The document provides guidance on creating a complete LinkedIn profile, including filling out all profile sections like experience and education, adding at least 5 skills, and importing information from one's resume. It also recommends connecting with others, searching for jobs, joining groups, and obtaining recommendations to help maximize LinkedIn networking success.
Sign up - A few pieces of information get you in the door. As you complete the initial sign on you will be taken to the next page that asks for some basic information about your current employment status. The subsequent page offers you the opportunity of checking your existing email accounts to see if you know anyone on LinkedIn.Email confirmation - The next step is check your email for the confirmation email from LinkedIn & the embedded link will take you back to the application where you will be asked to confirm your email & provide the password you initially created.Connections - Using your employment information LinkedIn will now display other members in the system that you may know & provide you with the opportunity to connect with them. The next screen allows you to enter email addresses of others that you may wish to connect with.Plan - The final screen in the sign up wizard offers you two planes, the basic is free.The sign up process is finished & we will move on to creating the basic profile. Select the "Profile" option at the top of the page & then see your starting point. Here are a couple of points to be aware of as you create the profile, on the right hand side there is a box that shows you what you need to do to build a complete profile, why should you do that? LinkedIn states "Users with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn."Adding Positions - Start by adding a past position, as you enter the company name LinkedIn will display similar company names currently listed in the system. If yours is not there you have the opportunity to add it to the database. Title is self explanatory but remember LinkedIn does not know that VP Sales & Vice President Sales are the same thing. Enter only the years when you worked there & then move on. We will come back to enter more detailed information later on. The first two past positions are worth 15% points each.Adding Education - Adding a school is worth 15% & a limited amount of information may be added at this stage in order to get the base profile built.Add a picture - If you have the digital picture available load it up, it adds 5% to your percent complete. You also have the choice as to who will see your photo either My Connections, My Network or Everyone.Summary - Use this space to initially provide a short bio of yourself & the strengths you bring to the table. In both this & the following "Specialties" section use the job descriptions we talked about earlier to build the basics.Specialties - Add a list of your specialties & skills; again use the job descriptions to identify the key requirements.Websites - If you maintain your own websites & wish to display them then at a minimum make sure that the name displayed on your profile is the real name or description of the site.Twitter - If you are a user of twitter then feel free to add your account to your profile, it allows you to, Display Twitter on your LinkedIn profile, Share Twitter messages with your LinkedIn contacts or groups & Share LinkedIn jobs, news, & more on Twitter.You now have created your basic LinkedIn profile. Below are some next steps to consider as you want to build out your content.Recommendations - You need three (3) to get a 100% complete profile. Applications - Consider how you could use applications to improve your visibility or deliver content to prospective clients or employers. Emails - Add other email addresses that you may use. Public Profile URL - Modify it to remove the numbers at the end & get as close to your real name as possible. This gets indexed by search engines & it can also be used on your business cards, email signature, etc. Contacts - At the foot of your home page LinkedIn lists the number of new members from organizations you have worked at to make it easy for you to connect. You can also import addresses from Web mail, Outlook, etc.
Ensure profile complete & up to dateReal world connectionsSearch LinkedIn jobsJoin GroupsDemonstrate your expertiseUse the JobsInsider Tool
3. PictureLet people associate your face with who you are! No one wants to connect with a blank image. So by putting up a photo, you humanize your LinkedIn profile & let people know that there’s a real person behind the profile.
