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Episode Description:

In this time of uncertainty in the workforce, your most valuable tool as an employee, freelancer, or business owner is your LinkedIn. Whether you're looking for a new role, looking to gain more prospects, or looking to expand your network more globally, a winning LinkedIn profile is the ticket.

Today, Beth takes you through the basics of creating a Winning Linkedin Profile, and invites you to connect with her on LinkedIn!

Links mentioned in the episode:

Podcast:

The Type A Plus Podcast Instagram

Host:

Beth Lawrence LinkedIn

Beth Lawrence & Company Instagram

Beth will be back each week, delivering bite-sized tips (15-minute episodes or less) on how to optimize your life and work.

Episode Transcript can be found below:

Hello friends. Welcome back to the Type A+ Podcast. I hope you enjoyed productivity month, and welcome to February. In February, we are gonna be talking about careers. I know there are a lot of us right now who are struggling with this. Being laid off, being uncertain about where we are headed next, and even uncertain about maybe what happened in, in your previous role.

I wanna call that out. I wanna say all of your feelings are valid if you're experiencing this. If you're not right now, it still behooves you to have a great LinkedIn presence, and that's what we're talking about today. We're gonna talk about building a winning LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn has changed a lot over the last couple of years.

It is a platform that admittedly I didn't do a lot of updating on, in favor of being on Instagram, but the more that I'm on it, the more valuable I see that it is, especially right now.

First and foremost, if you don't have a LinkedIn profile, the first thing that you have to do is go to linkedin.com and create one. Just create a profile, and find a headshot. Please make sure that it is a professional-looking headshot, make sure that you would show a recruiter, you would show your boss, you would show your colleagues, you would show anyone in your industry and profession, the picture that you put up there.

After you get your picture set up. The biggest thing that you have to think about is your headline. Now, this does not have to be your job title. That is something that I see some folks do on LinkedIn. But your headline should really speak to your role, your why, for doing what you do, and your unique experience. For example, my headline is award-winning event planner people, person 40 under 40, and the Type A+ podcast. mental health and wellbeing advocate and partnership enthusiast. You may think that's a lot of things and that's okay. I am multifaceted and I really want folks to know and understand that.

So take some time thinking about your headline. It can be creative to your job title. There is, for example, I know someone who is a social media manager and her tagline is brand strategy partner for agencies, brands, and organizations. It. Really simple. If I'm a brand, if I'm an agency or an organization, I know exactly who I should go to if I need social media and brand strategy.

So take a little bit of time, and think about your headline. After this, you'll go down to the next section, which is the about section. Now think of this part as a very fun, professional summary. , it's really important to be yourself and it should feel ultimately like you. That's really, really important because especially on LinkedIn, you are getting to know folks in a business setting, and in all business settings you wanna make sure that you have a consistent professional brand.

So elements of your about should include describing what makes you tick and what you're passionate about. thinking about your target audience on LinkedIn and what the platform is used for. LinkedIn is basically your live resume, and it's also the place where you should demonstrate your experience and your growth in real-time.

So it is a networking tool for building and sustaining your network. It's an educational tool for thought leadership and learning from others. It is a recruitment tool and it is also a sales tool. So think about your target audience and who you want to attract to your profile, and that will help inform this, these elements of what you're about next, explain your present role, and put your job title aside.

Describe what you do in very, very simple terms. In the next section of the about, you wanna frame your past, you want to think about your past experience, and also showcase how your past experience has helped prepare you for either your current role or a role that you are seeking.

So first three, you describe what makes you tick and what you're passionate about. Explain your present role in simple terms. Frame your past and then highlight your successes. So here is the space in your about where you can list any awards, accolades you've received, career accomplishments, and things like that.

after your successes. It's, this is the fun section. Reveal your character, feature, volunteer roles, or any causes that you champion. If someone had to describe you in three words, what would they say? You could show life outside of work such as where you live, and what you like to do, and you can tell a story.

The most important thing about your about is that it shows your target audience, who you are, and what you're looking for. So again, let's recap your elements of yours. Describe what makes you tick, and what you're passionate about. Explain your current role in simple terms. Frame your past experiences and how it serves your current role.

Highlight your successes in the past, reveal your character, and pepper in a little something fun, a little story. And make sure also to ask for what you want. Let the people viewing your profile know if you're there to get a new job. If you're there to meet prospects, if you are there to, in my case, meet clients.

Just know. That you, it's totally okay to ask for what you want. For your experience section, think of this as your online LinkedIn resume, okay? Showcase all of your relevant job titles, volunteer experiences, awards, and everything that you want to showcase to a potential employer or client, and make sure that you follow the same guidelines as when you're creating your resume.

Using action verbs, make sure to demonstrate your capabilities, and also make sure to highlight any awards that you've received. If you are a salesperson and you receive the highest sales in the company, make sure to indicate that. After your experience in your resume, there is a section called Skills, and I see a lot of folks that are not taking advantage of this section, and that's a really big missed opportunity.

Make sure you take advantage of that skills section. Please also not only list your skills but keep them up-to-date and keep them relevant as you move throughout your career. So if you're, especially if you did a transition out of industries or transition into a new role, make sure that your skills reflect that.

So if a potential employer. or if a potential client is looking there, they know that your skills match with what they're looking for.

Another thing to consider is endorsements. So endorsements are folks that are asking folks to endorse your skills. So if I'm, for example, putting event management, I'm asking someone to endorse event management who has worked with me on an event.

You manage this part proactively, and you have to ensure that they match the role you're currently holding and the roles that you are going to apply for it's helpful that it's helpful when you have endorsements here that would help clients feel comfortable hiring you for your expertise. Really cool.

New update. A relatively new update on LinkedIn is sharing media. So here you can share relevant marketing materials. You can share videos. There are certain specifications for images and videos, but it's a really great tool because media is dynamic. We all know scrolling through Instagram, scrolling through TikTok.

We like to watch. Videos. We like to have audio. We like to have that well-rounded experience. So this can also show you in three dimensions, right? This can show potential employers or potential clients a little bit more of your personality. Definitely take advantage of the media section. . And finally, one of the most underutilized features is the publications feature on LinkedIn.

If you've ever written a white paper, if you've written a blog post, or if you've been published in a magazine or an industry journal, this is the place to share it. I've also definitely seen people share their patents, but this is a really great tool to showcase you, your thought leadership, and any time that you've been published in major public.

Let's go back. All right, so for the full well-rounded LinkedIn picture, you should have a headline that speaks to your role and you're why for doing what you do. Also, throw in your new unique experience there. In your about, just think of it as a pro-fun, professional summary. Show who you are, describe what makes you tick, describe your past experiences, and awards, and give a little bit of a personal touch to this as well.

Next, your experience, right? You build that LinkedIn resume, you build that online resume that can showcase all of your relevant job titles, experience, awards, and anything that showcases who you have been as an employee or a business owner, or a lance. Put this here next. Make sure you take advantage of the skills section and get endorsements for that.

Manage it proactively, similarly to your recommendations, right? This is something that you should be asking people for. It's not always gonna come right to you. Next is the media. Get those videos, cool images, and portfolios together and showcase them here. Just a little bit extra can go a long way when a client or potential employer is looking at your page.

Finally, push those publications every time you are published in a magazine. Anytime you write a white paper, definitely include it. It's very unique to be published and featured as a thought. So that is LinkedIn basics. I'm gonna give you three things now, little bonus items to make you stand out that much more on LinkedIn.

So if you've just started your LinkedIn profile, maybe take a pause here, take a breath, and implement some of the things that I have I've taught you. But if you wanna get a little bit further, there are a couple of ways that you can do that. One is writing long-form content. So you see a lot of folks posting long-form content on the feed.

You can also write an article on LinkedIn. Definitely write some long-form content. Think of yourself as a thought leader. Share your opinion, share your expertise. Make sure that it is relevant, obviously, to your work and what you do, and why you are on linked. This is a business-first platform.

Just make sure that it makes sense to your brand. Next, sign up to be a LinkedIn creator. So this is where you can go live on LinkedIn. You can create videos and events and experiences on LinkedIn. You have to have a little bit of traction on your LinkedIn profile from what I understand to sign up to be a creator.

But that is something that you can aspire to. And the last piece is just to follow industry influencers and share their thought-provoking posts with your opinion. You can also comment, or like it really starts to build a community around who you are as an individual, specifically when it comes to your brand at work.

I hope this was super helpful. LinkedIn can be super daunting, but it really doesn't have to be. It really is. Just think of it as social media for business. Think of it as your resume coming to life, that finally you have a chance to build this dynamic resume with all of these different media, these endorsements of your skills, recommendations, right?

Make it as easy as possible for a client, a recruiter, or a potential employer to find you and connect with you, and really understand what you're about.

I hope this was helpful to everyone. If you have any questions, please DM me on the Type A+ podcast. I will also include my LinkedIn link in the show notes.

Thank you so much for listening, and we will see you next week on Career Month on the Type A+ Podcast. Have a good one.