Making the most of your LinkedIn Profile

Are you an 'All-rounded' individual?

The beauty of LinkedIn is that you decide exactly what you want others to know about you. If you just show details of your work life people may get an impression of you which is ot what you'd like. People on Facebook seem to show all sorts of photographs, some of which could be there to hang them in the future, and tell their friends and/or everyone everything about their personal lives.

I suggest on LinkedIn you at least headline your interests, what organisations you belong to and what degrees, honours and qualifications you've acquired over your lifetime. You can add your book reading lists, tell people where you're travelliong to, show a short PowerPoint of some area of expertise etc. This is all based around your as a professional and shows what sort of a person you really are.

Your Photo on your LinkedIn Profile

The Wrong Photo

Your photo gives people a few clues to you and your personality so it's vital that you get it right. On a professional site like LinkedIn it is important to present a professional front, so please, no family shots. Save those for Facebook.

A recent head and shoulders shot, perhaps at work, helps people connect with you. I've seen some profile photos that have gimmicky effects, this is a no-no. I also think you should stay away from cartoons of yourself, company logos and images of the product you sell.

But the worst crime of all is no photo at all. To me that just says that you can't be bothered and aren't really taking networking seriously.

Using LinkedIn to ...Get others to know what you do!

When you create a comprehensive summary and experience on your profile others can see what you do. When you use key words, Google and others on LinkedIn can find you when they use the advanced search button.