Workshop Helps VPC Members Maximize Professional Social Networking

About a dozen VPC members and guests attended a professional development workshop focused on LinkedIn best practices Sept. 18 at Tuckahoe Library in Henrico.  

The workshop was led by Ken Jungerson, an acclaimed author and professional adventurer, who has spent years not only using LinkedIn, but also helping others maximize this social networking tool for professionals.

Jungerson’s presentation “Make LinkedIn You — Professional Networking” focused on best practices to tailor your LinkedIn profiles to your needs.  

His first and maybe most important advice: A photo is a must, and it should be a professional headshot. You can also add a background to help you stand out. A close second: Make sure whatever you are posting is professionally appropriate.

Jungerson noted the free version of LinkedIn is usually sufficient unless you want to message someone you aren’t connected to. The premium version also allows you to view all the people who have viewed your profile.

If you are job hunting, make sure your “Career Interests” tab is set to “on,” and consider adding relevant hashtags and people’s names using the @ symbol when you comment on articles or post your own. These actions will boost your profile in search engines.

Review your entire profile for length. Brevity is your friend. “As with most things, do you think people want to read War and Peace? No, you don’t want to bore your audience,“ Jungerson said. “Most people viewing your profile won’t see more than the first three lines of your description, and they are usually skimming the information.”

When you are adding your experience, make sure you are highlighting your accomplishments versus your job duties. Focus on what sets you apart from others who do this same job, and make sure to include metrics whenever possible.  

“Networking really matters to find a job because about 50% of jobs are not posted,” Jungerson said. Keeping your LinkedIn profile polished and current is a key component of networking.

For those who couldn’t attend, here are some additional top tips and takeaways from attendees:

• Terry Haycock: It’s important to have your photo displayed.
• Louisa Preston: Under the Education section, you can include self-study, but don’t use dates unless recent.
• Lindsey Campbell: Consider including a narrative in your profile description. Keep it short and sweet, and don’t bury the lead.
• Sande Snead: When you receive a suggestion from LinkedIn on who you might like to connect with, click on their picture and not the link so you can add a personal note.
• Julie Grimes: Check your location status. There is a vast difference in your reach between your location being “Richmond, VA” and “Richmond, VA area.”
• Julie Campbell: His advice to keep things short and sweet and to bullet items made a lot of sense. I will be refreshing my LinkedIn account ASAP.
• Cynthia Price: I didn’t know about the filters to further refine my searches. The filters are an invaluable way to locate someone I know is in my network, but whose name I can’t recall. There were so many great tips, I’ve scheduled time to update my LinkedIn account.
• Sunni Brown: For jobs you’ve held more than 10 years ago, consider lumping those together as an “Other Experience” section, and focus on your skills versus the job titles.