by Lis McGuire | Aug 17, 2015 | LinkedIn tips, News
One of LinkedIn’s underused features is the background image. This banner image sits at the very top of your profile, behind your profile image, name, and headline. This used to be a Premium feature, but has since been rolled out to free accounts. Yet not everyone has taken up the opportunity. I think they are missing a trick.
Adding a bright and engaging background image can bring immediate visual appeal to your LinkedIn profile, providing an engaging point of interest. The right image can convey an instant message about you, which will be reinforced by your profile content. Also, whilst the masses haven’t yet taken up the opportunity, adding a background image offers further opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
If you’re convinced of the merits of adding a background image, you may now be wondering what kind of image you should choose. Here are seven ideas, which I hope will spark some thought:
#1 A LinkedIn stock image
Premium members can select a background image from LinkedIn’s preloaded image gallery, which contains 25 ready-to-go stock images. Using one of these is a no-stress starting point for your first LinkedIn header image. However, there is a fair chance that others will have selected the same image, which won’t help you to stand out.
#2 Your product or service in the making
If you are involved in producing or selling a product or service (and want to stay in that industry), why not use an image of your offering in the making? People love to see behind the scenes and it will give those viewing your profile an instant handle on the kind of thing you do.

#3 Your product or service in action
Showing the product or service that you or your company delivers in action is another option. Using your own images can add a personal touch, so take your camera with you as you work, and see what you can capture. It goes without saying, but be sure not to share anything sensitive or confidential.

#4 The skyline of your current city
If you are working in a well-known commercial district or an easily recognised landscape, why not use that vista as your background image?

#5 A map
Similar to number four, you could use a map of your current work location.

#6 Design your own
It is quick and easy to design your own banner using sites like Canva or PicMonkey. Alternatively, why not use a competitive paid service via fiverr or fivesquids. Check out the reviews before your order to avoid disappointment.
Your bespoke banner could include your logo or picture, contact information, and detail the main benefit you deliver to your target audience. Reflect your personal brand colour, if you have one, ensuring consistency with your CV. Here is one I designed, using PicMonkey, for my own LinkedIn profile:

#7 A personal image
You could opt to bring personality to your profile with an image chosen to reflect your personal characteristics and interests. If you have an interesting hobby, which gives a visual clue about your personal attributes, this could provide a powerful image for your LinkedIn profile. Use your own image, or source a relevant image from a free image site, such as Pixabay, or from a paid site such as Dollar Photo Club.

How to add a background photo
Background images can be JPG, GIF, or PNG files, of no more than 4MB. A resolution of 1400 by 425 pixels looks best.
In ‘Edit Profile’ mode, select the camera icon above the top section of your LinkedIn profile. From here, you can upload an image of your choice, move it around as required, and save it. It’s useful to sanity check how it looks on another device before finalising, just to check that what you think is visible is actually visible.
Over to you
If your LinkedIn background image is still blank, fill it today. It’s a quick job that can make all the difference to how you are seen on LinkedIn.
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by Lis McGuire | Jun 29, 2015 | Job search advice, LinkedIn tips, News, Social media for your job search
When it comes to using social media for professional networking, there’s little doubt that LinkedIn is a force to be reckoned with. Data from Hubspot would suggest that LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating professional leads than Facebook or Twitter. It is also estimated that 2.74% of traffic that comes into a website from LinkedIn converts to bookings or sales compared to 0.98% of traffic from other social media platforms. This would suggest that when people search for leads through LinkedIn, they’re serious about making connections.
But there’s also no doubt that, like all social media platforms, LinkedIn has its downsides. Although the latest stats suggest that there are 347 million registered users worldwide, many of these may not be active profiles, while other important contacts may not yet be on LinkedIn. There are times when building your network can feel like a slow and time consuming process. Another criticism sometimes levelled at LinkedIn is that you can find your message folder full of spam messages and random requests to join the networks of people who haven’t had the courtesy to introduce themselves.
LinkedIn has some fabulous features but to stop it draining too much of your time – again, like other social media platforms – it’s important to be strategic to make the most of your presence.
But what if LinkedIn doesn’t feel like a good fit? Are there alternatives for anyone who wants to build their professional network, or sites that you could be using as well as LinkedIn? Would you benefit from being more actively involved in an industry-specific network?
We’ve been doing some research and put together a guide to alternatives to LinkedIn below:
Non-industry specific alternatives to LinkedIn
AngelList
If you are interested in working for a start-up business or you run a start-up business and you’re looking for staff, investors, or support from within the business community, then you may find AngelList a better starting point than LinkedIn.
BranchOut
BranchOut is apparently the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million searchable profiles. BranchOut users utilise their social network from Facebook to discover inside connections for jobs, recruiting, and sales. If you want to tap into the power of your Facebook contacts, BranchOut may be the tool to do it.
College and University Alumni Associations
If you attended college or university, then you may find that its alumni association is a fantastic resource for professional networking. Many alumni associations advertise jobs, provide mentoring, funding opportunities, and much more. You never know who might know someone who knows someone else who’s looking for a person with your skills and experience.
Google+
Google+ is potentially an incredible tool for professional networking, combining brevity, communities, and content sharing through a platform that, for professionals, bridges the gap between Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. If you add your profile to Google+, you can be found in Google searches, show off a full public profile with information about what you do, share your content and links to your blog, and much more. You can categorise your contacts into Circles, use live Hangouts to chat with other professionals, and join some thriving networking and industry-specific communities.
Facebook
According to the latest stats, 890 million people log on to Facebook every single day. Younger adults in the 25-34-year-old demographic have grown up with Facebook in many ways and are much more likely to blur the lines between work and pleasure than their older counterparts. As a result, more and more people are using Facebook to grow their professional network.
It’s a move you should think about carefully. Some people argue that using your Facebook profile to connect with potential employers is a way of showing you’re a fully rounded human being, while others argue that using your Facebook profile exposes you to criticism about your personal life.
If you do decide to use Facebook as an alternative to LinkedIn for professional networking, it’s important to take a close look at your profile and decide whether you would be happy for business contacts and potential employers to see everything you’ve posted. If not, you will need to delete posts you don’t want seen or adapt your privacy settings.
Experts advise that you create a simple profile or clean up your existing one, keeping graphics, widgets, and photos to a minimum. Post content that’s relevant to your job search or career and use the platform for relationship building.
Mahara
Mahara is an open source web application to build an online portfolio. You can use it to create journals, upload files, embed social media resources from the web, and collaborate with other users in groups. According to the Mahara website, it is “the perfect personal learning environment mixed with social networking, allowing you to collect, reflect on, and share your achievements and development online in a space you control”. If you need an online platform to showcase your portfolio, you might want to check out Mahara.
Meetup
Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups; its aim being to revitalise local communities and help bring people together to meet with others who share their interests, passions, and purpose in life. There are a large number of professional networking groups that organise events through Meetup, so this is a great tool if you would like to become involved in face-to-face networking.
Netparty
Netparty is the ‘worldwide young professionals’ network’. The aim of Netparty is to help young professionals in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s connect and network. Most Netparty events begin with an extended cocktail hour which focuses on business networking and making new connections. The latter half of each event takes on a more social atmosphere. This may not be an alternative to LinkedIn but it could be a good addition to your networking arsenal.
Opprtunity
Opprtunity is aimed at individuals looking for sales leads, employment, or job candidates. The site promises ‘a matching algorithm that finds you people who need what you offer’ and says that users only receive alerts when there is a genuine opportunity to do business based on that algorithm. The simple design and registration process (using your email or Facebook account) makes Opprtunity a pleasure to use.
PartnerUp Google+ Community
PartnerUp is a Google+ community ‘focused on the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs’. The community aims to provide a fantastic networking experience for small businesses and people regularly post opportunities, leads, referrals, or requests to make a connection with other small businesses.
Pinterest
When thinking about professional networking, Pinterest may not be an obvious platform to use. However, there are a growing number of tools on Pinterest designed to help businesses grow their audience, build their reputation, and share content. If you’re an individual jobseeker, Pinterest may not be the right platform for you but if you run a business and are looking to connect with people in your industry, potential employees, or customers, you could use Pinterest to create industry-relevant boards, news boards, portfolio boards, and content that has a professional focus.
Plaxo
As we mentioned at the start of this article, one of the criticisms levelled against LinkedIn is that many of the profiles are out of date or inactive. Plaxo is the world’s largest online address book, storing over 3.7 billion contacts in 50 million address books. The platform works by consolidating the contact information you hold about your network into one synced address book that automatically cleans and updates contact information so that you can keep in touch with your contacts.
Quora
Quora is not directly a professional networking website. The aim of Quora is to open questions on any topic to a vast network of people, from experts and authorities to regular people with relevant knowledge. An upside of this is that many people find they are able to make some excellent professional contacts by asking industry- and career-related questions on Quora and starting a conversation with people.
Twitter
Although it can take a while to wrap your head around Twitter, many experts rate it as their favourite platform for professional networking. Stats would suggest that 12% of people use Twitter to aid their job search, while 90% of companies are engaging with social media activity, especially on Twitter. Although job interviews aren’t going to be conducted in Tweets or 140 characters or less, Twitter is a valuable tool for keeping on top of industry news, networking (look out for Twitter hours dedicated to networking or your industry), and creating a credible online presence. The latter is particularly important as, in July 2014, a survey from CareerBuilder found that 51% of employers check applicants’ social media pages before inviting them for interview.
Visual CV
Visual CV is a free tool that lets you create an online portfolio or personal landing page, which you can publish online or as a PDF. The analytics feature lets you track your CV views, opens and downloads, providing insights into your CV’s performance.
Industry specific alternatives to LinkedIn
For people in specialised industries, it makes sense to build a presence on industry-specific professional networking sites as these sites are focused on connecting people within the same niche or field and can yield more suitable job vacancies and opportunities. Although it’s impossible to cover every industry-specific alternative to LinkedIn here, we’ve put together a list of some of the big hitters:
GitHub
GitHub is the world’s largest open source community. If you are a software development professional, you can use GitHub to share your projects with the world, get feedback, contribute to projects, and connect with potential collaborators.
GrabCAD
If you’re a mechanical engineer, you can become part of the GrabCAD community, create your CAD portfolio and show off your expertise. This is an excellent platform for collaboration and building your reputation within your field.
Kaggle
If you’re a data scientist looking for the next step in your career or you represent an organisation seeking data scientists, then Kaggle is the place to look. Kaggle is the world’s largest community of data scientists, statisticians, and machine learning engineers.
Muck Rack
As well as tracking what journalists are saying about top news stories on social media, Muck Rack is a place for journalists to build an online profile and portfolio to raise their reputation, and track the impact and reach of their articles.
Oilpro
If you are an oil or gas professional, then Oilpro could be the ideal website for you to connect with colleagues, advance your skills, build credibility around your expertise, and explore new career opportunities. Approximately 11,500 industry-specific jobs are featured on the site at any one time and there is a wealth of resources and content on the site aimed at helping you develop your career.
Professional Copywriters’ Network
The Professional Copywriters’ Network is a fantastic tool for copywriters, ghost writers, content writers, and copyeditors to promote themselves and find new clients, or for clients to find the ideal writer for their project.
ResearchGate
ResearchGate’s mission is to connect researchers and make it easy to share and access scientific output, knowledge, and expertise. You can publish your research, connect and collaborate, and find jobs within the research community.
Sortfolio
Sortfolio is a website specific to web designers and clients who might be looking to hire web designers. Sortfolio promotes its content to thousands of businesses each month, driving traffic through to web designers’ websites and portfolios.
Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is a question and answer site for professional and enthusiast programmers. It also features a busy ‘Stack Overflow Careers’ section, which aims to help programmers showcase, not only their professional experience, but also their reputation on Stack Overflow and other programming achievements. The company profiles on Stack Overflow aim to give you a better understanding of the ethos of potential employers, while many companies turn to Stack Overflow when they need skilled programmers.
Stage 32
Stage 32 is the world’s largest social network and educational hub for people in film, television and theatre. This is a platform for jobs, collaboration, connections, networking, education, and meetups throughout the world.
Zerply
Zerply is an online network for the world’s leading production talent in films, games, and TV. If you’re a concept artist, animator, art director, VFX supervisor, or any role connected to bringing films, television and games to life, then this is a fantastic platform to advertise your skills and experience, and find out about projects worldwide.
Do you have a favourite platform for professional networking? Do you use an industry-specific site or an alternative to LinkedIn? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the Comments below.
by Lis McGuire | Jun 8, 2015 | LinkedIn tips, News
We all know that LinkedIn isn’t Facebook or Instagram, and that the casual updates which suit the other platforms won’t work here. Recognising this, it can be hard to work out exactly how to engage on this professional platform. Stumped for what to say and nervous of making a faux pas, many prefer to remain quiet on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a professional networking site, and updating your status is key to maintaining a professional presence. If there’s tumbleweed blowing through your part of the newsfeed, your contacts may assume you’ve fallen off the radar or, worse still, they may even have forgotten about you. This is a situation you need to address. Here are 11 LinkedIn status update ideas to help you grow your visibility and credibility on LinkedIn:
#1 Share current and emerging industry trends
Demonstrate that your finger is firmly on the pulse by sharing helpful industry insights and emerging trends. This kind of status update can be based on sharing a blog, news article, infographic, video, or SlideShare presentation. Setting up Google Alerts is one way to keep abreast of your evolving industry, with relevant news sent direct to your inbox. The Daily Infographic is another good source for visual content.
#2 Upload a photo of your workplace, your products, or yourself in action
People love to see behind the scenes, so why not upload a photo of you at work, the current view from your desk or location, your team, workspace, or products? A visual insight can bookmark your skills and expertise in the viewer’s memory. Although you may have seen these things a thousand times or more, what’s old news to you will be fresh and interesting to your network.
#3 Talk about a time-saving or effort-saving tool or resource
Busy folk love a shortcut, so if you are already using a tool or resource that saves you time, effort, or money; share it. If your connections can reap the benefits, they will remember your valuable insight and support.
#4 Give a shout out to one of your connections
Whether you wish to congratulate a peer on a job well done, highlight a great achievement, or simply say ‘thank you’, this kind of status update will define you as someone who recognises, values, and champions good work.
#5 Reflect on times gone by
If you’ve reached a career milestone, you could reflect on what’s happened since the last anniversary, or take a trip down memory lane to revisit times gone by. A little nostalgia can draw in the most aloof of your contacts.
#6 Use a teaser
Do you have any projects in development which you intend to share once complete? Why not use a teaser to pre-empt interest? If you are writing a book, share a progress status. If you are looking forward to a team building event or conference, say so.
#7 Share a blog post
If you write a blog or produce a video blog or podcast, share a link to your content. Better still, why not use LinkedIn’s publishing platform to position yourself as an expert in your field? Also, consider sharing valuable content produced by others, assuming it’s relevant, adding your own insight or take-away.
#8 Recommend a business or self-improvement book
If you’ve read something life-changing or skill-enhancing, you could recommend it to your network. Someone, somewhere may be looking for new reading material.
#9 Précis insights from an industry event
Sharing silver bullets from a conference workshop or keynote speech can be of great interest and benefit to your network. You could even mention and tag the speaker or trainer by typing @ then the individual’s name in your status update.
#10 Outline what’s new for your company
What’s happening within? Have you got a new team member? New services? New clients? Is your company currently recruiting, or has it been nominated for an award? Have your colleagues played an active role in supporting a local cause? Have your team received positive press coverage? As long as you are sanctioned to share this information and it’s not confidential, go ahead and share.
#11 Predict the future
Anticipate and share emerging trends for your industry over the next 12 months. You may be right, you may be wrong; the point is that you are thinking about it and are willing to share an opinion, conveying true interest in your field.
I hope these 11 content concepts have sparked some ideas and encouraged you to update your LinkedIn status today. Aim to adopt a regular habit of posting, at least once a week if you are a passive candidate and more often as an active jobseeker.
by Lis McGuire | Oct 20, 2014 | LinkedIn tips, News, Uncategorized
With Halloween fast approaching, I got to thinking about things that scare me in relation to the job search. Although there are, in fact, quite a few areas that inspire an Edvard Munch style scream, I quickly settled on LinkedIn profile pictures. Choosing an image of yourself to represent your professional offering on LinkedIn is an important choice, but the resulting pictures can often be the stuff of nightmares!
With this in mind, I thought it would be useful to outline 10 scarily bad LinkedIn profile images, and getting in the spirit of the exercise, I decided to demonstrate them. Last week, Caroline and I got together and howled with laughter as I tried out the various poses and she captured the images, hands shaking with mirth rather than fear.
It’s important to get your LinkedIn profile image right, so why not check out these wrong’uns below to assure yourself that your current image doesn’t have any of these frightful features? If it does, there’s time to change it, and that time is now!
So, without further ado, I present my ‘Hammer House of Horrible LinkedIn Profile Pictures’, recreated for you here by yours truly, so you know what not to do.
#1 The one where the image is poor quality
Grainy, blurry, and pixelated images won’t cut the mustard on LinkedIn. Your image needs to be clear, sharp, and high quality so that your network and new connections can tell that this really is you.
My son saw this and pointed out that I look like a character from Minecraft, which had us both in stitches.

#2 The one with bad lighting
Bad lighting is a no-no, it can obscure the clarity of the image, and create a dull and dingy, rather than positive, impression.

#3 The one that’s a selfie
The selfie has truly got into the population’s psyche in 2014, even inspiring the love-it-or-hate-it track ‘but first, let me take a selfie’. Infectious or narcissistic, the selfie doesn’t belong on LinkedIn. Arms extended in full view, mirror pout on display, eyes struggling to focus on the lens, and weird camera angles don’t create the most professional impression.
If you really can’t find someone to take a photo for you, and feel the need to resort to a selfie, then make sure it’s not so obvious.

#4 The one with an inappropriate background
If the background to your LinkedIn profile image is weird or wonderful, it may get more attention than the actual subject, you.
Choose your background carefully to make sure you don’t reveal more than you want to or, indeed, expose personal situations that are best kept off LinkedIn.

#5 The one that’s just inappropriate
Images of you captured in a social, rather than professional, context can stick out like a sore thumb on LinkedIn.
If you’re hot stuff or a party girl, that’s fine, but save those pictures for Facebook (if you really must share them), and remember to turn your privacy settings on! Similarly, images that are too personal can look odd.
Just keep the context in mind, a professional network, and you shouldn’t go far wrong.

#6 The one that makes you look like a moody so-and-so
If you look like a right old grump in your LinkedIn profile, it’s not going to tempt someone to connect with you, or call you for an interview.
Moody might be your resting face, but make an effort, show some teeth, message your brain to add sparkle to your eyes, and look engaged.

#7 The one where we can’t see your face
These images are hard to decipher, the face is somehow obscured by other things – hands, clothing, other people, and so on and so forth.
The point of uploading a LinkedIn profile photo is to help others to recognise you. If they can’t see your face, you’ve missed the point.

#8 The one where you look like a pinhead
These LinkedIn images have far too much space above and around them, the subject is really far away, and you find yourself squinting to see who is pictured.
Don’t be a pinhead, make it easy for your network and new contacts to recognise your face.

#9 The arty-farty one where you look like a poser
Some people’s LinkedIn photos ooze attitude and self-appreciation.
This kind of image comes in many confident forms, but inevitably leaves the viewer thinking “Well, they clearly think a lot of themselves!”

#10 The one that’s a faceless man
The most frightening LinkedIn profile image of all is the faceless man, so scary that those who see him can’t even describe his features. He’s the guy you see when you don’t upload a profile picture.
Don’t unleash him on your network, they’ve seen him before and they aren’t keen to repeat the experience!

Getting it right can be tricky. Although I have given the gruesome snaps above a miss, I still feel that my LinkedIn profile image isn’t quite up to scratch, so I’ve booked myself an appointment with a professional photographer to achieve a better result. I’ll be documenting my experience and learnings in a follow up blog, with key tips on how to achieve the perfect LinkedIn profile image.
by Lis McGuire | Oct 6, 2014 | CV tips, LinkedIn tips, News
For those of you who have an up-to-date CV and powerful LinkedIn profile, it makes absolute sense to leverage the combined power of both career assets.
By referencing your LinkedIn URL on your CV, you acknowledge that the recruiter is likely to check you out on this, and other online platforms. Rather than taking a passive role in this process, you can proactively present a direct link, straight to the good stuff which supports and strengthens your job application.
Noting your LinkedIn profile on your CV is a small, yet confident, gesture that intimates that your social CV is in order, and that you are fully equipped to present your credentials and skills for the role in hand.
So, why wouldn’t you?
There are some scenarios in which I wouldn’t recommend featuring your LinkedIn URL on your CV. Here they are:
#1 You don’t have a LinkedIn profile
It stands to reason that if you don’t physically have a presence on LinkedIn, you can’t direct anyone to visit what isn’t there. If your CV is of interest, the recruiter reviewing it will inevitably type your name into the LinkedIn search bar, and find out for themselves that you are not on the platform. ‘Why not?’ they will asked themselves. They will then ponder the potential reasons.
Perhaps you don’t realise the importance of LinkedIn. Maybe you haven’t even heard of it.
Perhaps you’re unsure how to go about setting up a profile and populating it with relevant information and, therefore, have avoided using it.
Perhaps your CV is such a gross misrepresentation of your actual abilities that you wouldn’t dare to place it on a public platform, for fear of your colleagues’ guffaws.
Rather than leaving their imaginations wandering, it would be better to take charge of the situation and present a deliberate representation online.
How to address the issue: If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you should seriously consider getting one – the sooner the better. The platform is more than a professional version of Facebook, it’s a serious career tool that can elevate your professional profile and make those around you aware of the skills and experience you bring, and how you plan to use them next.
#2 Your LinkedIn profile isn’t up to date or aligned to this opportunity
If your LinkedIn profile has tumbleweed blowing through its various sections, or features a junior or B-side version of you, then I can see why you wouldn’t want to feature your LinkedIn URL on your CV. Check out these seven good reasons to update your LinkedIn profile– the eighth good reason would be that you can then feature the URL confidently on your CV.
How to address the issue: Aim to update LinkedIn before directing a recruiter to a confusing profile, which isn’t aligned to the content of the CV they are holding. Make sure LinkedIn reflects your CV and your aspirations. Feature appropriate skills for endorsements and secure recommendations for your best, most relevant roles. The best version of your LinkedIn profile will reflect and enhance your CV, demonstrate an effective network, and deliver social proof (via recommendations and, to a lesser extent, endorsements) that you are indeed the real deal.
#3 Your LinkedIn profile doesn’t feature any recommendations
If no one in your network is proud to stand up and be counted as someone who has worked with you and would recommend your work, then your LinkedIn profile can appear as a one-sided version of your experience, like your CV in fact. If this IS the case, then there’s little point in featuring your 2D LinkedIn profile on your 2D CV.
If, in a more likely scenario, your LinkedIn profile doesn’t feature any recommendations because you simply haven’t asked anyone to recommend you, then this is easier to rectify. Just ask them. Now. Go on, do it.
How to address the issue: The beauty of LinkedIn is that it builds your professional kudos by showing that others share your perspective of the value you can add. LinkedIn recommendations act as a case study of a particular relationship, outlining the circumstances of your mutual connection, and the reputation you have earned within that relationship. Request recommendations that support your career goals today, this recent blog on LinkedIn recommendations explains how.
#4 You only have a handful of contacts
If you aren’t really connected with anyone on LinkedIn, then your profile can appear unloved and weak. A paltry few professional contacts made up of old friends and family members won’t cut the mustard on LinkedIn.
How to address the issue: LinkedIn is a powerful tool which enables you to engage, solidify and maintain relationships with a broad range of people who make up the fabric of your professional life. Although there’s little point connecting with people you don’t really know, just for the sake of growing your network, it’s important to build relevant connections with people you’ve worked with.
Follow up with genuine contacts and past colleagues. If there really is just six degrees of separation between us all, the chances are that the more diverse and developed your network, the greater the likelihood that someone in your network knows someone else who can help you move your career or business forward.
#5 You don’t want your boss or team (who are also on LinkedIn) to find out you are looking for a new job
You may be fretting that if recruiters begin checking you out on LinkedIn, your current team may get wind of the fact that you are searching for pastures new. Here’s the reality: if you are on LinkedIn, recruiters are checking you out already. While you work, while you sleep, while you… well, you get the picture. Even if you are not on LinkedIn, people aggregators may be checking out your profiles on other platforms. It’s happening. You can either bury your head in the sand, or embrace the new dawn and use it to your advantage.
Another real concern may be that if you update your LinkedIn profile, your team will definitely sniff a job search.
How to address the issue: People will always talk but, by updating your LinkedIn profile on a regular basis, you can prevent your peers from accurately guessing your next career move, making it less obvious when you are actually looking to move on. If you update your LinkedIn as a matter of course following each new promotion or project completion, this habit will mark you out as a well-organised person (not worthy of office gossip), rather than someone who is seeking greener pastures (a frequent and much-loved topic of office gossip).
So, what’s your verdict? Will you be featuring your LinkedIn URL on the next version of your CV? If not, why not? Is your decision based on a reason outlined above, or another reason? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
by Lis McGuire | Jun 2, 2014 | LinkedIn tips, News
LinkedIn is a powerful tool which enables you to engage, solidify and maintain relationships with a broad range of people who make up the fabric of your professional life. LinkedIn recommendations act as a kind of case study of a particular relationship, outlining the circumstances of your mutual connection and the reputation you have earned within that relationship.
Why do you need LinkedIn recommendations?
Featuring recommendations on your LinkedIn profile is a great way to convey what others in your professional network think of you. This kind of social proof is massive – showcasing recommendations is an easy and transparent way to evidence that you are who you say you are, and that you do know what you say you know.
If you are a current jobseeker, then a strong presence on LinkedIn complete with recommendations is a must. The platform is used by many businesses to source talent for new roles and discover more about candidates of interest. Recruiters search online for candidates’ LinkedIn profiles to crosscheck their credentials and reputation. Having great recommendations on your profile will boost your credibility and encourage a recruiter to consider your profile in a more favourable light. A recommendation speaks volumes about a person’s character, and carries more weight than what the individual may write about themselves.
When you update your LinkedIn profile with a recommendation, your connections, and the connections of the person recommending you, will be notified of the update in their newsfeed. It’s the virtual equivalent of the person taking you to a premium, closed networking event with all of their contacts, patting you on the back and announcing to the room that you are in their circle of trust.
Who should you ask for LinkedIn recommendations?
Before requesting LinkedIn recommendations, consider your career objectives carefully. If your next move is going to be based on the experience and skills you have gained through your current role, then there is little point requesting a host of non-related recommendations for work you carried out at the start of your career. Instead, focus on requesting recommendations that will support achievement of that goal.
With your target firmly in mind, go ahead and seek LinkedIn recommendations from peers at all levels to build and enhance your reputation; don’t feel compelled to just ask people you report to. You might consider asking contacts from inside or outside your current organisation, from previous employers, business partners, suppliers, client organisations, educational institutions, or even conferences or events attended. In fact, I think that displaying a diverse array of recommendations puts you at an advantage, showing that you are a great person to work with regardless of the scenario.
If a supplier recommends you, this can demonstrate your flair for partnership working; if one of your direct reports recommends you, it can show that you are a respected manager and if someone who manages or has managed your performance recommends you, then it shows your ability to deliver as an employee… and so on! Whilst it’s always a good idea to aim for a balance, obviously there is something to be said for being recommended by someone who is well-regarded in their organisation or industry, so if the CEO wants to give you a recommendation, then that’s really great.
Something to bear in mind – if your profile features a high proportion of recommendations that are very obviously written by your friends and family, this could suggest that you were unable to secure recommendations through your professional network.
When should you and shouldn’t you ask for LinkedIn recommendations?

Strike while the iron’s hot and ask for recommendations whilst working closely with a LinkedIn contact, or shortly after your project or association has ended.
It’s a good idea to seek recommendations whilst the glow of the aftermath is still warm and smiles are still on the faces of those who have been involved.
As to when you shouldn’t ask for a LinkedIn recommendation, I wouldn’t advise requesting recommendations from contacts you have only had peripheral dealings with, those who are relatively new contacts or those you don’t really know that well. Wait until the relationship has developed and pick your moment.
Where should you display LinkedIn recommendations?

Although your focus needs to be on securing LinkedIn recommendations that will help you to achieve your career target, ideally, over a period of time, you should strive to include a minimum of two to three recommendations for each role.
This would suggest to anyone viewing your profile that your performance has been consistent throughout your career and that you are, and have always been, a good person to know.
Recommendations are displayed in reverse chronological order for each role, so that the latest recommendation you receive will be the presented first on your LinkedIn profile.
What should you say when requesting a LinkedIn recommendation?

Being generous and making the first move in writing LinkedIn recommendations for others in your network is a good tactic to receive some recommendations yourself, as well as being an all-round nice thing to do.
Don’t give just to receive, but you can lead by example and set the ball rolling. Most people will be overwhelmed that you have taken the time to support them and be eager to reciprocate.
However, there will be occasions where you need to ask for a LinkedIn recommendation.
LinkedIn’s messaging system makes the whole process very easy.
Visit your Profile, select Edit, hover over the down arrow beside edit and select
‘Ask to be recommended’
from the dropdown list.
Now to face the dilemma of what to say. Write a personal and friendly message that draws out your connection and politely ask if they would be kind enough to write you a LinkedIn recommendation, perhaps based on a specific project or experience of working together. Make it easy for your contact to act quickly by offering your help in putting something together.
If you have already received a glowing recommendation by email, in a memo or even as part of a performance review, you could send this to the individual asking if they would be willing to upload it to LinkedIn as a recommendation. This certainly cuts down on the legwork for the individual giving the reference.
Once someone has written a recommendation and submitted it to LinkedIn, you will receive an email notification from LinkedIn enabling you to review what has been written about you and request any changes. I personally am so grateful to the person for taking the time to write the recommendation that I wouldn’t usually ask for any changes to be made. Whether you publish the recommendations you receive on your LinkedIn profile is up to you, so if for any reason you don’t want to publish it, you don’t have to.
Lastly, remember to thank anyone who is good enough to recommend you. Their time and generosity of spirit is to be valued, especially when you consider the positive impact their actions could have on your future career.
If your LinkedIn profile could use a makeover, then why not check out our LinkedIn profile packages or connect with me on LinkedIn?