ipersonallyrecommendmakingyourprofileasrobust,informative,andpersonalaspossible.

Pleasenotethatwhenyou’refirstonLinkedIn,youmayenduponyourhomepage,notyourprofile.Youcangettoyourprofileintwoways:1)clickonthelittlethumbnailofyourprofileintheleft-handcolumn;2)clickonthelittlephotoofyouintheupperright-handcornerandthensee“Viewyourprofile”inthemenu.

GettingstartedOnceyou’vecreatedaprofile(oryou’rereadytoenhancetheprofileyoustartedin2009andhavebeensummarilyignoring),Ifindit’sbesttoworkfromthetopdown.

YourLinkedInprofileconsistsofvarioussectionsthateachdeservesattention.

AgoodwaytolearnaboutLinkedInprofilesistolookatothers’profilesandseewhatyoulikeanddon’tlike.Peruse30or40profilesandyou’llknowwhichonesarerobustlyinterestingandwhichonesarelikefallowgroundwaitingforwater.

Yoursocialmediaplatformsareonlyasgoodastheinformationyoupopulatethemwith,sogetwiththeprogramandplantyourseedswithcare.


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Butbeforeyoubegineditingaway,thereareseveralthingsyoucando.First,intheupperright-handcornerofyourprofile,clickonyourlittlephotoicon.Choose“PrivacyandSettings”fromthechoicesthatnowappear.

Whenyou’veclickedon“PrivacyandSettings”,you’llseethreecolumns:Account,Privacy,andCommunications.Thisiswhereyoucanchangeallofthevarioussettingsforyouraccount.

Under“Privacy”,themiddlecolumn,clickon“SharingProfileEdits”anddeselectthatoptionfornow;thiswillensurethateverylittlechangeyoumakewon’tbebroadcastouttoeveryoneinyournetwork.Thisisjustanicewaytonotbotherthemwithazillionnotificationsabouteverytinychangeyoumaketoyourprofile.(Youcancheckthatboxagainwhenyourprofileeditingismoreorlesscomplete.)

Under“ProfileViewingOptions”;selectthe“Yournameandheadline”forwhatothersseewhenyou’veviewedtheirprofile.BeasopenandtransparentonLinkedInaspossiblesinceit’sallaboutseeingandbeingseen.


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EditingInordertoedityourprofile,yousimplygotothesectionyou’dliketoeditandclickonthe“pencil”iconintheright-handcornerofthatsection.Thereisnolongeran“editmode”foryourprofileliketheolddays;youjusteditthesectionyouwanttochange,andthenhit“save”.It’smuchsimplerthanitusedtobeinthisrespect.

Fromthetop!Thetopofyourprofileisimportant;it’sbasicallythestuffthat’s“abovethefold”,toborrowanoldnewspaperterm.Thismeansthatifyourphoto,headline,andtitlecatchtheeyeofavisitor,theymaychoosetolookfurtherandscrolldown“belowthefold”(aka:thebottomportionoftheircomputerscreen).

Yourphotoshouldbeaprofessional-typeheadshot,notaphotoofyouwithyourdogormuggingforthecamerawhileonvacation.

Yourprofilerepresentsyouandyourprofessionalism,soit’sworthspendingtimegettingitright.

Asyoucanseefrommyprofile,Ihavemynameandsalientcredentialsatthetop,followedbyaheadlinethatspecificallystatesmyobjective,includingapithycalltoaction(“Let’screatetogether!”)

Yourheadlineneedstoclearlystatewhatyoudo,notjustsimplylistatitlelike“CEO”or“Owner”,whichmeansalmostnothinginthecontextofasearchengine.


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Let’stalkkeywordsLet’spauseforthecauseofkeywords,shallwe?LikeIsaidonpageone,LinkedInisactuallyapowerfulsearchenginedisguisedassocialmedia.Soifyouwantasearchenginetofindyou,whatdoyoudo?Youusekeywordsinordertobevisibleinrelevantsearches.Therefore,yourheadline(andyourentireprofile)shouldbeseededwiththewordsthatwilllinkyoutoyourindustryorprofessionalgoals.(ie:Myprofileispepperedwith“nurse”,“nursing”,“nurses”,“coach”,“coaching”,“healthcare”,etc.Yougettheidea.)

YourcustomURLNextyouwanttocustomizeyourLinkedInURL(webaddress).Havinga“vanityURL”foryourLinkedInprofileallowsyoutohaveahandydandyandeasytorememberprofile“address”toputonyourbusinesscard,brochure,resume,orothermaterials.ThiswillgiveyouanattractiveURLtouseeverywhere,andyoucanwriteitlikethis(sinceuppercasevs.lowercasedoesn’treallymatter):

LinkedIn.com/in/DonaldDuckRN

Thisisanicelittleenhancement,andyoujusthavetotryuntilyoufindonethatisn’talreadybeingused.Forme,“KeithCarlson”wasalreadytaken,butwhenIaddedmymiddlename,“Allan”,Iwasallset.So,insteadofsomeridiculousdefaultsetofnumbersandletters,myURLissimply:LinkedIn.com/in/KeithAllanCarlson.

Tomakethischange,it’snowsupereasy.Onthehomepageofyourprofile,youwillseearight-handcolumnwithablueboxlabeled“Addanewprofilesection”.Youcan,ofcourse,addothersectionstoyourprofilefromthere,butIwantyoutolookjustbelowthatwhereitsays,“Edityourpublicprofile”.

Whenyouclick“Edityourpublicprofile”,you’llseethatyoucancreateacustomURLforyourLinkedInprofileintheupperright-handcorner.


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YourSummaryNextistheall-importantsummarythatwelcomesthevisitortoyourprofile,explainswhatyoudo,andgivesmoredetailsaboutwhoyouare.

Thesummaryareadoesn’tallowyoutouseanyitalics,bold,ordifferentcolorfonts,sobecreativewithcreatingsubheadings.You’llbeabletoseefrommysummarythatyou’reallowedasignificantamountofspacetoextolyourvirtues,skills,andexperience.(Andremember,thesummaryalsoneedstobeseededwithasmanykeywordsaspossible.)

Irecommendgoingforitinyoursummary.You’relimitedinthenumberofcharacters(about2,000),butthere’ssomuchyoucansayinthatspace.

Makesureyoursummaryisinthefirstperson,andbecertaintohaveitbeprofessionalbutpersonable.Youcanalwaysfeelfreetoreadmineasanexample,aswellasmillionsofothers!

YourExperienceThenextmajorsectionofyourprofileshowcasesyourexperience,andthissectionis,infact,thepartthat’smostlikearesume.Again,keywordsareimportanthere,andthemostsuccessfulprofilesdon’tjustlistpositionssuchas“StaffNurse”or“OfficeManager”.Rather,theymakeclearstatementsaboutwhatthatpositionwasreallyabout,usingkeywordsallalong.


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Forexample,insteadofjustsaying“Coach”or“NurseCoach”forthefirstpositiononmyprofile,Isay“ExpertCoachForNursesandHealthcareProfessionals”,thususingthekeywords“coach,nursesandhealthcare”inonepositiontitle.Getit?

Followingthismodel,allofmypositionsaredescribedinsuchamanner,andthedetailsofeachpositionarealsopepperedwithappropriatekeywords.Rememberthateverythingonyourprofileisvaluabledigitalrealestate,souseittoyouradvantageateveryturn.

TheRestTherestofyourprofileincludeseducation,awards,certifications,organizations,publications,projectsandotherspecialinformationthatshowcasesyourexperienceandfurtherenhancesyourprofile,makingitmorerobust,attractiveandcomplete.

Yourprofileisgreatlyboostedbyobtainingrecommendationsfromformercolleaguesandsupervisors.Otheruserscanalsoendorseyouforcertainskillsandexperience.Thisissueofendorsementsandrecommendationsmeritsanotherhourofconversationandinstruction,butsufficeittosaythatyoursearchenginevisibilityand“searchability”willbepowerfullyenhancedbythesefunctions.

AFinalWordAtthebottomofyourprofile,therearesectionstitled“Interests”,“PersonalDetails”and“AdviceforContacting”,andthesearecertainlydeservingofyourattention.

Intermsofinterests,Irecommendthatyoupopulatethissectionwithanicemixofyourinterests.Bymakingitbothpersonalandprofessional,thissectionaddssomehumanitytoyourprofileanddemonstratesalotaboutyouasaperson.You’llnoticethatIlistnursingandcoachingrightalongside“spendingtimewithmylovelywife.”

Finally,onthe“adviceforcontacting”section,Ihighlyrecommendhavingthissectionbeaclearmessagetoyourvisitorsonhowbesttogetintouch,followedbyawarmsalutationlike“sincerely”,“gratefully”orsomethingalongthoselines.

Inaway,your“Summary”atthetopofyourprofileistheopeningofalonglovelettertoyourvisitors,andyour“AdviceforContacting”sectionistheclosingofsaidletter.Thismakesaneatlittlepackage,andifsomeonetakesthetimetoperusetheentiretyofyourprofile,thenthey’llcomeawaywithadarngoodunderstandingofwhoyouare,whatyoudo,whatyourskillsare,andhowtoreachyou.

There’sAlwaysMoreOnceyourprofileisrelativelycomplete,rememberthatitneverreallyis.Youcantweak,modifyandenhanceyourprofileuntilthecowscomehome,andIrecommendthatyoudojustthat.Icheckmyprofileonaregularbasis,andI’m


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consistentlymakingsmallchangesthatwillhelpitbestrongerandmoreappealing(andmoreconsistentlyfoundinsearchesbypeopleIwanttoconnectwith).

Duetolackoftime,wecan’tcoverLinkedIngroups,LinkedInemailmessages,invitations,LinkedInPremium(don’tspendyourmoneyyet!),statusupdates,andthemanyotherfunctionsthatLinkedInhasaddedoverthelastfewyears,butthisisagreatstarttobecomingasuperuserandaLinkedInstar.

Remember,networkingisaboutauthenticconnectionandsincerefollowup.Todothat,amemorableandrobustprofileisagreatwaytoattractthepeopleyoumostwanttoconnectwith,sogiveyourprofiletheattentionitdeserves!

Intermsofreachingouttoothers,pleasedon’tsendimpersonal,genericinvitationstoconnect.Ifyouseesomeoneyouwanttoconnectwith,gototheirprofile,learnsomethingaboutthem,andsendapersonalizedmessageexplainingwhyyou’reinvitingthem.It’snotaboutamassingasmanyconnectionsasyoucan.Rather,it’saboutconnectingwithhonesty,authenticityandsincerity.

Goodluck,andIwishyouhappyandfruitfulnetworking!

KeithCarlson,BSN,RN,NC-BC

NurseKeith.com

[email protected]

LinkedIn.com/in/KeithAllanCarlsonFacebook.com/nursekeithcoachingInstagram.com/nursekeithcoaching

Twitter.com/nursekeith