By Heidi Nicholson
2012 was a year of change for LinkedIn. The interface that veteran users were well-accustomed to started to morph into something sleeker and more user-friendly but in some ways, more maddening for members.
It’s certainly much easier to build your profile on LinkedIn now. Adding new entries and sections is less fiddly than it used to be. However, do remember that LinkedIn is merely a platform and no judge of quality. I recently revamped our “Good Linked, Weak LinkedIn” eBook and even the “weak” profile is considered “Expert” by the measures that LinkedIn applies. I can tell you now that the content of the weak profile would not help the person concerned achieve any of his career or business aims.
I heaved a sigh of relief when the requirement to have three recommendations to have a complete profile was dropped. Many people didn’t like the system of “open references” that LinkedIn imposed, and being told that their profile would never be complete without the magic three recommendations was a deterrent to even being part of the LinkedIn community for some people.
This does not mean that recommendations no longer have a place for sales professionals. Especially if you are promoting a business venture or looking for a job or freelancing or breaking into a new area, a weight of recommendations behind your name, which people who are considering you and your services can refer to, will never hurt.
The arrival of endorsements
On the other hand, in came endorsements. I know many people have mixed feelings about these, even now we’ve had a bit of time to get used to them. The good thing about them is that people can rate you in one click. The downside is that because LinkedIn prompts people to recommend you when they look at your profile, the endorsements can at the time seem quite random. I’ve certainly been offered some very unexpected endorsements.
Moreover, my most endorsed skill (“recruiting”) is one that I certainly have and one which gives my work at Richmond Solutions credibility. However, is not one I want to promote in particular any more. Tip: if this happens to you, just hide those endorsements. That’s what I’ve done and it seems to have restored the equilibrium. You need to be an active manager of your profile to get the most out of this feature.
Let’s end on my favourite new feature: LinkedIn has made it far easier to upload external content and I’ve been making the most of it, adding Slideshare presentations and YouTube videos to my profile. LinkedIn now supports a far wider range of applications by this means than it used to when you were invited to add specific applications (remember the Amazon Reading List?). To find out more about the different external sites supported by LinkedIn, go to
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/34327.
As for me, I’m delighted to say that my profile is rated “All Star” by LinkedIn and I’ve recently been told that mine is among the top 1% of most viewed profiles of the 200 million now on LinkedIn globally. If you’d like a bit of that magic, drop us a line!
Heidi Nicholson is a director at Richmond Solutions.
Richmond Solutions believes all its clients are individuals and has a highly tailored and customised approach to its work.
If you would like a free review of your CV or LinkedIn profile, please contact us via our website.
Why not join the dedicated SimplySalesJobs LinkedIn Group, called UK Sales Network It’s growing fast, and is a great place to make industry contacts, and hear about sales jobs and the latest thinking.
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