10 Great Ways to Increase LinkedIn Productivity

10 Great Ways to Increase LinkedIn Productivity As a machine is only as clever as its user, a LinkedIn account is only as productive as the person in the profile picture.   Although most users know by now that simply inputting your name and occupation into the allotted spaces won’t bring in a deluge of opportunities, many don’t know enough about the benefits to go the extra step.  It takes courage to press a button sometimes.  Here are 10 reasons to increase your account’s productivity. 1. Increase credibility: Forgive me, but I’ll begin with a no-brainer: the more connections you have, the more credible or at least engrossed in your career you appear. This is good. People like hard workers and are more likely to hire someone who’s earnest and has a strong network presence than someone who doesn’t appear to want to get to know people they already don’t know. Remember that who you know can hold the keys to who you want to know. See more at How to Connect with New People on LinkedIn. 2. Increase visibility. The number of connections also increases (or decreases) the likelihood that people searching for someone will find you first.  Moreover, LinkedIn profiles get pretty high PageRanks on Google.  If you want to take it a step further, customize your public profile’s URL to be your brand or name. 3. Be selective with your contacts. Not to contradict myself, but s/he with the most friends does not win.  Sometimes, it’s better not to connect with someone you know or don’t know on LinkedIn.  As with our physical lives, excess entities in our virtual lives can create distracting clutter.  On the other hand, it doesn’t really pay to be a snob, either.  A good start for any new LinkedIn user is to allow LinkedIn to access your email contacts. Check out 3 Ways to Network on LinkedIn  for further reading. 4. Believe in karma. LinkedIn, while perhaps not as flashy as Facebook or Twitter, is a network like any other: karma exists here.  Someone pats your back, pat them back by promoting them, linking to them, connecting with them, and the like.  You can begin with good karma by teaching someone the benefits of LinkedIn and showing them the ropes.  You can even look up an individual and get an idea for what they need to perform better.  You never know when someone from the past will drop a gold mine on your lap. 5. Break the ice: Go into a job interview more confidently by looking up your potential employer’s LinkedIn profile. Maybe you two both worked at a Starbucks once upon a time? Maybe you went to the same high school? You get the picture. READ MORE:  How to Prepare for Your Job Interview. 6. Evaluate your evaluator: This is your chance to decide whether or not you want to work for said potential employer.  You can even look up individuals who have previously held the position for which you’re being interviewed and see what they have to say about the job and its future.  Uncheck the “current titles only” box when doing so. More on this at How Professional is Your Recruiter? LinkedIn Will Tell You!. 7. Effortlessly make announcements. When your business has overcome a hurdle, launched a new venture, or undergone some manner of change, update your LinkedIn profile to notify your contacts.  This is more seamless and casual than email notifications, which can seem spammy. Further reading at 10 Tips to Using Your LinkedIn Status Update. 8. Know your competition. Sneak around the network to get an idea for what the competition is up to, who they’re targeting, and what you can do to one-up them.  Less maliciously, you can gauge the status of an industry in which you’re thinking about investing by checking in with succeeding companies from time to time.  On the other hand, you can check in with companies who have failed.  They can offer you just as much wisdom as those who’ve succeeded. See more at How to Conduct Employer Research on LinkedIn. 9. Narrow your search. Searching through LinkedIn can help open-source vendors understand who’s already worked with their software and how.  As an employer, you can hire someone whom you already know is familiar with your code.  You also get to find out what people find practical about your product and what you can improve about it. See 3 Great Ways to Finding People to Connect with on LinkedIn for more. 10. Ask and you shall receive. Not only can you request advice from experts by using LinkedIn’s Answers feature rather than a mere open forum, you can look forward to becoming (and becoming known as) an expert, yourself.  This adds to your credibility.  As an inquirer and not an expert, you might make a new contact or two, or even a job.  If someone is answering your question, obviously you two have somethingâ€"at least an occupational interestâ€"in common.  You might be able to fix each other’s problems; you never know who you’ll stumble across in such a vast network. LinkedIn has been touted for years as not only a useful tool but also a satisfying experience. It turns your résumé into a living, breathing entity that has, like you, undergone evolution for potential employers and employees across the globe to see.  Perhaps least observed is its use in giving ourselves perspective about where we excel, where could use improvement, where we’ve been, and where we’re going. Author: Alexis Bonari is currently a resident blogger at College Scholarships, where recently shes been researching medical school loans as well as calculates student loan costs. Whenever this WAHM gets some free time she enjoys doing yoga, cooking with the freshest organic in-season fare, and practicing the art of coupon clipping.

The Importance of Your Profile Picture for Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Importance of Your Profile Picture for Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Did you ever think of what your profile picture tells about you? Especially, your profile picture on LinkedIn or on a job website should be credible and show your true self because if someone doesn’t know you, the first impression s/he makes about you is by looking at your picture. Also, recruiters spend 19% of their time on your online profile by looking at your picture.  This means that your picture is as important as your past experiences and skills in getting a recruiter’s attention to call you. Therefore, be careful when choosing your profile picture. Below you can find other important points of choosing the right profile picture. Show That It Is A Real Account: Having a photo in your social media profile especially on LinkedIn tells people that your account is active and it is a real account. Of course, this photo should be your real photo. If you only use an image or some generic photo, people may think that it is a fake account. Make sure to use a recent photo of yourself that looks exactly like you because if you use an older photo or a photoshopped photo, then people can get surprised when they meet you in person. Let Others Recognize You: A face will help people remember you. If they have met you before or follow your other social media accounts, then seeing your photo will help them recognize you and connect your name with your face. Also, they will make sure that they are sending a friend request to the right person and not to someone else. Your Photo is Your Personal Brand: Your photo gives others clues about your personality. Think about what message you want to give to other people and choose your photo accordingly. Do you want to be seen as cheerful and friendly or more authoritative and serious? Think about it before uploading your photo because it is your brand image. Your photo represents your personal brand. Makes the First Impression: If someone doesn’t recognize you, seeing your picture will help them make a first impression about you. If they like your picture and get positive feelings from it, chances are that they will approach you friendly and so having an interaction with them will be much easier. On the other hand, if they get a negative impression from your image or think that you are not a very likeable person, it can be difficult for you to have an interaction with them from the beginning.

Growing Your Network for Your Next Job A Parable - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Growing Your Network for Your Next Job A Parable - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Steve was an ant. A very hardworking, industrious ant who kept his eyes on the prize and toed the company line. He had been a hardworking, industrious line-toer for his company for 12 years. For the last four years, he had even been the director of  a brand new product line that was supposed to be very important when it launched. Steve worked hard on developing the product, making sure it was the best it could be. Steve the ant managed his small team of other ants, managing every aspect of the new product, making sure every i was dotted, every t crossed. Steve turned down other opportunities to help with new projects, never attended conferences, and never left the office. Steve frequently worked through lunch, and worked evenings and weekends, to make sure the product would be a success. Steve the ant was sure that his hard work and efforts would be noticed, and that he would be rewarded for all the hours he put in. One day, Steve was called into Stephanies office. Were letting you go, said Stephanie. But why? Steve asked. Ive done everything that was asked of me. I dotted every i and crossed every t, I worked through lunch, and worked evenings and weekends, to make sure this new product was a success. Our new vice president started last week, said Stephanie. He wants to go in a new direction. He doesnt think this product will be valuable, so he cancelled it and is laying everyone in the department off. But Ive sacrificed so much. And I have a mortgage and two kids and bills to pay, said Steve. His pleas fell on deaf ears. (Why? Because employers dont care about your mortgage and kids and bills. But thats a different parable.) To find a new job, Steve the ant decided he would leverage his network. Surely he could tap into his vast network and find a new job in a few weeks, rather than several months like other ants he knew. Steve fired up his laptop and logged in to his LinkedIn account. Your account is 60% complete LinkedIn told him. You have 27 connections. Most of Steves 27 connections were other ants from the company. Has anyone heard about any jobs in our industry? Steve asked. Sorry, I barely know whats going on outside the department, let alone the company, one ant said. I got laid off just like you, said another ant. Im trying to find my own job. Have we met before? asked one non-company connection. Just check out our website, we may have some openings there, said another. Steve was screwed. Dave the grasshopper also worked in Steves department. While Dave worked on Steves product launch, he didnt spend all his time on it. He spent a lot of time working on other projects with other departments. He attended conferences, he wrote blog posts about his industry, and used LinkedIn after hours. He had lunch with other ants and grasshoppers in other companies around town. He even spent time at Chamber of Commerce events and local industry events. Dave worked just as hard as Steve, but spent more time developing his own personal network and brand. As parables go, Dave the grasshopper was also laid off the same day as Steve. Dave also had a mortgage and two kids and bills. Dave was just as scared as Steve. But Dave had something Steve didnt. He had a real network that he had grown and developed for the last four years. Dave logged in to LinkedIn. Your account is 100% complete, LinkedIn said. You have 1200 connections. Twenty people have viewed your profile in the last 30 days. One third of his network were directly involved in his industry around the country. Many of them were local, from Chamber and local industry events. And he had met over 200 others at conferences. I just got laid off, does anyone know of any openings? Dave asked his network. We have an opening in our department, if you want to come back to the company, said one. (Dave didnt. Hes no fool.) Our project manager just left for a new job and they havent started the search yet, said another. I might be able to put you in touch with my boss. And lets get lunch again soon. Hey, I remember you from the conference last fall and Ive been reading your blog, said another. I just started my own company and would love to talk to you about a possibility. Im the hiring manager for a new position. Send me your résumé, said another. Lets schedule a phone call for next week. Within three weeks, Dave had a new job with a higher position and more money, with a company closer to his house. The moral of the story? Start networking for your next job while you have your current one. You never know when youre going to lose the one youve got, and right now is the best time to meet people who can become valuable assets and resources when you need them. Author: Erik Deckers is the owner of Professional Blog Service, and the co-author of Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself. His new book, No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing, which he wrote with Jason Falls, will be released in October 2011.