How to Build a LinkedIn that Makes a Good First Impression

Having a profile on LinkedIn can be the perfect tool for people looking to network within their profession, or even search for new jobs. Anyone who looks at your LinkedIn profile will likely be judging you based on the content and its appearance. Making a good first impression on your profile is important and could make the difference when you’re job hunting or trying to make a new business contact.

Here are some tips to improve your LinkedIn profile and make a good first impression.

Add a Strong Profile Picture: Often your profile picture will be the first thing that a person notices on your profile. Do not settle for the gray avatar that comes standard with the profile. Instead, use the most professional looking photo of yourself you have. If you do not have a professional photo, then contact a photographer to get a head shot. Remember to smile.

Standout with your Headline: After your profile picture, your headline will be the next thing that is noticed by those visiting your profile. You may want to create a headline that will directly relate to the audience you want to target. If you want to have your profile be searchable, then you will want to include certain important keywords in your headline. Remember, the headline is important but keep it simple. Ten words or less will be sufficient.

Add Achievements to the Summary Field: It is important that potential employers or business contacts know what makes you stand out from the rest: your professional achievements. While deciding what some of your biggest achievements are, keep in mind the audience you want to target. Tailor which achievements get listed based on that audience. Feel free to add any media files that will showcase your achievements or talents. That can include any videos where you are a presenter, a screenshot of positive testimonials about your work, or any other media files that are relevant.

Be Thorough: Be sure to fill out as much as you can. Keep the information geared towards the audience you are targeting. Be sure to add keywords to your profile that target either the type of job you are seeking or the type of people you would like to network with. These keywords will help make your profile standout to that audience.

You will want to fill-in the sections regarding any volunteer work you have done, your skill set, and education to show what type of person you are. When filing out your work history, keep your information limited to those jobs that are relevant to what your goals are for your career.

Johnny Nash "I Can See Clearly Now" (Original)

Persevere Movie

Persevere Movie: In my many years of business and life, I realize that there are quite a few things that separate the good from the great. But, if you asked me to pick only one reason why some are more successful than others, I would offer you this...your willingness to PERSEVERE.

The job market is starting to rebound.

We have seen a difference recently in the number of resumes submitted for open positions. The long-term unemployed, who had previously given up on finding work, are trying again, and others, who had been reluctant to move from their current employer, are starting to test the waters. However, even if you are highly qualified, it can still be tough to land an interview for that great new job.

Related: Revealed: The No. 1 City to Find a Job

How do you get your resume put into the "Yes" pile? We suggest the following:

1. Read the job posting carefully.

Exactly what does this business owner or hiring manger want in a successful candidate? What skills, experience and degrees do they list as mandatory? What do they list as preferred?

If you can't check off the mandatory requirements, or at least most of them, it is doubtful that you will get an interview. While you may have a PhD or MBA, if you don't have a background in construction or retail, you probably don’t have the right experience to work the plumbing aisle at Lowe's.

2. Customize your resume.

If you are seriously interested in a job, it is worth your time to rewrite your resume to highlight the particular skills and experience you have that match the job posting. Employers often spend only a few seconds looking at each resume, searching for specific words that match their most important requirements. If your resume reads as if it belongs to a different job opening, it is going in the "No" pile.

At a minimum, make sure that your objective matches the job title. Don’t state that your goal is to find a marketing position when you are applying to an office management job. Similarly, if you have the specific experience or degree that the job posting asks for, make sure that it is easy to find on your resume.

3. Customize your cover letter.

When a resume catches their attention, recruiters and hiring managers will read the attached cover letter. The cover letter is your chance to show your personality and to tell the prospective employer exactly why you would be great in this job. Don't miss out on the opportunity.

Related: How to Land a Job at a Startup

Customize your letter to the job posting and anything else you know, or can learn, about the company. Don’t make the classic mistake of sending a cover letter addressed to the wrong person, company or referencing the wrong job title. Unfortunately, we’ve seen this too many times. 

4. Step away from the computer.

Many candidates spend hours each day searching the Internet job boards and posting their resumes online. However, statistics show that most jobs are found through networking. To increase your chances, have coffee with your friends and business contacts and tell them what you are looking for. Join local job support groups to increase your reach.

If your resume is hand delivered to a hiring manager by someone he or she trusts, it can overcome a myriad of issues. It can even get your resume put in the "yes" pile despite deficiencies in mandatory requirements.

We understand that the job market can still seem daunting despite the upturn in the economy. To land that important interview, customize your resume and cover letter for each position and then use your network to increase your reach. If you follow these steps, you’ll see positive results. 

Doug and Polly White own Whitestone Partners Inc., a management-consulting firm that specializes in helping small businesses grow profitably. They are also co-authors of Let Go to GROW, a bestselling book on why some businesses thrive and others fail to reach their potential.

7 Job Hunting Tips You Should Do Before a Job Interview

Job hunters should do specific actions before each job interview. Here are seven job hunting tips that you should do before every job interview – to help you get job offers. Job hunters should do specific actions before each job interview. Here are seven job hunting tips that you should do before every job interview – to help you get job offers. When you use this pre-interview job hunting advice you will stand out as enormously more wonderful than other job candidates competing for the same job. And that is what you want, isn’t it?

 1. Mail Letter to Interviewer to Confirm Your Interview Appointment Here is job hunting advice you will not get anywhere else – and it will dramatically help you look fantastic in the job interviewer’s eyes before you show up: The same day the potential employer schedules you to come in for interview, type a brief letter confirming your interview’s (a) day, (b) date, and (c) time. Guarantee: No other job hunter will do this pre-interview confirmation letter – so you immediately earn “points” and start with a deliciously unfair advantage.

 2. Print 2 to 4 Items of Useful Information about the Company Job searchers easily can do this by (a) looking at the company website’s News Room or Press Room, (b) doing online search about the company, and (c) phoning the company and asking it to mail you its product/service brochures and, if publically traded, annual report. Before your job interview, study these items. Later, at your job interview, make sure the interviewer sees the informative materials you wisely obtained – and studied. This instantly gives you many “points” from the interviewer – plus makes you stick out as preferable to other job candidates who did not pre-gather company info

. 3. Find Out Typical Attire of Company’s Managers, and Dress Like Them Job hunting tip on how to dress: Every company has ‘unwritten’ dress code followed by its managers and executives. So, find out what that is – and dress like the managers and executives who, ultimately, may make job offers to you. Discover how formal or informal – or how businesslike or casual – those decision-makers dress. Then dress similarly – and they instantly will get the impression you may “fit in” their company’s culture. How do you discover the ‘unwritten’ dress code? Two ways. First, you can sit in the company’s parking lot 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. – end of workday – and observe how the professional-looking people are dressed when they leave for the day. Second, on the company’s website, look at photos of managers and executives. How businesslike or casual is their attire? Copy that level of formality when you dress for your job interview.

 4. Bring Extra Copies of Your Resume and Testimonial Letters In my JOB HUNTING MADE EASY book, I explain how to make your ‘attention-grabbing’ 1-page resume that noticeably highlights 4-6 of your measurable “Achievements.” So, make that sort of resume, and bring extra copies. Also, bring color copies of all your testimonial letters. In my JOB HUNTING MADE EASY book I tell you how to easily get knock-your-socks-off testimonial letters. Under 1% of job hunters get testimonial letters. Join that elite group – and you will stand out high above other job candidates.

 5. In the Waiting Room, Charm the Receptionist Job hunters advice few job hunters know: Everyone who sees you before your job interview may say good or bad things about the impression you made on them! You can make sure they say you seem magnificent!! Start with the receptionist. They sit 40 hours/week observing everyone in the waiting room. Most people treat receptionists impersonally or like ‘human robots.’ But, you must treat the receptionist like gold. Smile, make friendly eye-contact, compliment something about the company’s office, and do everything to make you shine in the receptionist’s heart. Doing these charming actions increases your likelihood the receptionist will make a compliment about you to the job interviewer. Again, you earned “points” from job interviewers – even before they start talking to you.

 6. In the Waiting Room, Hide Your Cell Phone and Do Not Use It Job search advice: You are ‘on-stage’ starting the moment you enter the building! So, focus on the company interviewing you – and abandon all use of your cell phone. Making or getting cell phone calls or texting or anything you do with your cell phone shows you are NOT focused on the company interviewing you. Instead, you MUST do the next job hunting tip in waiting roo.

 7. In the Waiting Room, Noticeably Read Information about the Company Again, job search tip: Job hunters’ every action is observed – and discussed. So, do the following job hunter ‘theatre’: Extremely noticeably make sure everyone sees you reading company (a) brochures, (b) annual reports, and (c) online information you printed. You will stick out as the job hunter who ACTS seriously interested in the company’s business – and a possible career there. While other job applicants are playing with their cell phones or fidgeting or reading non-company materials, there you are 100% absorbed in soaking up info on the company that may make a job offer.

SUMMARY: Job Hunting Advice and Tips for Before Your Job Interviews Remember this job hunting advice: Successful job searchers start earning “points” from interviewers even before the job interview starts. You can use these job hunting tips to make you stand out as immensely superior to the 99.9999% of job hunters who do not know – or use – these pre-job interview job hunting tips.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Mercer, Ph.D., authored 6 books - including “JOB HUNTING MADE EASY” and also “Hire the Best – and Avoid the Rest™.” He is an expert in knowing what employers look for when they decide which job applicants to hire – or not-hire. Dr. Mercer also coaches job hunters in how to uncover job opportunities, impress interviewers, and get job offers. You can learn about his “JOB HUNTING MADE EASY” book and also read job hunting advice articles at www.JobHuntingMadeEasy.com

LinkedIn is the best social network for your career, whether you want to use it to find a job or just boost your hirability. It's not without its annoyances, however. If you're prepping your profile for the job hunt especially, you'll want to head to this setting on LinkedIn first, before everything turns to hell. How Can I Make LinkedIn More Useful in Landing a Job The setting is related to the "Say congrats on the new job!" notices that pop up on LinkedIn and your email inbox all the time. If you don't change it, every time you tweak your title (say, to be more specific to the kind of job you're looking for next), LinkedIn will tell your network and they'll assume you've just landed a new position. That's not really great if you're in the midst of looking for a new position and interviewing with companies while you adjust your LinkedIn profile. Donna Sapolin writes on Forbes that even her mother congratulated her for the "new job" and "promotion" because she changed the field under her name. To prevent this, you have to turn off activity broadcasts completely. Updated: Hover over your profile photo, then go to Privacy & Settings and under the Profile tab, look for Privacy Controls > Turn on/off your activity broadcasts. That way, no one else in your network will mistake editing your profile with a new job. Turn it back on when you're done so the status updates and whatever else you do want to share get seen.

How to be Ready for a Career Change

How to be Ready for a Career Change The idea of changing careers can invoke anxiety in some people, but it shouldn't. People switch careers every day. In fact, the average worker changes jobs after about 4.4 years. Millennials--those workers born between 1977 and 1997--change jobs after about three years, according to Forbes. Experts don't know how many of these new jobs are career changes rather than job changes. However, some career coaches believe the average person changes careers six or seven times. You can change careers, too! If you're unhappy in your current career, it's time to make a move to something better. Let's get you ready for a career change. Decide What You'd Like To Do Remember those career assessment tests you took in school? You know, the ones that asked you multiple choice questions about your personality and behavior? That test may come in handy now.A career assessment test helps pinpoint where you are in life and what you'd be happiest doing in the future. Maybe you're thinking, "I've already taken that test. What's the point in doing it again?" The answer is simple. You've changed since then. As you get older, and as you gained more experience, you changed. This could cause your career assessment test to yield completely different results. Take a test online to see what you'd be good at, then weigh your options. Plan With Goals in Mind What will it take to push you past the finish line when it comes to switching careers? A solid plan. This plan should include: Networking with industry leaders Researching the companies you'd like to apply to Gaining necessary certifications Becoming aware of industry trends Following thought leaders on social media Create a New Resume You may not have a work history in your new field, but you can still put together a great resume. Focus on certifications or education that relates to your new field. You can also make past work experience work for you. Take a serious look at your work history. What experience from your prior jobs would help you in a new job? For example, if you are an accountant and want to work as a chef, highlight how well you can budget and organize. First Steps Towards Your New Career Once you've created an action plan, it's time to put it in place. There are several things you can do to get moving in the right direction. Research careers online. Find out what education and qualifications are needed to get a job in your chosen career. If you need more education, begin researching and applying to programs. Look at your local community college if you need to earn a certificate; such colleges often offer certificate programs at reduced prices to local students. Get references. If you've done any work in your new area of interest, gather references. For example, if you want to be a chef and have cooked for your friend's dinner party, get a reference from her. References can demonstrate that you have the skills you need for your chosen career. Create job seeker profiles. Put your new resume online on job seeking sites such as Simply Hired. You should also create a LinkedIn profile. Ideally, that's the first thing recruiters see when they Google your name. Consider a career coach. Career coaches specialize in helping people gain the skills they need to successfully switch careers. Hiring a coach who is familiar with your target career can enable you to accelerate your progress. Your career coach can also provide encouragement and help you stick to your plan. If you're ready for a new career, think deeply about what you want. Consider what you have to offer. Then make a plan, and stick to it. You'll be thankful you did.