You know my take on LinkedIn: a power tool in your self-branding toolbox.
I could not agree more with the author of a recent article I found, as she says in the very last line of the article, “For me, it’s all about teaching people to work smarter, not harder on LinkedIn.”
Yes, that means it takes time and effort to think deeply about how you want to portray yourself:
- in words and phrases smarter than the competition, unique among seemingly equals, in your own words, as if you are actually speaking to the reader, who has limited attention span and time to “get” you.
- well crafted sections, one by one, telling your story in different ways and in multiple contexts to paint your image. Impressions, right? To make him or her contact you.
- a high quality, reliable professional entourage of connections around you to cheer you on, and you them.
- your “why you do what you do” accentuated by recommendations and real knowledgeable skills endorsements echoing “how well you do that.”
- and a final observation, the right keywords peppered in your Headline, Summary and Experience sections, as well as Skills, to be found in the search engine that LinkedIn really is.
Now that’s quality over quantity and if that means extra work on your part, it’s an investment in yourself.
Anyone care to argue? Ok, I didn’t think so…
