I'm pleased to share my â12 Tips for Enhancing your Career Prospects through LinkedInâ with Singapore Careers ... e.
12 Tips for Enhancing your Career Prospects through LinkedIn For: Singapore Careers LinkedIn Group http://bit.ly/sgcareers © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
Foreword Eric Wong Head - Talent Acquisition and Development APJ and China, Polycom Singapore Careers Group Owner | LinkedIn We often hear people say, “It’s not what you know, but who you know”. There is so much truth in this, especially in today’s connected world. Realising the importance of networking after reading a book on this very topic, I started to work on building my professional network and joined LinkedIn in 2007. Over the years, I’ve seen my network grow and had benefited from the numerous opportunities. In the course of my work in talent acquisition, we rely heavily on social networks such as LinkedIn to search for talent. Thus, I cannot emphasis enough the benefits and power of creating a professional network. We’re happy to have Linda Le, an expert in professional social networking share with us her tips on building a powerful LinkedIn presence. I look forward to seeing you in the Singapore Careers LinkedIn group! © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
Prepared By Linda Le Social Media Ghost, Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd Singapore Careers Group Manager| LinkedIn
I’m pleased to share my “12 Tips for Enhancing your Career Prospects through LinkedIn” with Singapore Careers Group members.
For a long time staffing professionals have been using social media to research and find top talent, with LinkedIn being one of the dominant platforms – it’s no surprise that job seekers alike have flocked to LinkedIn for job opportunities. It’s no secret that there are people who get consistent opportunities from head hunters, HR managers and recruiters alike through LinkedIn. Does this mean that they are the smartest and brightest amongst the 300M members on LinkedIn? Not necessarily. There is a consistency in LinkedIn’s ecosystem that can help you to open your doors to more career opportunities. You just need to know what they are and how to use them to your advantage. Here, I will share with you some of my top tips. ENJOY! © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
Introduction With 300 million members globally, LinkedIn is the ultimate tool for networking and those in search of career opportunities. LinkedIn helps you to share your ambitions, career highlights, accomplishments and employment status amongst your networks, colleagues and even potential employers. Instead of spending countless hours passing your resume around, your LinkedIn profile can act as a magnet in attracting new job opportunities. Recruiters and hiring managers are already using LinkedIn as a gold mine for attracting top talent – your goal is to ensure that your LinkedIn presence helps you to get those opportunities come your way. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
12 TIPS FOR ENHANCING YOUR CAREER PROSPECTS THROUGH LINKEDIN © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
1. Complete your profile These days, your LinkedIn profile is equivalent to your business card. LinkedIn reports that complete profiles are 40x more likely to receive opportunities. This may sound obvious – however if people can’t see what you’ve got to offer, it makes it harder for them to see what opportunities to approach you with.
Spend some time to complete your profile. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
2. Add a professional photo •
With a professional photo your profile is are 7x more likely to get clicked on.
Limit any barriers to people connecting with you by adding a professional photo of yourself. It also helps people to remember you if you’ve met them offline, put a face to a name and know that you’re a ‘real’ person on LinkedIn. First impressions are everything! © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
3. Add relevant key words Increase your chances of being found on LinkedIn or other online search engines by adding relevant key words to your profile. e.g. Marketing, Accounting, Commercial Litigation, Wealth Management, Structural Engineer, Business Development
© 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
4. Show off your work Don’t underestimate the hard and soft skills you’ve learned along the way. Think broadly about the experiences you’ve had and show off the transferrable skills you’ve gained in your projects, volunteer work, publications and committee experience etc. Where possible, upload photos, videos, files, presentations or samples of your work onto your profile for others to see. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
5. Get recommendations •
The best social proof is when other people do all the talking for you. Try to get at least 5 genuine recommendations (testimonials) on your LinkedIn profile. This will enhance your credibility online.
You can try approach previous managers, employers, lecturers, team leaders, volunteer association leaders and committee leaders to write you one (they need to be on LinkedIn and connected to you). © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
6. Connect, connect, connect The power of LinkedIn is in the power of your networks. Use it as a tool to connect with – and stay in touch with all the people you’ve crossed paths with along your career journey. You never know who your connections know and how you may be able to help open doors for each other. Plus, the more connected you are – the more valuable you are perceived to be to be to a potential workplace. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
7. Join groups If the opportunities don’t come directly to you – go to where they are. Join groups such as Singapore Careers: http://bit.ly/sgcareers or other groups where job opportunities, potential employers, recruiters or other people in your industry are hanging out. Participate. Network and keep an eye out for potential opportunities. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
8. Follow companies Have a specific company or group of companies that you would like to work for? Follow them on LinkedIn – often they have a ‘Careers’ section where they will list job opportunities. Otherwise they will post it in their updates on the company page. You can also research the people that work for the companies and see if you can network your way to meeting the right people who may be able to help you. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
9. Add value to your network Instead of approaching people on LinkedIn to ask for a job or when you want something – seek to add value first. Think what you can provide that will help make their job easier, solve a problem, bring them more profit (referral/introduction)… when you help others without seeking anything in return, you’ll find that people will tend to reciprocate. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
10. Keep in touch LinkedIn was not designed to be used as an address book nor as a popularity contest. The idea is not to accumulate as many names as possible just for the sake of it. Strengthen the ties of your networks by keeping in touch and staying top of mind. When people remember you, it’s easier for them to remember the opportunity you seek as they may come across it in their day-to-day activities. LinkedIn ‘Contacts’ is perfect for keeping in regular touch with your networks. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
11. Spread your wings If you’ve spent your time to create a compelling LinkedIn profile – you may as well increase your digital footprint so you can be more easily found online. Consider creating low maintenance, visually attractive accounts such as: http://about.me/ http://re.vu/ http://resumup.com/
Once you have created these accounts, you can also share them on your LinkedIn profile. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
12. Get offline Nothing strengthens an online relationship more than an offline handshake. Get away from behind the computer, pick up the phone, and invite people for that coffee or even lunch. Instead of asking for a job, seek to ask about career advice. Generally introduced networks, industry leaders, friends or alumni would be willing to help. Make sure you research their company and profile prior so you can get the most value out of the conversation. © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
Ends If you’ve enjoyed these tips, please share this amongst your networks.
You may be interested in Wealthy Appetite’s 22 Module, step-by-step LinkedIn profile e-Learning course. This is a fool-proof program that will show you how to create your own compelling LinkedIn profile that will help you to stand out amongst the crowd and attract new opportunities. You can learn more here: http://bit.ly/scprofilecourse Enter the Singapore Careers Special coupon code at checkout for 15% off your investment.
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Eric Wong Eric Wong is Head of Talent Acquisition & Development (APAC) at Polycom. His experience spans across the various human resource functions such as HR Information Systems, Business Partnering and Talent Management. Eric's pragmatic, business-oriented mindset and out-of-the box approach set him apart from as well as challenge how HR is traditionally managed. He believes that all HR practitioners should complete a stint in a business function position in order to fully understand the specific needs of a company. As such, prior to his current role in Polycom, Eric’s completed a job rotation into a business operations role in a sales organisation before moving back into the HR function. Eric currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). Find Eric on LinkedIn: sg.linkedin.com/in/erickywong Eric is the founder of the Singapore Careers group on LinkedIn which has a membership base of ~65,000 © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
Linda Le Originally from Australia, Linda Le comes with a background in training and development as well as having been certified as an Executive and Career Coach. Her experience has involved coaching Business Owners, Managers, Directors, and C-Level Executives, particularly on topics of reputation building, relationship management and effective networking on LinkedIn. She believes that everyone has an untapped network of people who can help them achieve their business and career goals and vice versa. They just need to know how. Linda helps: - Train staff, sales & business development teams to leverage LinkedIn - Provide B2B & B2C LinkedIn e-learning solutions - Personal & corporate branding solutions - Investor relations digital strategies to raise international investor exposure - Teach you to use LinkedIn to target your buyer profile & turn cold contacts into warm qualified leads Find Linda on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/profilelinda © 2014 Wealthy Appetite Pte Ltd
