NEW SECTIONS ALERT
On the profile page in Edit Profile display, after the Brief Profile and before Summary, you will see “NEW Are you published?” To the right, click Add Sections. The following categories will pop up. Complete any or all as they are relevant to your background. If you’re a professor, I strongly recommend that you add Publications and Skills.
Certifications: If you are in medicine, nursing, clinical psychology, accounting, auto mechanics, hair styling, espionage, or other professions requiring professional certifications and licenses, this is the category to list them. Not everyone has these credentials. This is another category that can distinguish you from others in the field.
Languages: If you are fluent in several languages, identify them in the list. You never know when they could come in handy and give you the edge.
Patents: If you possess patents for particular inventions, list them. For example, after someone invented a better mousetrap, if you invented a better mouse, this is the place to mention that achievement. They should be relevant to your areas of expertise and skills.
Publications: I recommend picking a few of your most recent and salient publications related to your research or expertise. Since LinkedIn doesn’t specify a particular publication format for journal articles, enter Title, and in the Publications slot, enter the journal name, volume, number, page numbers, and year in APA format. A Description may be too unwieldy when you list 5 or more articles or books, but you can write a brief one for each pub if the title isn’t adequate. You can also list your books.
Click Add a Publication for each entry. (NOTE: I included my recent books in the Summary section.) (ANOTHER OPTION: In addition to your teaser list or in lieu of it, you can provide a link to your Website, vitae, or other source with all of your pubs.)
Skills: I’m not sure how different Skills are from Specialties in the Summary section. The wording is different. I recommend listing your skills with Proficiency and Years of Experience dropdowns. They should be clear and concise for clients and employers to scan quickly.
What’s Next? The bulk of your profile should now be complete. Additional and Personal Information and Contact Settings will be covered in the next blog.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Make sure you’re in Profile Edit mode. Now we are going to tackle a super-important element in your profile: Summary. It is the first glimpse at who you really are and what you do. If a colleague, consulting firm, or job-recruiter glances at your summary and is not impressed, he/she probably won’t read any further. It’s lights out on your profile.
Before drafting this section, you need to determine the purpose of your profile. Is it to network, to promote you, to promote your business, or a combination of the preceding? Who will see it? Your summary must be written to fit your profile purpose(s). This section will be tailored to the image you want presented.
Summary: Click Edit. This section consists of 2 parts:
(1) Professional Experience & Goals which is a highlight “film” of your background, experience, and what you can offer a client, and
(2) Specialties field to highlight your areas of expertise and what distinguishes you from the rest of the pack
Professional Experience & Goals (max. 2000 characters). This blank white area should be filled with your “elevator speech.” Remember my blogs on that topic? NO! That’s okay. Format-wise, use lists, if possible. They’re easier and faster to read than running text. Carefully craft a capsule description of
a. who you are (teacher, professor, researcher, writer, secret agent, GEICO gecko, etc.)
b. what you do (conduct psychological profiles on the men in the Capital One commercials) or produce (books on rodents and lizards used in GEICO commercials)
c. what you can do for your target audience (create hilarious commercials for rich insurance companies)
The last-named focus is for consulting and business purposes. Consulting firms and clients want to know specifically what benefits or outcomes you can provide for them.
Beyond these outcomes, identify your goals.
This section should be brief and pop off the page so a colleague, client, or recruiter will stop and take notice. Since LinkedIn only formats in PLAIN TEXT, not HTML, you’re limited in popping options. I recommend UPPER CASE for important words and heads or “apostrophes” around other words for emphasis. Don’t get carried away.
Specialties. Identify your categories of expertise. These can be more specific than b above. What can you do differently or better than others with a similar background? Why should a client or employer hire you as a consultant, speaker, or CEO?
Click Save Changes.
What’s Next? I’ll add information on experience and education, which you can copy from your CV. Your profile should be taking shape.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
At present, LinkedIn is the largest professional network with 80 million members (compared to Facebook’s 500 million).
So, now let’s consider 10 reasons why you should NOT join LinkedIn:
TOP 10 REASONS
You have NO need to:
10. consolidate resources 1–8 and your institutional Website profile into 1 location (see previous blog for 1-8)
9. build a network of like-minded (teaching, research, writing, clinical) colleagues
8. contact colleagues and students in your field easily and quickly
7. market your expertise and build credibility with colleagues
6. share your writing or research with colleagues
5. consult, speak, or provide other professional services
4. hunt for another job in or out of your field
3. search for the best candidates for job openings you're trying to fill
2. be part of multiple communities of scholars other than your association
And the NUMBER ONE REASON:
1. have important questions answered promptly by experts you don’t even know who are all over the world (beyond your association listserv)
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
If you are convinced that you have no need for any item on that list, then get back to work. Stop fooling around with my blog. If, however, there is at least one reason you might benefit from LinkedIn, then stay with me.
This blog series will describe how you can use LinkedIn with minimal time investment, but with the possibility of a worthwhile ROI. Future blogs will describe how to prepare your professional profile and other critical elements.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
