Leveraging Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Job Search

LinkedIn offers many opportunities for you to customize your Profile for personal marketing. Implement the 2 tips below to be more appealing to a potential employer and look savvier and more interesting to everyone.

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1.  Maximize Your LinkedIn "Professional Headline"

I've seen many people do this, unfortunately. If you were a potential employer or someone looking for a new contact, which person looks more interesting/appealing in the results of a LinkedIn search or at the top of a LinkedIn Profile? Which one of these sends the most positive message about Mary Smith?

While both "Professional Headlines" (in LinkedIn lingo) are accurate, the first -"Unemployed" - describes a temporary situation, the second is the person's profession with some interesting background details (and keywords) added.

Most people pick # 2 as the most interesting person. The Professional Headline in # 2 sends a much more positive message than # 1.

Simply changing the Headline from "Unemployed" to "Financial Analyst" would be a major improvement over the message that # 1 sends.

If your Profile looks more like # 1 than # 2, change it now.

To make this change to your Profile:

• Go to your Profile page (“Profile” in the short menu in the upper left corner of your profile).
  
  
• Select “Edit My Profile” tab, and then –
  
  
• On the line below your name, click on the “[Edit]” link at the end of that line.
  
  
• A page will open entitled "Basic Information."
  
  
• Below the name information, you will see a section entitled, "Professional Headline"
  
  
• If you haven't provided LinkedIn with a headline, it has created one by default. Enter your new Headline.
  
  LinkedIn allows a maximum of 120 characters for this field.

2.  Enhance Your Personal LinkedIn URL 

If you have a LinkedIn Profile, you already have a personal LinkedIn URL.  Maybe you’re already using it in your e-mail signature (good for you!).

If you are using the default URL that LinkedIn assigned you, you can do better. Here's how:

To make this change to your Profile:

Go to your Profile page (“Profile” in the short menu in the upper left corner of your profile).

Select “Edit My Profile” tab, and then –

• On the line that says “Public Profile,” there is a URL that starts out with http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/...
  
  
• Click on the “[Edit]” link at the end of that URL.
  
  
• A page will open, with a light blue bar just below the “View My Profile” tap which contains the words “Your Public Profile URL” and then shows the “http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/...” URL with another “[Edit]” link.
  
  
• Click on THAT “[Edit]” link.
  
  
• A page will open that provides a field which gives you the ability to put your name into that URL!
  
  
• Type in your name or your personal marketing message.
  
  A personal marketing message would be something like maryjanesmith or marysmithfinancepro (up to 30 characters). Name only is common if you are uncomfortable with anything else.
  
  No spaces or hyphens or other punctuation will be allowed, and capitalization will be ignored.
  
  
• Bear in mind that this URL will become quasi-permanent as you use and distribute it, so try to pick something you won’t need to change in the near future.
  
  
• Click on the “Set Address” button.

Now, the URL for your LinkedIn Profile is http://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname.

Anyone searching LinkedIn for you will find you more easily, and when you link to your LinkedIn Profile, you’ll look savvier. And, don't forget to add this line to your email "signature" section at the bottom of every email you sent out.

Bonus Tip:

If your name is often misspelled or you are a married woman who has changed your last name at least once in your life, read my posting in the Job Search News blog about Why and How to Add Common Name Misspellings to your LinkedIn Profile.

Bottom Line:

If you are a professional working in the United States, you need a LinkedIn Profile. LinkedIn Profiles are the cross-geography, cross-profession, and cross-location white pages of the 21st century.

Recruiters and employers use LinkedIn relentlessly, so job seekers who ignore the opportunity provided by LinkedIn are missing a major personal marketing and business venue. Use LinkedIn and leverage the tools they have provided you for a shorter and more successful job hunt and a more successful career.

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About This Author:

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff "graduate" who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg.

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