Job Change? How to Update your LinkedIn® Profile

Recently, I received two job change notifications from my LinkedIn® connections. I went out to take a look at their profiles expecting to see some information about these new positions. To my dismay, neither of my connections had updated their LI profile appropriately.

One person still had their previous job title listed in their headline. The other person had not updated the website of their new company.

Anytime that you have a major change to your career, be proactive to update your LinkedIn® profile as soon as possible. When making a job change, here is the relevant information pieces that you need to update immediately:

Photo – Spend a little money to have a professional photograph of yourself. Remember the dress for success pointers that you need to look like a professional if you expect to be taken seriously in your business.

Headline – Create a headline that is reflective of what service you provide to the marketplace. Some people think of this as their actual job title. Instead, when deciding how to describe your job position, think about how someone might search for you with your area of expertise.

Business email address – Lots of folks put their personal email in their contact information. LinkedIn® is a professional business in social media. Please include your business email address. Trust me; you will not get spammed any more than you do otherwise.

Company Website – Include your company’s website so that people can connect with you and your company. Too many times, I have seen my connections forget to update this portion of their profile.

Work Experience – Create a 3-paragraph description of your new position. Use present tense grammar when writing about your new job.

· 1-2 sentences about the company, including the size of the organization, number of branches, and products/services offered.

· 1-2 sentences about your written job description. If you are in management, include the number of employees of which you are responsible.

· 1-2 sentences about what you do in addition to your prescribed job.

· Update your former employment description with past tense verbiage.

Phone number – Provide your office phone number in your contact information. When I teach LinkedIn® classes, I’m adamant about making it easy for people to get in touch with you. Again, you won’t get any more robocalls or solicitation calls than you do normally.

About / Summary – Develop a new summary (2600 characters maximum) that outlines who your prospects are, what product/service you provide, and why you have a problem solution that a buyer needs. This is an opportunity for you to talk, in detail, about your area of expertise. Create this summary in the present tense. At the end of your summary, include a Call-to-Action that includes your phone number, website, and email address.

Education – Have you completed additional continuing education coursework? Or earned a special certification or degree? Update your education section of LinkedIn® with any classes that you have taken.

Skills – What about new skills learned or obtained during your prior employment? Have you learned a new CRM program or become proficient with Excel spreadsheets? Be sure to include all of your skill-set information on your LI profile.  Be proactive to ask for skill endorsement from those who can speak to your areas of expertise.

Volunteer / Civic work – Were you the captain of a team to raise money for your favorite charity? Employers, as well as prospective clients, are very interested in seeing that you are proactive in giving back to your community. List the volunteer experience as well as give details of any managerial work that you provided.

Recommendations – Give to get!  Be willing to provide a recommendation to several people who you have worked with.  Former supervisors or business associates are good examples of people who know, like and trust you.  Don’t be shy about asking.  If you don’t ask, you will not receive it!

Finally, start reaching out to your most trusted contacts to let them know that you have made a career move.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2020

Peggy Edge provides LinkedIn® training to individuals as well as sales teams. To hire Peggy, call her at 214-725-7626 or link with her on LinkedIn® at: www.linkedin.com/in/peggyedge

LinkedIn® Summary – Outlines your Personal Brand

Your LinkedIn® Summary can be used to layout your personal brand. This is where you can shine to the marketplace. 

Remember that prospects and clients alike will vet you through your LinkedIn® Profile. You want to look as professional as possible on paper. The old saying that people make a judgment about you within the first few minutes of meeting you applies to your professional LI profile as well. This is why your LI Summary is so very important.

To craft an effective Summary here are a few pointers that you can include to help outline your expertise, your company and what/how others can work with you:

• You have 2000 characters to write your Summary – use it to maximize your profile.
• Written in 1st person present tense.
• Be buyer-oriented…not me-me-me. (List your accomplishments in the Work Experience area of your profile). 
• What you do for the client – Think keywords.
• How you work or something about your process.
• A brief story about how you have helped solve a problem for a client.
• An excerpt from a client testimonial.
• What product/service that you offer to the marketplace.
• List of your areas of expertise.
• Your Promise to the client and/or Your Mission.
• How can prospects get in touch with you…list your website, email and phone# at the end of your Summary. 

Keep in mind to answer 3 questions: Who? What? Why?

• Who are your prospective clients? What levels of management and niche industries or markets are you interested in working?
• What product/service do you provide to the marketplace?
• Why is your product/service offering the answer to specific problems…detail your value proposition?

If you don’t have enough room within the Summary to talk about all of these pointers, move some of the highlights to the Work Experience area of your profile.

Since you can’t use bolding, underline or italic script to enhance or draw attention to each of these areas, you can CAPITALIZE the heading of each area. Create separate paragraphs for each section.

Before you post your final Summary, copy/paste it into a grammar check program like Scribens. (This program is free: www.scribens.com) or Grammarly (also has a free version: www.grammarly.com).

Finally, preview your entire work experience to make sure that you have your most current work written in 1st person present tense. 

Include any accomplishments here. Write a brief 1-2 sentence paragraph overview of your company, including size, number of employees, and/or gross sales. Next, create a 1-2 sentence statement about your official job description. 

If you are in management make a statement about your supervisory experience. Your last paragraph should include 1-2 sentences detailing any additional work that you do above and beyond the standard job description.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2019

—-Peggy is a LinkedIn® trainer who provides customized programs for individuals, sales teams, civic/trade associations, and educational institutions. To hire Peggy or Link with her, go to:  www.linkedIn.com/in/peggyedge 

LinkedIn Recommendations–Give to Get

Have you received recent recommendations through LinkedIn?  Instead of waiting for others to recommend you and your work, be proactive:

•  “Give to Get”–Be willing to reach out to a few of your key connections and write a recommendation of their work and expertise.
• Don’t be shy to ask for a recommendation from a client or one of your LI connections who knows your work ethic and/or industry expertise.
• If you have a recent project that you have completed with a client, use this opportunity to solicit how well they are pleased with your work by asking them if they would be willing to write you a recommendation.
• Keep in mind that you have up to 3000 characters of which to work.  This allows you enough space to re-cap a brief story of how both of you worked together.  Remember to be as detailed as possible explaining each other’s industry expertise.
• Some clients may ask you to draft something for them.  This is a great opportunity for you to tell the story for them.
• Believe it or not…prospective clients and/or recruiters will vet you on LinkedIn and are always interested in how well you are received and known in your field of work.  Be sure to give and to receive current recommendations. 

Peggy P. Edge © 2019

Peggy is a LinkedIn trainer who provides customized programs for individuals, sales teams, civic/trade associations, and educational institutions. Link with Peggy at www.linkedin.com/in/peggyedge