It seems (from all the positive feedback I get, and I guess the amount of blogs I have dedicated to this subject) that I have developed a reputation as being somewhat of an expert when it comes to knowing how to profile oneself correctly on a prominent business networking site like LinkedIn.

Yes I can certainly say that LinkedIn and the whole Social Networking scene are high up on my list of favourites when it comes to how to properly position/brand oneself to the business marketplace. It is a great tool. You most likely know by now that I am a seasoned recruiter in the very narrow vertical – Supply Chain, Logistics, Strategic Sourcing/Procurement, Retail Operations & Category Management and I take from my plethora of recruiting expertise, lots of anecdotes, experiences and real-life stories that have happened to me throughout my career to help me help others learn to profile themselves the best way they can be.

Today, I responded back to an executive in Supply Chain (who I actually wasn’t connected to) who had read one of my older blogs about LinkedIn and wanted to try to put some of what I said into action – “Your LinkedIn Profile soon to Replace Your Resume”. He asked me as someone who get’s it on LinkedIn to comment on what I thought about his profile. I gladly did.

 I get these requests (to review LinkedIn profiles – usually at a very senior level) many times a month. I do what I can to answer each request time permitting (got to make money sometimes though – perhaps I should set up a new service offering – thoughts?) but sometimes I come up with a real pearl or two I think are blog-worthy which I want to pass along to others who grapple with the whole concept of Social Media and how to personally Brand themselves better. So here are my pearls for today:

…“ I think you could well Jazz the whole profile up a bit – the key is to make yourself stand out from everyone else in your space. Drop the blah, blah words that these days don’t means anything and get to the point. I read something today from Martin Buckland who used the word “Pro-Jective” rather than Objective – loved it, well said Martin. You have to turn things on their ear these days for someone to take more than the 5 to 7 seconds they normally do to scan a profile or a resume and have them pause….

 A good way to get attention is to turn that pesky summary into an accomplishment section (I know LinkedIn has added an accomplishment section but this isn’t really what I am talking about) so you can put people in the space or zone so to say – then they are shaking their heads and saying YES I am intrigued, I want to read more, I need to speak to this person…I might need them.

Your profile looks flat right now. I suggest that when writing a profile you think about your value proposition and who and what you are trying to attract. It’s definitely not a job description that is for sure. You are trying to tell people who you are and what you can do for them so, lots of keywords and putting your audience in a place where they become engaged and interested in you is vital.

Most important of all, take the time to Google yourself daily just so you see how well known you are. Because if you are not, you definitely need to build more detail and robustness into your branding – ie. your profile to start with. A thought – taking up blogging and regularly commenting into groups and setting yourself up as an expert. Authorship does wonders for getting respect out there. I know it works. People will get to know who you are and will loop back to your LinkedIn page for additional information on you”….

The person seemed very happy with my suggestions. Hope you can get something out of this too.

Over and Out for now

Bronwen