Andrew McCaskill, Linkedin's Career Expert, joins TheStreet to discuss some of the do's and don'ts when building your LinkedIn profile.
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00:00 - What are some of those do's and maybe some of those don'ts
00:02 to avoid for building a really solid,
00:04 representative LinkedIn profile?
00:06 - Keep in mind that LinkedIn is a professional network.
00:09 It's not your Instagram, it's not your Twitter, right?
00:11 So this is where people come to do the work of business
00:15 and to find incredible talent and opportunities.
00:18 So your LinkedIn profile, have a great picture,
00:21 but you don't have to go out
00:22 and get a professional headshot.
00:23 Just no beach selfie unless you plan
00:25 on being a surf instructor, right?
00:26 And we've got some surf instructors on our platform too.
00:29 But you know what I mean?
00:30 Like it's gotta be a great photo that says,
00:32 hello, I'm Drew and I'm ready to work.
00:34 But then also really optimize your skills.
00:36 Really make sure that you've got what's on your resume
00:41 actually matches up with what's on your LinkedIn profile.
00:44 And take a look at your connections.
00:47 Start to follow companies and people that are in industries
00:51 and are at companies and in roles that you would like to be.
00:54 And participation is half of the battle.
00:57 You don't just come in when you're looking for a gig, right?
01:00 There's something my dad used to say
01:02 that I say to job candidates all the time.
01:04 He would say is that, if you stay ready,
01:06 you don't have to get ready.
01:08 And that's how we've got to think about our careers.
01:10 It's not just when you're looking for a job
01:12 that you participate in your network
01:15 and that you participate
01:17 in where people are looking for talent.
01:19 Your visibility is really important,
01:21 particularly in a more competitive market.
01:23 - You talk about the importance
01:24 of keeping those relationships sharp,
01:25 keeping those profiles sharp,
01:26 even if you're not actively looking right now
01:28 'cause the time will come when you'll need to.
01:30 I love that.
01:31 - Yeah.
01:32 - If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready.
01:33 - If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready.
01:34 And the time will come too.
01:35 And it's also really good to let your network know,
01:39 people in your professional community
01:40 that you really trust to say,
01:42 "Hey, I may be looking pretty soon."
01:45 But that's not enough to just tell your network
01:48 that you may be looking.
01:50 Tell them what you're looking for
01:52 and tell them what they should say about you
01:54 when they have conversations about you.
01:56 Just say, "Listen, J.D., my superpowers
01:58 "are I'm a great storyteller.
02:00 "I'm a great problem solver.
02:01 "I can write my butt off."
02:04 And if you have an opportunity
02:05 where you hear of somebody who's looking for somebody
02:07 with that skill and those talents,
02:09 let them know that that's some of Drew's superpowers.
02:13 Make it easy for people to say good things about you.
02:17 And they gotta know what those things are
02:18 before they can say them.
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