Have you updated your LinkedIn profile recently? Or even fully built it out yet?
Economic uncertainty and a fluctuating job market are two good reasons to do this now. And there are a lot more.
With more than 660 million users, LinkedIn is the largest and fastest growing professional social media platform in the world. People are still joining at a rate of two per second. And a lot of them are in the healthcare design industry.
For example, as I write this, here's how many LinkedIn members in the U.S. have these words in their titles:
- Healthcare facility manager - 310,000
- Healthcare architect - 287,000
- Healthcare designer - 510,000
- Healthcare engineer construction - 117,000
- Healthcare planner - 74,000
Not Just for Job Seekers
Maybe you're thinking, "I don't have time to do this. I'm not looking for a job."
Okay, I get it. You're busy. We're all busy.
But, LinkedIn is not only for job seekers. LinkedIn is a place to find information -- about colleagues, clients, potential clients, industry trends, how to do your job better, and so much more.
It's also a place to represent yourself and the company you work for. In that sense, your profile is part of your company's brand.
7 Things to Do
What information about yourself do you want the professional world to know? Here's seven things to do:
- Headshot: Post a professional-looking headshot that frames your face and has a neutral background. If the one you have is more than three years old, consider replacing it.
- Banner Image: Customize this with a professional image that represents you and/or what you do. Use sources like Dreamstime or Getty Images to find low-cost royalty-free images. Dimensions: 1400 x 425 pixels.
- Headline: These are the words under your name. Don’t simply list your title; write a headline that includes keywords that describe what you do. Go back and tweak it every once and a while.
- About: Write a summary that tells who you are and why are doing what you do. It should be conversational and reflect your personality. Revisit this often to make sure it's still what you want to say. Also, only the first 100 words show when someone first opens your profile, so make them engaging.
- Experience: Fill this out with your responsibilities, accomplishments, and what you learned on the job for each position you've held. Again, make it conversational. Don't just post a resume. And don't forget to update it when you change jobs or positions.
- Other Profile Sections: Add and fill out as many of the other sections you can, such as Publications, Projects, Credentials, Skills, Education. Periodically add new things. Tag people you've worked with on projects. And only list the 10 most relevant skills for what you do.
- Recommendations. Get recommendations from colleagues. A good time to do this is just after you've completed a project that involved other individuals.
Want More Help?
If you'd like to get a critique of your LinkedIn profile, contact me. If you're among the first 10 people to do this, I'll take a quick look and give you some free pointers.
Also, if you've recently been laid off or furloughed and we've worked together in the past -- had a coffee, lunch, drink, or a phone call, please don't hesitate to get in touch and let me know how I can help you.
P.S. Please do me a favor -- if you liked this post and like this blog, please share it with others by sending them the link and/or post it on your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, etc. Also, don't forget to subscribe so you'll get emails when new content is posted. Thanks!
