If you’re like me, LinkedIn can often seem like that oddball item on the dessert menu. There’s little mystery when it comes to Facebook or Twitter, the apple cobbler or cheesecake of social media platforms, but LinkedIn is more like the Mille Crepe Cake; it could be fantastic or a huge letdown.
Add to that, LinkedIn has gone through a considerable number of changes and updates over the past year, all of which make it that much more difficult to know where you should focus the limited number of minutes you have developing a profile.
Having said all of that, LinkedIn has established itself as an influential force on your career path. It’s purchase by Microsoft in 2016 all but assures it isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
As such, it’s in your own best interest to make sure you compile as strong of a profile as possible. To that end, there’s an excellent article by Marc Schenker in the 9/11/17 edition of Creative Market’s blog that provides “10 Simple Tips to Design a Standout LinkedIn Profile.”
What makes the post especially useful is the number of direct examples it provides.
For instance, instead of simply saying “get a good headshot” the author provides several example images alongside a list of do’s and don’ts.
In general, here are the types of headshots to avoid:
- Too casual (like at a bar)
- No smile and too serious
- A selfie with a smartphone
While the article does an excellent job at providing broad based insight and tips, here are some additional arts manager oriented tweaks for several of the points that take into consideration some field-specific applications:
Tip #2: Be Clear With Your Headline
All of the advice in the article is spot on but this is one area where the author is a little soft on resources. But fear not, here’s an ArtsHack to help you craft a #FTW headline: That Time When You Tried To Write A Powerful Headline But Failed
Tip #7: Strive to Increase Your Number of Connections
Given that our field makes Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon look like child’s play, the number of connections is important but not as important as who those connections are. If you don’t have time to add connections, focus instead on higher quality connections from well-known and well-respected professionals in the field.
Tip #9: Get Recommendations
Although this section is really geared more toward provider/client relationships, it can also be used for referrals from current and previous co-workers. The more these can focus on specific projects and mention results, the better.
