| Start with your profile description.PROFILE Description When you begin to describe yourself, make sure your deliverables are clear, and experience isn’t enough. Example: Headed up marketing for EYX Brokerage.Better: Relaunched EYX Brokerage brand following 2008 market crash, increasing operating margins from 11% to 61% in 18 months. If you have done it, don’t be afraid to talk about it. And never put in phrases such as “strategic communication,” “strategic planning,” or “entrepreneurship.” You might be better off with such terms as “niche brand development,” “product launching” or “lean start-up expertise.” If you use strategy or strategic you are just a pack animal, sounding like everyone else in the pack, and that says you offer no differentiation. Sell Your Community How dynamic is your community? Just don’t sell how great you are, frame your success around your community and how you impacted the overall total value to your community. Community can also include industries, as in my case, financial services and real estate. Depict or characterize your communities as dynamic and exciting and, at the least, growing. Choose four or five of your top accomplishments and present them without a lot of buzz-words, but benefit words. Instead of words like ‘strategic’ and ‘efficient’ try ‘customer retention’ and ‘cost-savings’ and, of course, ‘increased revenue.’ Example: Vice President, JP Morgan Chase Securities, NYSE Governor, JP Morgan New Technology Coordinator, beta-platform quality rollout. Led brokerage teams which out-performed revenue, service and profit targets, resulting in high customer retention. More Quick Tips ■ Keep your profile paragraphs no more than 3 sentences. ■ Use bullet points when appropriate. ■ Since you keep a business journal (You ARE keeping a business journal to track goals and benchmarks), make sure that you are updating your profile where appropriate. ■ Make sure you customize your LinkedIn URL. ■ Proofread your bio. Look for typos and thinkos. It’s All About Your Community The dual mission of your LinkedIn profile is to create as many relevant links to your community as possible and to be able to build-out your community with intentionality. |
