Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile - Start By Filling in Gaps
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Every good article on makeovers includes before and after pictures. So I guess I’d better include my “before” picture. Here it is, cropped and reduced to fit (and don’t I wish dieting was that easy!):
Okay, it may not be immediately obvious, but this is one lame profile. Even LinkedIn says that it’s only 40 percent finished. The only experience I list is with my current company, I have four connections (two of which are also with my current company), and really, from looking at this, you don’t get any clue of who I am or what I’m about.
By the time I’m done, this won’t look nearly as pretty as Kawasaki’s profile; I haven’t done as much by any stretch of the imagination. But after nine years covering technology, if I can’t do better than this I’m a pretty sorry writer.
We’ll start by looking at my experience, past and present. I’m not going to add everything, despite the advice of Scott Allen writing for LinkedIntelligence: “On a resume, maybe you only need to go back ten years or so if you’ve held several positions. Here, though, keep in mind that everywhere you worked is an opportunity to connect with those old friends and colleagues.” But I will add more depth to the positions I list.
When you edit a position on LinkedIn now, the site tells you whether or not the company is in their database, and offers to let you add it. I suspect that’s connected to LinkedIn’s new company profile feature. You can also choose what industry it’s in and what kind of company it is from drop-down menus. Anyway, after a bit of work, my work history is slightly more filled it:
I included several words that I hope will be picked up by those searching for writers and editors. I’m pretty happy with my job, but it’s often wise to keep your eyes open.
My profile has other gaps I’m not prepared to fill at this time. I don’t have a picture on file, for example, nor do I have any recommendations. And I’m going to want to build a summary – my “elevator pitch,” if you will. I’ll come back to those later; I’m nowhere near done. But right now I think I want to go public.
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