LinkedIn 101

I was at a recruiters’ breakfast event recently and was seated with a pair of very talented women who work in new business and sales positions. Imagine my surprise, however, when the topic of LinkedIn arose, and one of the women said, “So what’s with LinkedIn, anyway? Should I have my picture on there?”

As a recruiter, I spend a good portion of my day looking over the profiles of various LinkedIn users. To hear that these women weren’t using this tool was surprising. Talk about a lost opportunity.

While LinkedIn may not be as visually appealing as Facebook, it offers amazing potential for job seekers, recruiters and sales professionals alike. If you’re a little late to the game and haven’t made the most of LinkedIn, this little LinkedIn 101 tutorial should get you up to speed.

LinkedIn 101
1. Realize the importance of LinkedIn. Whatever your reason for putting it off, there’s no better time than now to start learning how to use this tool. You’ll benefit from greater exposure and simple networking. Additionally, filterable search capabilities will make finding the next sales opportunity/client/employee/employer easy.

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What's on YOUR LinkedIn profile?

Want to take a guess at what the most-used buzzword on people’s LinkedIn profiles is?

Creative.

And oddly enough, that word didn’t even make the top 10 list last year, according to a recent TechCrunch article. Last year’s top buzzwords list was topped by “extensive experience.”

I caught up with our recruitment director, Megan Rouleau, and she informed me that she often sees the following phrases on resumes coming in for all of Bader Rutter’s job openings:
• Proven strategic thinker
• Results-driven marketing professional
• Effective and organized project manager

One word she suggests avoiding at all costs? Guru.

“When candidates use the word guru, it seems a little egotistical. There are plenty of other ways to express your experience, such as ‘well-versed in social media,’ especially because everyone has room for improvement,” Megan says.

And she’s not alone in feeling that way. Plenty of articles have warned job applicants that using strange new titles like “fanthropologist” and “Creative Undertaker” decreases your credibility and may even cause confusion.

What buzzwords are on your LinkedIn profile?