Published!by!Image!Building!Communications!! · Getting!LinkedIn!With!New!Resume!Clients! 2!!!!...

Getting LinkedIn With New Resume Clients 2

Published by Image Building Communications P.O. Box 241621 Omaha, NE 68124-‐5621

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Initial Date of Publication: March 11, 2013

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Getting LinkedIn With New Resume Clients

Bridget (Weide) Brooks, CPRW 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America


Getting LinkedIn With New Résumé Clients You already know that LinkedIn can be a revenue stream for your résumé writing business. Writing LinkedIn Headlines and Summaries and consulting with clients on fully developing their LinkedIn Profiles is a service you can offer along with résumés, or to clients as a standalone service. But the focus of this special report is on how to use LinkedIn to attract new clients. LinkedIn can be effective for lead generation and client attraction, as many résumé writers have found out. There are three main ways to be found: One is through LinkedIn search; the second is through your connections; and the third is by participating and sharing information on LinkedIn that makes you visible to prospective clients. LinkedIn can also be an effective way to start your client list, if you don’t have one yet. LinkedIn allows you to email your contacts, and this is an “opt-‐in” list because they have chosen to connect with you. So you can also use LinkedIn to sell additional services to your existing clients and prospective clients that have chosen to connect with you. Step One: Set Your Goal Before doing anything, you need to know what you hope to accomplish through LinkedIn. This might sound obvious, but it’s the things we think we know the best — things we take for granted — that trip us up. While you’re trying to generate leads, the real activity you’re focusing on should be networking. If you have a well-‐rounded Profile with a strong identity and you are engaged in LinkedIn, lead generation will happen naturally. But you need to come across as a real person, with a distinct personality and “voice.” With a focus on being authentic, you also need to engage in networking that is focused on “giving,” not “getting.” Without this attitude, you end up being just another annoying marketer. (I think we’ve all experienced the person who connects with us on LinkedIn and then proceeds to send us email after email of marketing pitches.) Client acquisition can be a goal! Résumé writers with a complete Profile and a helpful approach (sharing information and insight on their own Profile as well as in Groups) can be extremely successful in driving traffic to their websites through LinkedIn. Concentrate on developing your voice first and foremost. On LinkedIn, you don’t brand your business: You brand you. The business is just what you do. People pay attention to it only after they’ve vetted you out and approved of you personally. Never, ever fake anything just to draw in connections — but don’t be afraid of being selective about things you share. It’s perfectly okay — in fact, a good policy — to omit interests and data that would dilute your “voice” and distract from your branding.


Step Two: Create a Strong Profile We’re going to spend a good chunk of time on this topic, because connecting with prospective clients on LinkedIn starts with your Profile. Your Profile needs to be fully developed. According to LinkedIn’s own research, Profiles that are “complete” by LinkedIn standards receive 40 times more opportunities than incomplete Profiles. LinkedIn has its own criteria for “Profile completeness,” which has changed somewhat over time. As of December 2012, to be considered “complete” by LinkedIn’s standards, you need these items in your LinkedIn Profile:

Your industry and location An up-‐to-‐date current position (with description) Two past positions Your education At least three Skills A Profile photo At least 50 connections

Also, your LinkedIn Profile should be entirely focused towards your business identity as a résumé writer. We’ve already touched on being selective, including only information that supports your “message.” If you want to attract résumé clients, it must be apparent from your LinkedIn Profile that you are a résumé writer. Besides clients who find you on LinkedIn directly, it’s common for clients to Google you. Often, your LinkedIn Public Profile will be one of the first things that comes up in your Google results. If you don’t emphasize résumé writing in your LinkedIn Profile, that may turn off prospective clients. Speaking of turning off prospective clients: Your LinkedIn Profile photo is key. Because we don’t meet most of our clients in person, our photo represents us online — so make sure your photo is up-‐to-‐date and represents you well. The two most important components in your LinkedIn Profile are your name and your LinkedIn Headline. Your Headline appears in multiple places on LinkedIn, so it’s one of the first things many prospective clients see about you when navigating LinkedIn. The Headline also sometimes shows up when you are post in Groups (not on the Group discussion page itself, but in the notification emails). For example:


Writing Your LinkedIn Headline The two most important things to know about writing your LinkedIn Headline is that it can only be 120 characters, and it must reflect your personal brand (including keywords that may be used when doing a search for you, or someone like you). In the new LinkedIn Profile, the Headline is much more prominent than in the old design. The “default” LinkedIn Headline is related to your most recent work experience listed in your LinkedIn Profile, unless you change it. The default format is “job title” at “company name.” This is not a very effective Headline for attracting new résumé clients. Things you can consider including in your LinkedIn Headline:

• “Resume writer” • Types of customers / projects you work with • Industry specialization • Certifications or designations • Awards and honors you’ve received • “Expert” status in working with certain client populations (i.e., executives)

Note: Do not use the accent marks on the word “résumé” on LinkedIn. While LinkedIn’s search function will read the accent marks (and LinkedIn does retain the formatting, unlike some online systems that read the “é” as a strange character), most people searching for a résumé writer won’t use the accents.

If you do a search for other résumé writers on LinkedIn, you’ll notice that everyone is using the same keywords! The top 10 most common keywords used by résumé writers are:

• Resume Writer / Resume Writing • Resume Branding / Branding Expert • LinkedIn Profile / LI


• Job Search • Career Coach / Career Consultant • Executive Resumes / Executive Resume Writer • Professional Resume Writer • CV Writer • Interview Coach • Author

Identifying your niche (types of customers, projects, or industry specialization) can help you attract your ideal clients. If you can use a keyword your target market uses — that doesn’t show up in many other résumé writers’ Headlines and Summary sections — that can help you be found. Some examples might include:

• Technical resume writer • Military transition resume writer • Career expert for executives

Attracting Your Ideal Client With a Compelling Summary If your goal is to attract clients with your LinkedIn Profile, your Summary will be critical to this. You have 2000 characters in the Summary section. One of the best opportunities for connecting with potential clients is in your Summary. The Summary is really where you can win over clients. Tell the story of who you are, how you got here, and who you work with (and who you are best in a position to help).


Keep your ideal client in mind. Of all the things you do and the skills you possess, what would most interest him/her? What would catch your target customer’s attention? And — most important — what would make that potential connection choose you in particular, out of all the other people who do what you do? Address these questions:

• What results do you get for your clients? (social proof) • How has your background prepared you to work with clients? • What additional skills do you have that set you apart from other résumé writers?

Write naturally and conversationally. Do not simply list the types of clients you work with, or the services you provide. You should use pronouns in your Summary. Speak in the first person, not third person. (“I did such-‐and-‐such.”) Write as if you’re speaking to an individual reader. Make it personal. Be sure to emphasize outcomes — as well as what makes you uniquely qualified to work with the clients you do. Try to find a common THREAD through your work. Then, once you have a theme, use storytelling principles to write your Summary as a narrative. Have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Be conversational and informal in your tone. Use contractions (“you’re” instead of “you are”). Every word counts! And pay attention to grammar and spelling. Make sure there are no mistakes in your Profile. Re-‐read and edit it. Have a colleague, friend, or spouse read it. Copy-‐and-‐paste it into a word processing program and run a spell-‐check on it. You can also use asterisks, dashes, hyphens, and other keyboard characters to format the Summary and make it easier to read. Some of these include: ► Arrow Pointing Right ◄ Arrow Pointing Left → Right arrow ← Left arrow ★ Star ❤ Heart ♦ Diamond • Dot ■ Square ▲ Up Arrow ▼ Down Arrow ▄ Small Block Keyboard characters will allow you to add emphasis to certain statements, and they also add visual interest. (You can copy-‐and-‐paste these characters into your Summary.)


Give Your Profile Dimension With Rich Media Content With the Profile redesign in December 2012, LinkedIn removed the previous “Apps” functionality, but has added the opportunity for you to include “rich media” (links to web content, videos, etc.) in your Summary. You can add photos, video, audio, documents, and links to online presentations (including SlideShare and Scribd). As long as the content is hosted somewhere on the Internet (it has a unique URL), it can probably be linked. Make sure that the information is “on brand” before you share it on your LinkedIn Profile.

For a complete list of compatible content providers, check out this page: http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/34327

After you’ve clicked on the link to “categories” within the text on that page, simply click on the type of content provider you’re interest in, and a drop-‐down menu will appear.

Note, however, that you must have been fully upgraded by LinkedIn to add rich media to your Profile. Click on “Profile” in the main menu and choose “Edit Profile.” If you see this option, you can add rich media. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until LinkedIn upgrades you. (With 200 million Profiles, this will take some time.)


Checklist for Your LinkedIn Profile Review your LinkedIn Profile with this checklist in mind:

Have you used an up-‐to-‐date, professional-‐quality photo, with no distracting or contradictory elements in it?

Have you included your best keyword or keywords in your Headline? Does it speak to your “uniqueness” as a résumé writer, and what sets you apart?

Is your Profile (and your Summary, in particular), geared towards your ideal client — that is, the prospective customer you are most interested in reaching? Have you included relevant, unique details that make you stand out from similar Profiles?

Did you proofread your Profile? Make sure there are no errors. Read your Profile Summary out loud to identify and eliminate any breaks in the flow or awkward sentences. Break long sentences up into short ones. Use short paragraphs.

Have you completed as much of your Profile as possible? Step Three: Create a Strong Public Profile Many résumé writers aren’t aware they have a Profile for other LinkedIn members and connections to view…and a Public Profile that Google and anyone else can access through Google search. Be sure to go to your LinkedIn Settings and make sure both are optimized the way you want them to be! Go up to your name in the upper right-‐hand corner of the page and hover over it until you get the drop-‐down menu (or click your name and the menu will appear). Go to “Settings.”


Scroll down the page and you’ll see two options: “Edit your Profile” and “Edit your Public Profile.”

If you are making a lot of changes to your Profile, on that same page, click “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.” This will prevent LinkedIn from creating multiple status updates for the changes you’re making. When you’re finished making your Profile changes, go back and turn the activity broadcasts back on again. While you’re editing your Public Profile, go down to the right-‐hand, second-‐to-‐last widget and create a customized URL for yourself. The best format is “FirstNameLastName.” If your own name is taken, add your best keyword to your name (MarySmithResumeWriter) or your company name (BestResumesofDuluth). When the edit popup that opens, simply type the vanity URL name you want after the forward slash beyond “pub” or “in.”


Use that URL on your business card, fliers, and other materials where you’re not providing a “clickable” LinkedIn Badge. The LinkedIn Profile is a complement to — but not a substitute for — your résumé business website. It’s not uncommon for a prospective client to “Google” you before hiring you to write their résumé — and, especially, their LinkedIn Profile. Create Profile Badges Finally, check out the bottom-‐right widget on your Public Profile, and click on the link that will allow you to create badges on your sites and other social networks that allow badges.

Step Four: Ask for Connections Now that you’ve beefed up your Profile, it’s time to turn your attention to boosting your LinkedIn power. If your LinkedIn connection list is still fairly sparse, you may wish to ask for more connections. As a résumé writer, you should have a minimum of 200 connections. This can include other careers industry professionals, but should also include clients. The idea of connecting with clients can be a controversial one, but it’s important to remember what the purpose of LinkedIn is: business connections. More connections means:

• More endorsements • More Recommendations • More leads!

If you have clients who are concerned about privacy, leave the decision up to your client as to whether they connect with you, or not. The advantage to them is that they can take advantage of your connection and network of contacts to reach more hiring managers, recruiters, and decision-‐makers. The disadvantage is that the connection is public, and they may not want to showcase they are working with a résumé writer.


It is to your advantage to connect with recruiters, hiring managers, and other careers professionals on LinkedIn, so growing this part of your network is important. When you request a connection, never leave the default message as is. Always customize it. If someone thinks you are impersonally requesting a connection just to boost their numbers, it feels more like a nuisance request. If you give someone a personal and relevant reason for wanting to add them to your network, they will feel pleased and flattered. Take a look at the person’s Profile before sending a connection request. Give a precise reason for wanting to connect. Be specific. Step Five: Participate in Groups Joining Groups and developing a presence is always good for building relationships — but you can also generate leads in surprisingly direct ways — especially when you’re in the middle of a “hot” discussion, where opinions are flying freely. One common mistake many résumé writers make is joining only Groups related to the careers industry. Not only is there fierce competition for jobseekers who post requests for assistance in these Groups, but you are missing out on an opportunity to connect with people on LinkedIn who are not actively looking for a job. Instead, look for Groups in your target niche (finance/banking, technology, military transition, engineering, media, hospitality, sales and retail are all popular topics) and join those Groups.

Taking advantage of Groups to answer niche-‐related questions nurtures trust and helps build respect for your skills and expertise. Because LinkedIn’s Answer feature has been discontinued, participating in Groups (and sharing articles and information relevant to these populations) can be a great lead-‐generating strategy. To find Groups, don’t rely solely on those suggested by LinkedIn. Instead, click on “Groups” in your menu bar

and select “Groups Directory.” You’ll be able to choose from among more than 1.6 million LinkedIn Groups. You can be a member of up to 50 Groups at one time. If you haven’t yet joined a Group, follow these tips:

• Don’t join Groups from whom there has been no activity for more than a couple of days. Look for the status “Active” or “Very Active,” when looking through the Groups Directory.


• Be selective. You can always “unjoin” Groups, but be choosy about the first handful of Groups you get involved with (especially those that appeal to your target audience). Get to know the Group before you invest too much time.

• Don’t join Groups that are too large. You may get lost in the chatter –—

particularly if they are too active.

• Do introduce yourself briefly when you join a new Group. But don’t be too self-‐promotional right away. Start participating in discussions and answering questions, but do it from a spirit of “giving,” not self-‐promotion. If you offer valuable information and explain your credentials as you do so, you’ll find you’re a client magnet. (The easiest way to do this is by answering with, “As a professional résumé writer, I advised my clients who had a similar problem to do ‘x.’ Here is what they found…”)

• Do be consistent with your participation. It’s better to check on and comment on

three or four Groups daily than 10 Groups every once in a while.

• Don’t start your own Group unless you are prepared to devote substantial time to monitoring the Group (answering questions, monitoring spam comments and posts) and growing the Group through marketing and promotion.

Step Six: Integrate With Outside Sites Cross-‐promotion is a key to success with social media, and LinkedIn is no exception. Tie in your other social media Profiles and your own website (and/or blog). Link to these in your Profile:

Be sure to edit the names of the links. You can do this by choosing “Edit Profile” and then clicking the blue arrow next to “Websites” and selecting “Other.” You can create a name for the link that will appear instead of the URL.


Links to consider: your website, your blog, your Twitter Profile, Pinterest Profile, Facebook Business Page, or a landing page for an opt-‐in offer (a special report on a topic that your target audience will be interested in). Note: In the new LinkedIn Profile, you won’t be able to see these links until you click on the “Contact Info” button on the Profile.

You should look at your content across all social networks, blogs, and websites as a “whole” — a big-‐picture overview of your focused lead generation strategies and Unique Selling Proposition (USP), or what sets you apart from other résumé writers. LinkedIn should never be “separate” in your mindset from these other areas. See how you can connect them all together and cross-‐promote. Share your LinkedIn posts directly to Twitter as you make them. Also, decide if you want comments to be seen by “anyone” or connections only. In general, I recommend allowing them to be seen by “anyone,” as this will get you greater visibility.


Sharing Dos and Don’ts You will be the best judge of how and when to share LinkedIn content — and with whom. Otherwise, here are some general guidelines:

• Post and comment regularly and consistently — preferably every day. At a

minimum, post content 2-‐3 times a week. • However, never post or comment just for the sake of doing so. Have something

valuable to share!

• Answer questions — both within your target audience Groups, but also within peer Groups. Help out other résumé writers!

• Share other great answers you receive; give credit where credit is due!

• Thank people for shares — and especially for LinkedIn Recommendations.

• Keep your main target audience always in mind, and stick to your “brand” in

everything you do on LinkedIn. Step Seven: Follow and Observe Pick leaders in the careers industry, and “Follow” them. Observe:

• What techniques they use • Which ones get a noticeable response • Which tactics annoy you • Which tactics you respond to

You can learn a lot from following industry experts who are also LinkedIn megastars. But LinkedIn also offers “hand-‐picked” suggestions on who to follow: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/whotofollow You’ll find articles that LinkedIn thinks you’ll find interesting — and, for the most part, they are!


Things to Watch Out For When Using LinkedIn LinkedIn is a dynamic, active network whose main focus is business. It is still growing quickly, and LinkedIn is adding new features. Once you have set up your first rush of connections and joined a couple of Groups, nurture and grow your relationships. Add people thoughtfully, making sure they will not detract from your LinkedIn “voice.” Create the habit of daily interaction — even if it’s just checking your messages and making one or two comments. Think of when people move away. Even if you’ve been best friends — in and out of each other’s houses all day long — once one of you moves miles away, contact drops off. This is a normal part of life. Change is a normal part of life. Life is all about habit and presence. If you’re not there, you’re no longer important. So be there — not just on LinkedIn, but on all your social networks. Answer questions. Acknowledge comments. And make sure you thoroughly enjoy doing so. (Get rid of any Group you find you’re not naturally and eagerly interacting with.) Look for opportunities for LinkedIn lead generation — and you may be amazed how many you find, once you get to know the network. Additional Resources for Learning More About LinkedIn Jason Alba – Book: “I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??” More information here: http://amzn.to/llSv54 “The New LinkedIn Profile” webinar (recording) More information here: http://bit.ly/AlbaLinkedInWebinar “LinkedIn Proactive Strategies” webinar (recording) More information here: http://bit.ly/ProactiveStrategies Brenda Bernstein – How to Write a Killer LinkedIn Profile … and 18 Mistakes to Avoid More information here: http://amzn.to/13PUvHw Wendy Enelow & Louise Kursmark – Writing LinkedIn Profiles E-‐Summit More information here: http://bit.ly/LinkedInESummit


Louise Fletcher – The Blue Sky Guide to LinkedIn (ebook) More information here: http://bit.ly/BlueSkyLinkedIn Kevin Donlin and David Perry – How to Get Hired Faster on LinkedIn More information here: http://bit.ly/GuerrillaMakeover Lewis Howes – LinkedInfluence (How to market on LinkedIn even if you have little or no budget) More information here: http://bit.ly/RWDLinkedInfluence Getting LinkedIn With New Résumé Clients Checklist

I have decided on my LinkedIn goal and strategies I have decided on my LinkedIn “voice”

I am being selective about the things I share on LinkedIn

I have chosen my best keywords for my Profile and used them in my Profile

Headline and Summary.

I have added rich media and outside URLs to my Profile Summary Links to presentations Links to documents YouTube video link Link to your website Link to your blog Link to your Twitter Profile Link to your Facebook Business Page Pinterest link Other _______________________________________________________

I have paid attention to the following details and areas:

Using an up-‐to-‐date, professional quality headshot with no distracting or contradictory elements in it

Creating a Profile that speaks directly to, and is geared towards, the résumé client I am most interested in reaching

Including relevant but unique details that make you stand out from other résumé writers

Recommendations from other résumé writers and clients Telling the reader what you’ve got that you think they need Having as much of your Profile as possible completed


I have made sure my writing is clear and direct by:

Eliminating adverbs and adjectives Breaking up long sentences up into short ones. Reading my Profile Summary aloud, to identify and eliminate any breaks in

the flow or awkward sentences. Using active verbs as much as possible, providing it feels natural and not

forced

I have carefully proofread my Profile, including its Summary

I have included Recommendations from other LinkedIn members I am making Recommendations for other LinkedIn professionals I know

I have made more than 50 connections

I am aware that I have two Profiles:

My internal LinkedIn Profile A Public Profile

I have customized both Profile Settings for maximum reach

I have created my own custom URL for my Public Profile

I have created Profile Badges for my external sites

I am committed to steadily but selectively adding more LinkedIn connections. I

understand more connections means: More endorsements More recommendations More leads

I am faithfully customizing my messages when sending invitations to new

connections (providing specific and personalized reasons as to why I’d like to connect).

I have joined at least three relevant Groups where I can showcase my skills by

being genuinely informative, helpful and interesting

I am committed to monitoring and interacting regularly with my Groups on a consistent basis

I am looking for opportunities to provide truly helpful answers within my Groups


I have made sure that the Groups I have joined are active

I have taken note of the size of the Groups I wish to join, to make sure they are

not too large

I am integrating and cross-‐promoting with relevant outside sites, including: Pinterest YouTube Twitter Other _______________________________________________________

I am:

Posting/commenting regularly and consistently — preferably every day Never posting or commenting just for the sake of doing so Answering questions as helpfully as possible Sharing other great answers I, myself, receive Being quick to give credit where credit is due Thanking people for shares and Recommendations Keeping my main target audience always in mind Sticking to my focused overview Other _______________________________________________________

I have visited the Who To Follow Section and selectively picked key industry

figures to follow, so I will be kept in the loop via their updates

I am carefully observing and making note of: What techniques the influencers that I follow use Which ones get a noticeable response Which tactics annoy me Which tactics I respond to

I am adding techniques I think would work for me with my target audience to my

LinkedIn habits

I am checking my LinkedIn messages, Groups, and feed daily

I am interacting regularly on LinkedIn, to nurture and grow new leads!

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