Get the Most Out of LinkedIn for Job Search – Part 2

Earlier I published the first in a compilation of articles I wrote about LinkedIn for job search and personal branding. This post adds 7 more juicy LinkedIn articles to that mix.

Clearly, using LinkedIn for job search is a topic I write about frequently . . . probably more than any other. It’s THAT important for successful job search.

And I devote a fair amount of time myself to LinkedIn, to market and build my business. Over the 12+ years I’ve been a LinkedIn member, I’ve learned much about leveraging the site’s features to my advantage. Consequently, most of my business comes through LinkedIn.

Running an executive job search is very similar to running a business. In both cases, you need to determine what makes you unique and valuable to your target audience, and communicate and market those good-fit qualities as you network your way into the hearts and minds of that target audience.

7 Articles To Help You Use LinkedIn for Job Search

Help! My LinkedIn Skills and Endorsements Are a Mess

A skill endorsement is a one-click way for your connections to endorse the skills listed on your profile. An endorsement is not the same as a “Recommendation”, which is a written narrative that a connection of yours submits to you, in support of your expertise and value.

A high number of endorsements for skills representing your best talents supports your personal brand and adds credibility to your candidacy in job search and in doing business. Endorsements validate that you really do possess these skills and they add value to your profile.

As of this writing, you’re allowed a total of 50 skills in your list. The first 3 are more prominently displayed and include the avatars of your most recent endorsers.

Over time, your prioritized list starts shifting to accommodate the endorsements coming in. Skills with more endorsements get listed first. Luckily, you can reorder and/or delete skills easily.

5 LinkedIn Profile Personal Brand Building Essentials

LinkedIn is an extremely important social networking site for career, executive job search, and business-building.

Those who take the time to learn how to use LinkedIn wisely find that it works for them. And they have the competitive advantage over those who have an anemic profile and don’t do much of anything on LinkedIn.

There are many ways to be proactive on LinkedIn once you build out your profile, but you need to concentrate on some essentials as you’re actually writing the content for your profile and filling it out.

LinkedIn Updates: A Time-Saving Personal Branding and Networking Tool

When I’m speaking with executive job seekers about the importance of using LinkedIn, one of their biggest concerns is finding the time.

Most of them are employed, while job hunting under cover.

They know job search takes effort. But with holding down a full time job and investing time in job search networking, how are they going to fit LinkedIn proactivity into their schedule?

Posting LinkedIn updates is an easy, fast way to stay proactive on LinkedIn.

Showcase Your Personal Brand with LinkedIn Comments

Regularly posting brand-reinforcing LinkedIn comments is a powerful way to:

• Extend your online presence
• Increase brand evangelism
• Expand your network
• Stay top-of-mind with people who can help you meet your career goals

Since you probably won’t be writing more than a paragraph or two, at most, in any comment, it’s also quick and easy.

LinkedIn comes to the rescue offering several ways and places to post comments on relevant topics.

When Was the Last Time You Updated Your LinkedIn Profile?

So, you have a LinkedIn profile, and you know how important LinkedIn is. But have you actually gone to your profile page lately to see what’s there? What does your profile say about you?

Have you done anything to update the content there − new job(s), responsibilities, achievements and contributions, training, etc.?

In this post you’ll find, 20 things to check when you update the content in your LinkedIn profile.

5 Reasons Your Personal Brand Loves LinkedIn

Before you write or update your resume and dive into a job hunt, you need to identify what differentiates you from others competing for the same kinds of jobs, with the employers you’re targeting.

Defining your personal brand helps you do that. Use my Personal Branding worksheet to pinpoint just what makes you unique and valuable to those target employers.

Let’s say you’ve done the branding work, and you’ve written brand-reinforcing content (for your resume, LinkedIn profile and other career materials) to support your good-fit candidacy.

What’s next? What are you going to do with all that great information and content you or someone else has written?

How will you get the word out about your brand and the value you offer?

How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Headline SEO-Friendly

If you want your LinkedIn profile headline to draw people to you like a magnet, maximize it by making it Search Engine Optimization (SEO)-friendly.

That is, include the most important relevant keywords recruiters and your target employers will be searching for, when they’re sourcing top talent.

Your LinkedIn profile headline sits high up on the web page. Any relevant keywords you place there will be more readily found by search engines than the content below it.

Having the right keywords in the headline can quickly and easily lead the people you want to find you right to your profile.