The document outlines strategic guidelines for optimizing LinkedIn profiles and enhancing networking opportunities. Key topics include creating an engaging profile, utilizing hashtags and tags for visibility, and effective job searching strategies. Additionally, it offers insights into using the LinkedIn mobile app for networking and content sharing.

1. Strategic Guidelines
brought to you by
Bruce A. Bennett
Career Coach Corner
December 18, 2024

2. 2
Introduction & Notes for Workshop
Introduction
MCWN Volunteer since 2010 & Contractor from 2018
Career Coach Corner Blogger & Presenter
B² Discuss LinkedIn Podcaster
LinkedIn user since 2006
General Notes for Today
My contact info is on the last slide
Workshop is interactive, Q/A & Parking lot
Follow-up email includes a link to the deck (no recording) and
an evaluation survey
Red Arrows

3. 3
Outline for session
Outline
Why LinkedIn?
General tips
Enhancing your profile
Strategic Guidelines
Searching & Settings
Mobile App

4. 4
Goals for session
Learn how to create and post content
Understand how to use the hashtag # symbol
Recognize how to use the at @ symbol
Identify opportunities to market yourself
Discover the LinkedIn mobile app benefits

5. 5
LinkedIn - What is it & Why use it?
Over ONE billion professionals in more than 200
countries use LinkedIn to connect, exchange
information, ideas & opportunities!
 More than 90% of recruiters search for candidates on LinkedIn
 45 million people use LinkedIn to job search weekly
 6 people are hired on LinkedIn every minute
 77 job applications submitted every second
Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-statistics-business

6. 6
Your View of My Introduction Card

7. 7
Your View of My Introduction Card
Use the More
button to
reveal
additional
options
including the
Connect

8. 8
My View of the Introduction Card

9. 9
LinkedIn Profile - Add Profile Sections

10. 10
LinkedIn Profile - Add Profile Sections

11. 11
LinkedIn Profile - Add Profile Sections

12. 12
Editing Your LinkedIn Profile URL

13. 13
Editing Your LinkedIn Profile URL
Delete
computer
generated
digits &
Save

14. 14
Editing Your LinkedIn Profile URL
Use on
resume,
cover letter,
business
card, job
applications,
email
signature

15. 15
Adding a Custom Banner
Providing a custom banner enhances a profile

16. 16
Adding a Custom Banner
Use a relevant image of
your profession or
branding statement
1600 x 400 pixels is the
suggested banner size
LinkedIn has over 2
dozen custom images
to select from generic
to current topics,
e.g. Stop Hate

17. 17
Adding a Custom Banner
This is the
Upload a Photo
option that
allows you to
adjust the
image to size

18. 18
Adding a Custom Banner
Use Google Images to search alternate options

19. 19
Other Custom Banner Options
https://www.canva.com/
https://www.freewordcloudgenerator.com/generatewordcloud

20. 20
Editing Your Profile Contact Info
Check your contacts for email & phone

21. 21
Editing Your Profile Contact Info
Your contact info should include email & phone

22. 22
LinkedIn Strategic Guidelines
1. All Star profile
2. Headline that is descriptive and accurate, not title
3. Add media to the Featured & Experience sections
4. About section with a call to action - TMAY
5. Utilize the Skills section and other keywords
6. Create relevant job search agents
7. Create a post, share an image, write an article, etc.
8. Use # and @ for better visibility on LinkedIn &
other social media platforms
9. Recommendations
10. Name pronunciation - Mobile app

23. 23
Strategic Guideline - All Star Profile
All-Star profiles are 40x more likely to receive job opportunities
There are several stages to developing your LinkedIn profile
1. Beginner
2. Intermediate
3. Advanced
4. Expert
5. All-Star
LinkedIn will suggest actions to reach the next level under
your Introduction card until you achieve an All-Star Profile
How To Get LinkedIn All-Star Status as a High-Skilled and Unde
rrepresented Candidate in 2022
Article

24. 24
Strategic Guideline - Profile Photo
Your photo should have a professional appearance
Passport format with a headshot
Any digital photo can be cropped to fit
Rename the photo file for SEO before uploading it
e.g. Bruce Bennett Fishing Guide.jpg

25. 25
Strategic Guideline - Headline
Headline can have
220 characters
Separate your
skills with a space
and pipe symbol
or create a Unique
Value Proposition
(UVP)

26. 26
A. B2B Sales at MNO Company
B. Bilingual B2B Sales Professional at MNO Company
C. Fluent Bilingual B2B Sales Professional Helping French and
American Companies expand their International Presence
D. Marketing Manager at XYZ Company
E. Successful Marketing Manager of Brands at XYZ Company
F. Internet Marketing Expert | Looking For New Business
Partnerships That Need Help With Marketing... Lets Connect!
LinkedIn Headline Alternative - UVP

27. 27
Strategic Guideline - Add Media
The Featured
section is ideal
for sharing a
photo op,
documents,
work examples,
etc.

28. 28
Strategic Guideline - Add Media
Adding media to
your Experience
section is ideal
for photo ops,
documents,
work examples,
etc.

29. 29
The About section can have 2600 characters
The first paragraph should be about your skills, job titles,
work experience and passion
Second paragraph should relate how you added value for a
previous employer(s) - tell a STAR story
The final paragraph should tell how you can solve a
company’s problems and/or career role you are seeking
Close with a call to action: “let’s connect…contact me if…
call me if”
Incorporate the new logo and your top 5 skills
Strategic Guideline - About Summary

30. 30
Strategic Guideline - Skills
Only Two skills are featured but you can have 100 skills
Ensure the top 2 skills you want to be found for appear on top
You can add a new skill by clicking the + hyperlink symbol
The skills can edited by clicking on the pencil
Add a new skill Edit your skills

31. 31
Strategic Guideline - Skills
LinkedIn suggests
key skills based on
your profile
Click on the skill and
Save it to add to
your profile
Or type in a skill to
add it to your profile

32. 32
Strategic Guideline - Skills
Type a new skill and LinkedIn
suggests variations of the skill
Customer = Service, CRM,
Satisfaction, Retention, Experience,
Support, etc.
Skills at the top of the list are
more widely searched

33. 33
Strategic Guideline - Skills
You can select the role
in which you gained
the experience
Multiple positions can
be selected for the skill

34. 34
Strategic - Skills & Endorsements
You can edit the
skills by
clicking on the
pencil
Click on 3 dots
to reorder your
displayed skills
or check
Endorsement
settings

35. 35
Strategic - Skills & Endorsements
Click on the
symbol and drag the
skill to the new
position

36. 36
Strategic - Skills & Endorsements
Endorsement settings
Enable endorsements to boost your skills

37. 37
Strategic - Skills & Endorsements
It is imperative to add all your skills to your profile
You might ask yourself why is it so important?
This Is Why I Emphasize Skills

38. 38
Strategic Guideline - Skills Nuance
Strategically place skills in your work experience
Job Title (then list skills used in that position)
Insert key skills again in the detailed section

39. 39
Strategic Guideline - Job Search
Job search agents (10) can be easily created

40. 40
Strategic Guideline - Job Search Agent
Set an alert to
create a job
search agent
Many filters are
listed in the
toolbar Date
posted,
Experience,
Company,
All filters have
many more
search criteria

41. 41
LinkedIn Easy Apply Application
Use Easy Apply if NOT listed on Company Website

42. 42
Strategic Guideline - Your Activity
Activity posting can be
linked articles,
recognition, videos,
hyperlinks, milestones,
photos, etc.
Anyone can view all your
posting activities
Click on Show all posts to
view additional content

43. 43
Strategic Guideline - Your Activity
Show all activity lists all your
Posts, Comments, Images,
and More (events,
documents & reactions)
Scroll down to see all activity
with the engagement and
impressions statistics
View analytics to recognize
trends in your posting
activity

44. 44
Strategic Guideline - Your Activity
Impressions show you how
many times your content
appeared on someone's
screen
Views inform you of the
number of people interested
enough to click on your
content to explore it.

45. 45
Analytics

46. 46
Analytics
The Analytics
section is only
available for
your review
Additional info is
available under
each category

47. 47
Strategic Guideline - Your Activity
Post analytics
Impressions offers
insights about the
coverage of your
activity
Periods range from
past 7 days, 14
days, 28 days, 90
days and 365 days

48. 48
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Post analytics
Engagements detail
the reactions to your
activity

49. 49
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Demographics
information covers
several categories
Top demographics
can display Job
titles, Locations,
Industries, Seniority,
Company size and
Company

50. 50
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Creating a post is an easy process
Start on the Home page and click on Start a post

51. 51
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Click on the Post to Anyone for the drop-down menu
to select who receives the post

52. 52
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
You can send to
Anyone, Connections
only, or a LinkedIn
Group

53. 53
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
You can select
only ONE
LinkedIn
Group to
post your
message

54. 54
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Type a message and
add # to increase
the number of
recipients
Or use @ to tag
specific
individuals or
company

55. 55
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Add hashtags to reach
a larger audience
#jobinterviews 14.1M
#personaldevelopment 14.5M
#careers 22.2M
The content is complete
and ready to Post

56. 56
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
The text, image and
hyperlink is
successfully
created and
posted to the
network feed

57. 57
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
Clicking on the
ellipse reveals
several options
including editing
the post or
deleting the post

58. 58
Strategic Guideline - Creating Posts
You can schedule your post for a later time

59. 59
Strategic Guideline - Hashtag - #
The hashtag # symbol is a powerful tool
Use it to reach a larger audience
Gain more visibility and/or marketing
Appropriate use is #LinkedInTips
Those individuals following #LinkedInTips will
have it appear in their feed
Enter a hashtag to find articles about it

60. 60
Strategic Guideline - Hashtags
This article introduces a Chrome Extension that can id
entify the number of hashtag followers

61. 61
Strategic Guideline - Hashtags

62. 62
Strategic Guideline - @
The @ symbol tags a specific person or company
The tagged person receives mention notice
e.g. @DenisCurtin
Or @BruceBixler
Or @Brunswick Corporation
Both symbols work with other social media

63. 63
Strategic Guideline - @
Use the @ symbol
and type their name
Click on the person
in the dropdown
list to “tag” them in
the post

64. 64
Strategic Guideline - @
LinkedIn
completes the
name for you &
hyperlinks it
Complete typing
your comments
and click the
Post button

65. 65
Strategic Guideline - @
The individual
receives notice that
you tagged them
It will appear in the
feed of those
individuals and/or
companies who
follow the individual

66. 66
Three levels of connections
Your LinkedIn Network - 1st
, 2nd
, or 3rd

67. 67
Strategic Guideline - Build Network
LinkedIn suggests many ways to build a network
 People you may know from the University of South Florida
 Top emerging creators to follow
 Pages to follow based on your activity
 People you may know with similar roles
 People in the Professional Training & Coaching industry
 Online events for you
 Groups you may be interested in

68. 68
Strategic Guideline - Build Network
People you may know with similar roles
Click on their name or photo to connect

69. 69
Strategic Guideline - Build Network
Click on the blue Connect button

70. 70
Strategic Guideline - Build Network
A dialogue box pops up with two options
Add a note customized to the person
Send now produces a generic spam-like message

71. 71
Strategic Guideline - Build Network
A personal note greatly
increases the
likelihood of a
successful
connection
Only 200 characters
can be used for the
note

72. 72
Building Your LinkedIn Network
Click on the More
button to Connect
and reveal several
other options

73. 73
Strategic Guideline - Recommendation
Recommendations are
meaningful and add an
important element to your
profile for consideration
Include a quote from your
Recommendations and
add it to specific work
experiences further
validates your capabilities
to the viewer

74. 74
Strategic Guideline - Follow Company
Keep current with your
Interests & target companies
LinkedIn enables you to easily
view news & jobs
This also enables you to
engage with the company

75. 75
Strategic Guideline - Follow Company
LinkedIn company page
features many details
Following the company
makes it easy to stay
informed and up to date
about it
Jobs can usually be found
on their company page

76. 76
Strategic Guideline - Follow Company
The About section
features an overview
with many details
about the company
You can let a
company know you
are interested in
working there

77. 77
Strategic Guideline - Follow Companies
Like, Comment or Repost to engage with a company

78. 78
Strategic Guideline - Follow Company
Additional Job search
agents can be specific
for your target company
You are more likely to be
viewed when liking,
commenting or sharing
their content
It demonstrates you are
engaged with the
company

79. 79
Who Viewed You?
Review Profile
Views from
the home or
profile pages
A free account
will list the
last five
people who
viewed you

80. 80
Who Viewed You?
The 5 most recent five people are identified with a free
account except those that want to remain anonymous

81. 81
LinkedIn Searching
Find people,
companies,
jobs, groups
using the
search option
Use LinkedIn’s
array of search
filters to fine-
tune results

82. 82
LinkedIn Searching
All filters
allow for
searching
by
Connections
of, Location,
Companies,
Industries,
Schools,
and…

83. 83
LinkedIn Settings

84. 84
LinkedIn Settings

85. 85
LinkedIn Settings

86. 86
LinkedIn Settings

87. 87
LinkedIn Settings
There are three
profile viewing
options
You want to let
individuals and
companies
know that you
are looking at
them

88. 88
LinkedIn Settings

89. 89
LinkedIn Social Selling Index
https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/social-selling/the-social-selling-index-ssi

90. 90
LinkedIn Social Selling Index

91. 91
LinkedIn Mobile App
High level of functionality
Instant communication
Record audio message
#Networking

92. 92
Home Page
LinkedIn mobile makes it
easy to network and stay
connected with your
network.
The mobile app opens to
your home page for
viewing your network feed.
Touch your photo in the
upper left to view your
profile page.

93. 93
Name Pronunciation
Name Pronunciation
displays a speaker next
to your name.
LinkedIn mobile app
allows you to add it.
Click on your profile
settings to add your
name and a brief
message.
Save the 10-second
recording.

94. 94
Adding a Connection
You can personalize a
request to connect on
LinkedIn mobile.
1 Go to their Profile.
2 Click the symbol.
A new screen will be
displayed.
2
1

95. 95
Video Page
Views videos from LinkedIn
contributors or influencers.

96. 96
My Network Page
Manage network
connections from
this page.
Accept invitations or
select an individual
to invite & write a
personal note to
connect.
Notes are limited to
200/300 spaces.

97. 97
Posting
LinkedIn has made it
easy to post and many
options are available
using the app.
Note the bubble at the
top of the page. Touch
the symbol. A new
screen will be
displayed.

98. 98
Posting
Click on Anyone to
reveal options for whom
you are posting the
message.
The + symbol on the
previous slide will
display the options to
include in your post.

99. 99
Mobile Messaging
Messaging offers ability to
search messages.
A green circle indicates they
are active on LinkedIn
1 To create a new message.
A new screen will be displayed.
1

100. 100
Mobile Messaging
You can send more then a plain
text message.
Click on the + symbol to add
attachment, camera, video,
photos, or GIF.
Or send a short audio message by
selecting the microphone.

101. 101
Notifications
This page replicates the
desktop version. It will
display recent activity
about your network.

102. 102
Jobs
The Jobs tab
displays most of the
features available on
the desktop version.
Click on Show all to
display more top job
picks for you.

103. 103
QR Code
LinkedIn has made it easy to
share your profile with others,
especially at networking events.
Begin by selecting the Search bar
at the top of the page.
1 Click on the symbol and a
new screen will be displayed.
1

104. 104
LinkedIn Mobile App
1 Open your camera so you can scan
another person’s code.
2 Your code is displayed for scanning.
3 Share your code via email, Facebook, etc.
4 Save QR code to your phone.
3
4
2
1
2

105. 105
I want to add you to the 2024 Success Stories
Tim - Business Development
Valarie - Horticulturalist
Kim - Account Exec
Megan - Graphic Design
Celeste - Account Exec
Nouh - IT
Lucy - Office Admin
Jennifer - Director
Aurelie - Graphic Design
Scott - Director
Mark - Risk Management
Lara - Communications
Shannon - Office Admin
Mickey - Communications
Robert - IT
Paul - Writer
Melissa - Market Research
Liz - Market Research
Kurt - Marketing
Lisa - Administration

106. 106
McHenry County Workforce Network
Career Workshops & Services brochure for January
Free Personalized Job Search Assistance Services
To sign up, email the professional directly
LinkedIn Critiques
60 minute session Virtual Session is a one on one
profile review and/or Q&A about LinkedIn usage
Email me to set up an appointment: BABennett73@gmail.com

107. 107
Upcoming Webinar Events
Resumes, Cover Letters and Applying Online
Monday January 6, 2025 from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Network to Success
Making Lemonade Out of Lemons
or How to Cope with Job Loss
Wednesday January 8, 2025, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Guide for a Winning Interview
Monday January 13, 2025, from 10:00am to 12:00pm
LinkedIn for Your Job Search
Wednesday January 17, 2025, from 10:00am to 12:00pm

108. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn
Bruce A. Bennett
Mobile: 815-302-9552
Email: BABennett73@gmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bruceabennett
Career Coach Corner Blog: http://bruce73.wordpress.com/
https://bruce73.wordpress.com/upcoming-presentations/
Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/b-squared-linkedin