ASSIGNMENT: LINKEDIN PROFILE OPTIMIZATION

Update your LinkedIn profile following the guidelines below. Once completed, save your LinkedIn Profile as a PDF and upload it here for review.

TOPCARD

PROFILE PHOTO	According to Money magazine, a photo generates up to 20 times more clicks and up to 35 times more messages.    Your photo should take up 60% of the frame.Should be a CURRENT photo (no catfishing) Dress to the expectations of your desired audience
BACKGROUND PHOTO	This image drives visual interest and lends itself to your professional brand. Make sure the photo communicates what you are trying to portray when someone visits your page.   *ISGF provides a background photo to add to your profile.
OPTIMIZED HEADLINE	Keywords in this space carry more weight than keywords in the rest of the profile. Think of your Headline as something that gets you noticed and opens doors, as a value statement, as the future, not the present. It’s your opportunity to stand out from the crowd.   Elements of a great LinkedIn Headline: Highlights top accomplishments or areas of expertise Describes how you can help others Short and Impactful   Example: Recruiting Manager · Staffing · Talent Acquisition · Business Consultant · We’re Hiring!
100+ CONNECTIONS	This allows you to expand your network and build relationships through first degree connections, as well as improve your position in a search result.
CONTACT DETAILS	A clean, customized LinkedIn URL makes your profile easy to find and access.Add your personal/company website  Add your “professional” email address (the one you would like prospective clients, employers, and business partners to reach you)  Twitter (You will create an ISGF Twitter account)  Birthday (You want to show up in all of your contacts notifications at least once a year)
LOCATION	According to LinkedIn, profiles with a geographical location appear in up to 20 more times in searches.

ABOUT ME

SUMMARY	The Summary Section is an ideal space to tell your story while driving search engine optimization through the use of hard and soft skills as keywords.   1. Use all of the real estate (2,000-character limit. 2. Write in a narrative format. Tell your story in your own words. 3. Clear Mission Statement. 4. Inject personality and optimize for SEO (industry specific words matter). Your goal is to start a conversation with people. 5. End with a clear call to action. You’ll want to be sure to let the people in your network know what you’re looking to accomplish and what you’d like next to do for them. 6. Add photos to your summary. Your profile should be more than just a paragraph. Add photos, videos and a link to your blog or website if you have them.
FORMAT AND READABILITY	This space generates more attention with sensible use of bullets, bold and italics.
MEDIA BAR	Make your profile compelling and help it standout by including photos, videos, documents, slides, publications, patents and/or portfolios which demonstrate your professional achievements.

ARTICLES & ACTIVITY

POSTS & ARTICLES	Whether you forward someone else’s content, or post your own articles, this activity will drive interest to your profile and attract more followers.
LIKES, COMMENTS & SHARES	According to LinkedIn, this activity drives favorable attention to your profile and can be important in staying engaged.

Studies show that 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn, and 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content. If you’re not active on LinkedIn, you’re missing 80% of your leads.

-LINKEDIN

EXPERIENCE

EMPLOYER NAME & LOGO	The name and logo will draw attention to your experience and connect your profile to company’s LinkedIn page.   When adding your ISGF job experience, please add the following videos to your Job Description to make this stand out:   We Are ISGF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR0g-aIZvuA&t=10s   Our Clients https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWUYwD6m1J0&t=9s   Our Job Seekers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lttXUdqeBdw&t=2s
JOB TITLE	A keyword-optimized job title communicates your position and fosters easy searchability.
START & END DATE	This reflects the timeline of your work experience. Some employers give this section the same weight as a resume.
JOB DESCRIPTION: CONTENT & READABILITY	Keywords – industry-specific and skill-based terms – can drive search engine optimization (SEO).   Recruiters or employers may skim through profile content. Clean formats are more readable and engaging.

EDUCATION

COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY	The best networking can be accomplished with alumni. Help classmates find you by including your college or university.
DEGREE / FIELD OF STUDY	This section proves your academic level and contributes to your qualifications.
ACTIVITIES & SOCIETIES	This section can include athletics, clubs, and campus media as well as academic and social fraternities and sororities.

On average, 46% of social media traffic coming to B2B company sites is from LinkedIn. LinkedIn has 546+ million users in 200 countries, and 2 new members join the network every second!

-LINKEDIN

LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS

LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS Certifications are a great way to emphasize your knowledge and professional achievements.

VOLUNTEER & COMMUNITY

VOLUNTEER According to LinkedIn, 1 out of 5 employers are interested in a candidate’s role in the community. Volunteering provides another opportunity to showcase skills and experiences. It also demonstrates your commitment to the community.  

SKILL & ENDORSEMENTS

CURRENT SKILLS	Certifications are a great way to emphasize your knowledge and professional achievements.
ENDORSEMENTS	Your profile could rank higher in a search result if you have at least 10 endorsements for sought-after skills. Give endorsements and you will receive them.
RECOMMENDATIONS	Employers and recruiters seek out this section for third-party proof of your job performance and professional reputation. At least three are needed to be job search-ready. Ask for recommendations and give them as well.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

HONORS & AWARDS	Individual or team honors, work or community, will speak your worth and set your profile apart from your competition.
ORGANIZATIONS	This section is the place to demonstrate your membership in professional groups and associations.
LANGUAGES	Being multi-lingual can give you a competitive edge.
COURSES	Emphasize how you have worked to develop yourself by listing professional courses you have taken while on the job.
PROJECTS	This section highlights achievements like completed projects, speaking engagements, case studies, e-books, webinars and success stories.
PATENTS	According to LinkedIn, patents are a great way to showcase your expertise in a particular field.
PUBLICATIONS	Publications can be considered evidence of subject matter expertise and may include books, published papers, research, white papers and articles.

INTERESTS & GROUPS

INFLUENCERS	Following influencers help keep you up-to-date on industry trends making it easier to share articles and generate discussions to drive engagement and attract others to your network.
COMPANIES	Following at least five companies, allows you to track job openings and recent updates for your target companies.
GROUPS JOINED	Joining at least five groups allows access to people outside of your network and fosters new connections which could drive activity to your profile.   Add more relevant to the IT and Recruiting industry and remove pending requests to join groups that have been pending for longer than 1 month.
SCHOOLS	Following schools keeps school events and updates posted to your newsfeed.

Of the 546 million total LinkedIn users and 250 million monthly active users, only 3 million share content on a weekly basis—just a touch over 1% of monthly users. That means 3 million users are getting 9 billion impressions each week!

-LINKEDIN