Give Yourself a Leg Up on LinkedIn

When it comes to convincing business owners, executives, leaders, and individual contributors that it’s worth it for them to get on LinkedIn, I’ve heard almost every hesitation in the book.

But I think the undercurrent of the hesitations is this — I don’t want to get on yet another social media platform and be just another face in the crowd.

I honestly could not relate more.

I don’t like to spend my time doing things that don’t get me further, help me go faster, or put me in a new position to experience opportunities. So when I hear you saying you want LinkedIn to be WORTH IT, I’m 100% with you.

And I’m here to tell you it can absolutely be worth it.
But I’m also here to tell you this: there are a few basics you’ve gotta be willing to execute in order to stand out and get the most out of LinkedIn.

So, today, I want to talk about what you can do to have a leg up on your competition on LinkedIn. And the MOST basic of basics is your LinkedIn profile. Let’s dive in.

The Foundation of Your Personal Presence on LinkedIn

In a situation where you’re going up against another candidate or trying to win a bid for a project, what’s going to make the difference between you and them?

I can tell you, it’s not just your job experience.
It’s not where you went to college.
It’s definitely not just being on LinkedIn.

Because one thing we know about this unique platform is that almost everyone has created a LinkedIn profile at some point or another.

But what would happen if a recruiter is looking at two comparable candidates, and heads to their LinkedIn profiles?

Well, which of these would stand out to you if you were hiring?

Behind Door #1: You head to their profile and see that their job history is out of date and their profile is private, so you can’t see the activity they’re participating in on the platform.

Behind Door #2: You find them on LinkedIn and immediately get to see their updated, strategically crafted profile (that’s totally relevant to what you’re hiring for). You also see that they’re active in posting thoughtful content on LinkedIn, collaborating with their community, and are invested in not just showing where they’ve been, but showing who they are now.

I’m pretty sure 10/10 recruiters would choose what’s behind Door #2.

So, which camp sounds closer to your own LinkedIn presence?

3 Basics to Give You a Leg Up on LinkedIn

If that was enough to convince you that your LinkedIn profile may need a second look and a little TLC, I wanna give you 3 things to consider right away to put you miles ahead of most on the platform.

Basic 1: Is your profile public or private?
If your profile isn’t yet set to public, do it right now. With your profile set to private, it’s next to impossible for someone to find you unless they know exactly who they’re looking for. That puts you in a really passive position with your presence on LinkedIn, and we wanna be in the “actively affecting the change of our futures” camp. Right?

Basic 2: Have you updated your profile recently?
If it’s clear to onlookers that you haven’t updated your profile details in more than a year (or since you’ve last had a change), it’s important to address that as soon as possible. It’s also really helpful if you can show that you’re posting helpful content and engaging with others, but if you’re not quite there yet, updating your profile can go a long way in showing everyone you’re an active participant on the platform.

Basic 3: Is your bio or profile a total snooze?
If you’ve only filled in your experience and selected a few skills, you’re missing out on your profile’s basic ability to show your strengths and personality. Adding a little pizzazz and humanity to your bio can go a long way to reminding your network, new and old, that you’re a real human behind the profile.

If these tips were helpful, this is just the beginning. We’ve got a new mini-course called Kickstart Your Profile coming December 12th, so mark your calendars! Or you can click here to make sure you stay in the know.