A LinkedIn Profile Makeover Doesn’t Need to Say, “I’m Looking”

Take a loooooooong look at your LinkedIn profile. Kinda sparse? Doesn’t stand out as anything special…just more of the same old same old? Too few connections to be a player? A fuzzy selfie and a 3-5 word description for each section heading?

And you wonder why the only invitations you get are from “farmers” in the United Arab Emirates who used the same picture for three of your last ten invitations

My friend, you need a serious LinkedIn makeover!

What’s that you say? “If I suddenly rip apart my LinkedIn profile and put in all the details, keywords and all that other stuff that you guys are always telling me I need, my boss will think I’m looking to quit! And then I’ll get fired, or laid off, and then what’ll I do?”

So you sigh long and low, like an old tire slow leaking air, resigned to watch as your LinkedIn profile is as popular as last year’s newspaper.

Newsflash: It doesn’t have to be this way!

A Radical Makeover Can Boost Your Current Career

You can drastically improve your LinkedIn profile AND give your current career a boost at the same time! All you have to do is to think rich media.

What’s rich media, you ask? Rich media is made up of all those SlideShare presentations, images, blogs, podcasts, pdfs and links the cool kids have on their profiles. And they are so easy to do…go to the LinkedIn Help Center (the help function you access anytime you click on your small photo on the upper right hand side of your profile) and see how to add rich files to the Summary, Education and Experience sections of your profile, and what kinds of files you can add.

Your objective: create and link rich media content to your profile that promotes a product, service or problem resolution that favorably positions your current employer as it shows off your expertise.

Here’s an example of this. Suppose you work as a pharmacist’s assistant. What do customers of your pharmacy want? Correct prescriptions every time! With this in mind, create a five or six slide presentation entitled, Six Ways to Ensure Consistently Perfect Prescriptions. You’re not giving away professional trade secrets, but outlining the common-sense steps that would reassure the average customer about how you go about filling consistently accurate prescriptions. Place this presentation under your current employer. LinkedIn will help you turn it into a SlideShare presentation.

Presto! Three things happen:

• You’ve now positioned yourself as a subject matter by sharing how you consistently assure accurate prescriptions.
• People assume your current employer does this as well, and it reflects favorably on them.
• People viewing your formerly dull and boring profile now see both your technical skills AND presentation skills, and that you are customer-focused.

If I’m your current employer and come across your new and improved profile with your presentation, Six Ways to Ensure Consistently Perfect Prescriptions, I’m thinking, “Who is this awesome employee who is so committed to excellent work and to our customers? I gotta keep an eye on this rising star.” The last thing I’m thinking is that you are doing a LinkedIn makeover to leave.

But wait….there’s more! Other employers, ever on the lookout for top talent, see your resplendent new profile and think, “This person needs to be on our radar.” LinkedIn members and the general public, searching for information on accurate prescriptions find your profile and presentation. Suddenly you’ve joined the ranks of the popular, frequently viewed LinkedIn profiles.

Five Additional Pieces of Advice to Rock Your Profile

Map out your LinkedIn makeover strategy in advance, BEFORE you start renovations.

• Google LinkedIn makeover and look for advice published in the past year or two. Consult three or four articles and you’ll know what the pros know…how to rock a profile.
• Make sure to embed the keywords relevant to career positions you desire to hold as well past positions. This will be how viewers will find you on LinkedIn.
• Prove your capabilities by quantifying your accomplishments. Filled an average of 8.6 prescriptions per hour in 2014 with 100% accuracy sounds so much better than fill prescriptions upon demand.
• Use a professional photo of just you. NO selfies, pets, dinosaurs, friends, family members, significant others, scenery, cartoons…EVER! Just you, smiling confidently, in professional attire.
• Turn off your activity feed so your connections (including your employer) are not advised of every keystroke you make during your makeover. Do this by clicking on your small photo, upper right of your profile, and selecting Privacy & Setting, Profile tab, Turn off/on your activity broadcasts – set to off.

An investment in a makeover can and will pay for itself many times over. Don’t let an unfounded fear of sending the wrong message to your current employer keep you from a rock star profile!