9 Ways to Enhance Your LinkedIn Profile

A friend who is focused on the emerging "Green" industry asked me about what he could do to enhance his LinkedIn Profile to resonate more with his interest. I came up with 9 tips.

• Tailor your Headline: Instead of listing yourself as a Project Manager you could do something more creative as calling yourself "The Green Guy" or "Project Manager for a Greener World". Sometimes these headlines stick in peoples minds and can paint a rich picture of the services that you have to offer.
• Select Appropriate Industry: For the green industry you could use "Renewable & Environment" If someone is looking for you they might use the advanced search feature and select a very specific industry. If you dont see an industry that fits, you can also petition LinkedIn to add it. When you edit this part of your profile there is a link that says "Suggest a missing Industry".
• Your Summary Section must Differentiate: Nothing says boring like "15 years of experience". The summary is where you can make a very strong mark for yourself. Dont pull any punches here when talking about your unique skill in the industry. Often we are so self-deprecating when speaking or writing about ourselves - its no wonder we can't get hired doing something we love. There is usually a reason we have excelled in a particular area - some personal experience or trait - we just need to express it here. This is also a good place to make a compelling statement about your credibility. Your observant friends can probably help you with some of the words. You may not realize that others think you are charismatic.
• Customize your Public Profile: Change the url to your public profile to your name or something memorable in your area of interest. Sometimes we call this a "vanity" url but its not vain - its good branding. While I use http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyblake you might try something like http://www.linkedin.com/in/greenguy to make your address stand out. What is nice about the vanity url is that you can now use it on your business card and best of all its memorable.
• Specialties: Here is a place to put all the keywords pertinent to your industry that you have experience with. These words will help people find you in searchs. It also is a place to actually state the things that make you special. You can be creative here too and state some personal experiences that differentiate you - it doesn't just have to be competence in Excel.
• Add Website: If you have a website list it here in the profile. You can also list the address to your blog that talks about "Green". Nothing spells credibility more that actually contributing some content. Using your gmail account you can start a blog in about 5 minutes.
• Interests: Another place to put something that demonstrates you are "interested" in your field. Some people put all sorts of things here but I would list anything that enhances your perception and sparks an interest in someone to possibly want to talk to you. If you make art from recycled tin cans - list it here.
• Groups: Being connected to different groups in your industry is wonderful. Join some groups that focus on common interests. I discover which groups to join partly by word of mouth but also by watching on my home page what my other connections are joining. You can post questions to the group and you can contact group members directly without needing an introduction because they are not in your immediate network.
• Honors and Awards: Hey, I wish I had some of these myself - actually I have a few but I havent listed them yet. But if you got em then post em. This is important because it builds credibility for yourself and is a reminder that you have special skills.
  

Personal Branding: I am the Singularity

The number one rule of personal branding is to be unique - possibly the best in the world as Seth Godin suggests in his book The Dip. This is not as hard as it might seem - it just takes a bit of self reflection to find the things that differentiate yourself from the rest of the commodities out there in the world. Its a bit about finding your own personality and being ok with it - because being yourself and having a special point of view sometimes makes you at odds with the lemmings. When you find your own inner strength and creativity you will find that it also results in a great amount of magnetism that will draw energy and people toward you like a black hole.

Be the Best in the World

When branding yourself strive to be the best in the world at something and be passionate about it.