Black Friday…Small Business Saturday….Cyber Monday….Giving Tuesday…..why not Winning Work Wednesday, too? Make today the day you review and perhaps revamp the career story you are telling the world on LinkedIn.
Today, on Winning Work Wednesday, your challenge is to take 10 minutes to read and reflect on your LinkedIn profile. This is the version of you that can be seen, read and judged by millions of complete strangers every single day. How thrilling and scary is that!?!?
Polish your Profile – From Top to Bottom
#1 Photos – Background + Profile
- First things first, do you have one for each? If not, upload asap. These images can be really persuasive in their storytelling power, so choose images that reflect and represent you. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
- Do not over analyze this folks. Perfect is the enemy of the good. Unless you are trying to craft a very particular story, your profile photo should be of just you (this is not Facebook) and reflect that you look like a happy human.
- LinkedIn will give you a blah background photo as a placeholder – and while that is okay – you should use this valuable real estate to tell your story. Make sure the photo makes sense for you and who you are professionally.
#2 Headline
- Basic headline should be your current job title and current company name. Straight-forward, simple.
- Upgraded version of your headline would be a combination of words that encapsulate your passion, your purpose, the work headline you’d like everyone to see right below your profile photo. Mine, for example, is Winning Work + Helping People. These are two things I care deeply about.
#3 Significance + Summary
- For all your years of work and life experiences, what are the Big Fat Key Truths that we all need to know first. This section can be powerfully short, exhaustingly long, amazingly concise. But without a shadow of a doubt, it should include:
- Major thematic accomplishments – what have you become an expert in? What sets you apart? What major wins have you experienced?
- Contact info if you want people to be able to reach you directly. Twitter, Email, Phone, IG – if you want to be reached, add it here.
#4 Experience
- Make it tight and right. Capture each meaningful career stop and any major positive impact you created along the way.
#5 The Bottom
- We’ve entered the land of education, skills, recommendations, accomplishments, interests. This is the area that people will check out and go, “Hmmmm, that’s interesting.” My encouragement for you here is to try to make sure people will find this part of your story interesting in the way that is positive and curious – – as opposed to the weird and sketchy way.
Your 10 minutes are up, and hopefully your LinkedIn profile is telling a strong story. If you’d like, connect with us today, and we’ll give you a quick review on the house. In addition, I’d welcome connecting directly on LinkedIn too, so drop me a note!