This is the second instalment of the articles pertaining to “Linkedin”. I would like to cover some more basic aspects which are essential for a complete profile. We had covered 5 points in the earlier article, so now the count begins thereafter;
6. Profile photo – It is amusing to sometimes see profile photos on Linkedin which are more suitable for Facebook & other personal social media. Half face photos, photos with other family members, dogs or cars are nice, but do not fit a professional profile, unless your work is in a related area. I would recommend that you use a professional photographer & portray yourself in work attire with a nice smile on your face. Refrain from using the mug-shot type of photos used for standard ID cards or passport / visa requirements. Besides the profile page, your photo is visible when you send out mails, post an update or contribute to discussions in various groups. Therefore besides your name, it is one aspect of your profile which will have maximum visibility.
7. Skills & Expertise – There is a long list of choices for Skills which Linkedin has now included in your main profile itself after testing it under a ‘Beta’ phase. Besides adding value to your own your profile, other connections can validate this by endorsing you & it also provides you with a similar opportunity to endorse others. Another benefit is the fact that you can identify other people around the world who also have the same Skills. Lastly you can also search for groups which have a relevance for a specific skill, join these groups & add value to group discussions due to your expertise/experience.
8. Websites & Twitter handle – This is a good place to put in a link to your own or your organisation’s web-site. Since there are 3 options available, including a link to your personal blog and/or any other links which highlight the work done by you or your team is always useful. If you have a Twitter handle, this is a good place to include the same, as it provides another perspective about you as an individual.
9. Public Profile – Linkedin provides you with a default profile address & you have the option of shortening it to a specific configuration of your full name. This can prove particularly useful when your profile is forwarded to others on mail. For example my public profile is http://in.linkedin.com/in/ajayhiraskar & this is much better than something like http://sa.linkedin.com/pub/ayaz-haidry/4/245/4a3
10. Volunteer Experience & Causes – Most folks today devote their personal time to some sort of volunteer work as a way of giving back to society & this is a great place to showcase the work being done by you. For students who are starting their careers, this is actually the best place to highlight skills by putting in information about the complexity & scale of the work done. You also have an option of indicating the Causes you care about & organisations you support. Again this provides a different perspective about you as an individual & most future employers would be impressed by the volunteer work being done by you as it indicates that you have a sense of responsibility towards the world.
11. Certifications - This is an additional opportunity to highlight any specific certifications earned by you. Make sure that these are verifiable thru documents available with you.
12. Honors & Awards – Another useful section to highlight the things that you have been recognised for in the academic, extra-curricular or professional fields
.
13. Personal Information – Here you should only put in information which you are comfortable sharing out to the world. Remember e-mail addresses & phone numbers can be picked up by BOT’s which trawl the internet & therefore you could also be spammed later.
14. Contact XXXX for - Linkedin offers you an opportunity to indicate the reasons why people can connect with you. You have multiple choices spanning career opportunities, consulting offers, new ventures, expertise requests, business deals, reference requests, getting back in touch etc. You have the option of indicating the ones which are your immediate priority.
The 3rd article in this series would cover Recommendations, Groups & Applications as they are very exhaustive in scope & therefore require separate coverage.
6. Profile photo – It is amusing to sometimes see profile photos on Linkedin which are more suitable for Facebook & other personal social media. Half face photos, photos with other family members, dogs or cars are nice, but do not fit a professional profile, unless your work is in a related area. I would recommend that you use a professional photographer & portray yourself in work attire with a nice smile on your face. Refrain from using the mug-shot type of photos used for standard ID cards or passport / visa requirements. Besides the profile page, your photo is visible when you send out mails, post an update or contribute to discussions in various groups. Therefore besides your name, it is one aspect of your profile which will have maximum visibility.
7. Skills & Expertise – There is a long list of choices for Skills which Linkedin has now included in your main profile itself after testing it under a ‘Beta’ phase. Besides adding value to your own your profile, other connections can validate this by endorsing you & it also provides you with a similar opportunity to endorse others. Another benefit is the fact that you can identify other people around the world who also have the same Skills. Lastly you can also search for groups which have a relevance for a specific skill, join these groups & add value to group discussions due to your expertise/experience.
8. Websites & Twitter handle – This is a good place to put in a link to your own or your organisation’s web-site. Since there are 3 options available, including a link to your personal blog and/or any other links which highlight the work done by you or your team is always useful. If you have a Twitter handle, this is a good place to include the same, as it provides another perspective about you as an individual.
9. Public Profile – Linkedin provides you with a default profile address & you have the option of shortening it to a specific configuration of your full name. This can prove particularly useful when your profile is forwarded to others on mail. For example my public profile is http://in.linkedin.com/in/ajayhiraskar & this is much better than something like http://sa.linkedin.com/pub/ayaz-haidry/4/245/4a3
10. Volunteer Experience & Causes – Most folks today devote their personal time to some sort of volunteer work as a way of giving back to society & this is a great place to showcase the work being done by you. For students who are starting their careers, this is actually the best place to highlight skills by putting in information about the complexity & scale of the work done. You also have an option of indicating the Causes you care about & organisations you support. Again this provides a different perspective about you as an individual & most future employers would be impressed by the volunteer work being done by you as it indicates that you have a sense of responsibility towards the world.
11. Certifications - This is an additional opportunity to highlight any specific certifications earned by you. Make sure that these are verifiable thru documents available with you.
12. Honors & Awards – Another useful section to highlight the things that you have been recognised for in the academic, extra-curricular or professional fields
.
13. Personal Information – Here you should only put in information which you are comfortable sharing out to the world. Remember e-mail addresses & phone numbers can be picked up by BOT’s which trawl the internet & therefore you could also be spammed later.
14. Contact XXXX for - Linkedin offers you an opportunity to indicate the reasons why people can connect with you. You have multiple choices spanning career opportunities, consulting offers, new ventures, expertise requests, business deals, reference requests, getting back in touch etc. You have the option of indicating the ones which are your immediate priority.
The 3rd article in this series would cover Recommendations, Groups & Applications as they are very exhaustive in scope & therefore require separate coverage.
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