Jennifer McClure`

Helping Leaders Leverage Influence & Create Maximum Impact.

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Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Build Your Personal Brand and Grow Your Career

Impact Makers Podcast Episode 076

How valuable is your LinkedIn profile? Hint: The answer is very!

If you don’t believe me, grab your phone, Google your name in quotes (“Jennifer McClure” for example), and hit enter.

Unless you’ve got an extremely common name, you’ll likely notice that the first page of search results for your name returns a number of social media profiles – which may include yours, as well as others that share your same name. And included in those top 10 results is likely a link to your public LinkedIn profile, or at least one created by one of your namesakes.

Whether you’re searching for your next job, open to career growth opportunities, or looking to grow your personal brand, or your business, your best opportunity to get noticed online is to have a robust, fully complete, and active LinkedIn profile.

While LinkedIn is straightforward – create a profile, connect with people, post and share your content, etc. – you may not be getting the most out of it as you would if you were to create an intentional strategy for using LinkedIn.

There are multiple ways that you can optimize your LinkedIn profile to build your personal brand and grow your career. By doing so, you can use LinkedIn to build your credibility as a thought leader and your reputation as a business leader that others want to work with or do business with.

You can also readily access a vast network of people and resources that you can utilize (for free) for your personal and professional development.

In this episode, I’m going to share some of my favorite tips and strategies for creating a LinkedIn profile that stands out, works for you, and increases your opportunities!

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • Why a LinkedIn profile is valuable
  • What makes a great LinkedIn profile?
  • 8 profile photo best practices
  • How to maximize your background photo
  • Tips for an effective LinkedIn profile headline
  • Tips in writing your About section
  • 10 profile summary tips

IMPACT MAKERS PODCAST – EPISODE 76

Key Quotes From This Episode:

“People ARE searching for you online – or they should be – and you have a simple and free way available to you to deliver exactly the credibility, image, and authority that you prefer, by being intentional about how you use LinkedIn.” ~ @Jennifer McClure

Connect with Jennifer:

Send her a message [https://jennifermcclure.net/contact/]

On LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermcclure

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferMcClure

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_mcclure/

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferMcClureSpeaker

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Expert Resume Tips to Achieve Success in the Modern Day Job Search with Chris Villanueva

Impact Makers Podcast Episode 068

Looking for a new job? How do you stand out from the crowd and make sure your resume gets noticed?

If you’re planning to use the same resume you created 10 years ago, well, that probably won’t be too useful. Times have changed, and so has resume writing!

There are actually things you need to be intentional with when it comes to showcasing your strengths and making sure you’re getting your message across.

Today, I’m joined by Chris Villanueva, the CEO & Co-Founder of Let’s Eat, Grandma, an online resume service that was ranked by The Balance as the best resume service of 2022.

Chris shares some of his best advice for job seekers and career changers related to creating resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles that will get you noticed, and also help you connect with your dream job.

We also talk about how to overcome some of the challenges that we all face with building new professional relationships in an increasingly hybrid or remote work environment.

Finally, Chris answers the burning question: One page resume or as many as it takes?

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

  • What has changed over the last few years when it comes to resumes.
  • The power of using keywords on your resume and LinkedIn profile to assist you in being found for the job you want.
  • How to address gaps in employment on a resume.
  • How your LinkedIn Profile should differ from your resume.
  • The biggest frustrations job seekers have with recruiters and hiring managers.
  • How we can build relationships in a world where many people are working virtually.
  • Why you should invest in a resume writing service to accelerate positive results in your job search.

IMPACT MAKERS PODCAST – EPISODE 68

Key Quotes From This Episode:

“Your resume is a marketing piece that you have so many eyeballs potentially on, but you have a very short amount of time to make an impact with that one little document.” ~ @Chris Villanueva

“A cover letter…goes beyond the resume in that it can tell an actual story, it can tell your why or even your philosophy of how you work as a professional.” ~ @Chris Villanueva

“I think folks should ask themselves, ‘If I were a recruiter or hiring manager and I was simply typing in some keywords to find the ideal candidate, which ones would I use to target that person’.” ~ @Chris Villanueva

People & Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

Workplace from Meta

Chris Villanueva LinkedIn

Let’s Eat, Grandma

Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast

Impact Makers Podcast Episode #66 – My Best Career Advice to Position Yourself for the Job You Want with Jennifer McClure and Chris Villanueva

Show Sponsor:

This episode of the Impact Makers Podcast is sponsored by Workplace from Meta.

Everybody’s talking about the metaverse these days, but Workplace from Meta is different – I mean, the clue’s in the name, right?

Workplace is a business communication tool that uses features like instant messaging and video calls to help people share information. Think Facebook, but for your company.

It’s part of Meta’s vision for the future of work – a future in which your job isn’t just something you do, but something you EXPERIENCE. A future in which we’ll all feel more present, connected, and productive.

Start your journey into the future of work at workplace.com/future.

Connect with Jennifer:

Send her a message [https://jennifermcclure.net/contact/]

On LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermcclure

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferMcClure

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_mcclure/

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferMcClureSpeaker

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5 Action Steps To Refresh Your Online Brand

Mid-year is a great time to reflect on your progress towards your goals – and it’s also a great time to review your online presence to ensure that your profiles are up-to-date and on-point with your personal branding strategy.

Your life and career are continuously evolving, and social and online platforms are continuously changing, so it’s important to set aside some specific time each year to do a thorough review of your online presence to ensure that it’s accurate, current and presented in the best way possible.

[Read more…]

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10 Steps to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn [Beyond the Basics]

LinkedIn is a great tool for growing your professional network, communicating your personal brand and connecting to opportunities to help you grow your career and your business. But are you going beyond the basics in how you utilize LinkedIn?

Beyond creating a Profile, connecting with your co-workers and joining a few Groups, here are 10 solid steps you should take to get the most out of the opportunities that being a part of the LinkedIn network presents:

1. Post relevant and helpful information in the “Share an Update” box on a regular basis.

Want to build your personal brand and professional reputation? Then become known as a resource or “go to” person in your field or industry. Read a great article? Share it with a comment. Aware of an interesting networking or professional development event? Share it and let your network know you’re going.

I share a ton of links and resources with my network via Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In, and in my experience the engagement is often higher and of better quality (i.e. informative threaded discussions, new connections made, etc.) when shared via my status update on LinkedIn.

Action Step: Share a LinkedIn Status Update with your network at least 3 times per week. Add this activity to your calendar or To Do list to ensure it gets done.

[Read more…]

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LinkedIn Profile Overused Buzzwords – Also Found On Job Postings Near You

After analyzing data from the more than 85 million member profiles on their site, LinkedIn has released a listing of the Top 10 most overused words and phrases found in LinkedIn Profiles (in the US) and they are:

  1. Extensive Experience
  2. Innovative
  3. Motivated
  4. Results-oriented
  5. Dynamic
  6. Proven Track Record
  7. Team Player
  8. Fast-paced
  9. Problem-solver
  10. Entrepreneurial

If you’re a job seeker, it’s a great time of year to update your resume and online profiles, remove any overused words or phrases and get creative and original in marketing yourself and your experience.

If you’re a recruiter or employer, it’s time to stop playing Buzzword Bingo with your Job Descriptions, Job Postings and Career Site as well.

Check out this helpful white paper – Improving the Candidate Experience: Can You Put Yourself in Their Shoes? – from the folks at NAS Recruitment Communications to get some great ideas.

Or, take the less cerebral approach -> Improve Your Job Postings: Write For People Who Fart.

Let’s just make the process better.

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