Jennifer McClure`

Helping Leaders Leverage Influence & Create Maximum Impact.

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Written by Jennifer McClure

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

Categories: Blog, Personal Branding, Podcast
Posted on January 26, 2023

Written by Jennifer McClure

Driving Success with LinkedIn as a Small or Mid-Sized Company | Talent Connect Vegas 2013 [video]

Recently, I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion at LinkedIn’s Talent Connect Vegas 2013 Conference on the topic of “Driving Success with LinkedIn as a Small or Mid-Sized Company”.

The esteemed panelists I had the pleasure of working with included:

Angie McDonald – Vice President of Human Resources, Realogy Holdings Group

M.T. Ray – Senior Director of Global Recruiting, ExactTarget

Arnaud Kermouche – Manager of Talent Acquisition, Uni-Select, Inc.

The following video is from our session (some subscribers may need to click here to view) and I’ve also summarized some key points from the session below the video and the time increments for each question/response.

Whether you’re using LinkedIn for recruiting, employer branding or employee engagement via a free account or using paid LinkedIn Talent Solutions, I promise you’ll find the experiences, tips and suggestions shared by these successful Talent Acquisition leaders helpful!

00:00 – 07:00 Introductions

07:01 – 13:40 Describe the evolution of LinkedIn’s role in your Talent Strategy and how it’s grown over time.

ExactTarget – Today, 95% of ET employees are on LinkedIn and over 50% of openings are filled by employee referrals.

Uni-Select – LinkedIn is now a cornerstone in the employer brand strategy and is used to increase visibility.

Realogy – Started small and had to demonstrate ROI to be able to invest more in LinkedIn. Now use LinkedIn to find candidates and fill jobs domestically and internationally.

13:41 – 22:04 How did you get your leadership to buy-in and invest in LinkedIn?

Uni-Select – Worked with LinkedIn to understand candidates, to listen to them and improve communications.

Realogy – Filled key positions in the UK and Hong Kong that would have previously been filled by outside agencies.

ExactTarget – Showed significant dollar savings in agency fees and was able to invest more in an internal sourcing team.

22:05 – 29:43 How has using LinkedIn impacted your talent acquisition efforts?

Uni-Select – Able to attract and hire for C-level and VP positions directly.

ExactTarget – Have basically stopped using agencies domestically and have had success with some international hires.

Realogy – Use LinkedIn as a strategic tool to make business proposals and present data to inform hiring managers.

29:44 – 33:22 How much of a component is LinkedIn in your Talent Acquisition strategy?

ExactTarget – At least 50%. Able to target passive talent, get employee referrals and use it for employer branding.

Realogy – LinkedIn is part of a diverse talent acquisition strategy.

Uni-Select – LinkedIn is third highest source of applicants.

33:23 – 37:13 What does the future hold for your Talent Acquisition efforts?

Realogy – Understand how to utilize mobile and also how to work more closely with hiring managers.

ExactTarget – Social recruiting in general – not just LinkedIn, but also Twitter, Instagram and other social sites.

Uni-Select – A recruiting video and communicating more effectively with employees so they can be Ambassadors for the company on LinkedIn.

37:14 – 41:30 How are you engaging your employees to recruit the talent you need?

Uni-Select – Uses lunch and learn sessions.

ExactTarget – Partnering with hiring managers and teaching them how to use LinkedIn to share jobs.

Realogy – Provides tips on how employees can improve their Profile and how franchisors can improve their Pages to get more followers and attract people to the company.

42:00 – 53:00 Audience Q&A

More great tips and info from the panelists and audience members on getting the most out of LinkedIn, getting started with a LinkedIn strategy, proving ROI and dealing with push-back from Marketing or other departments who aren’t supportive of developing an employer brand.

53:01 – 53:16 Thanks and goodbye!

Thanks to LinkedIn for once again providing a great learning and connecting experience at their annual conference!

It’s never too early to register for Talent Connect 2014 in San Francisco October 20 – 22, 2014!

—–
Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

Categories: Blog, LinkedIn, Recruiting, Social Recruiting
Posted on November 25, 2013

Written by Jennifer McClure

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…]

Categories: Blog, Personal Development
Posted on November 13, 2013

Written by Jennifer McClure

The HOW and WHY of LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook For Business [Webinar Series]

I get to do many cool things in my job at Unbridled Talent, but one of the best things about my job is the opportunity to travel around and meet professionals who are interested in learning more about how to grow their professional careers or how to implement best practices to improve their company’s performance.

In addition to working with business leaders to define and implement people strategies required to achieve business objectives, I’ve had the opportunity to speak at over 150 conference events, corporate workshops, association meetings and webinars – often about how to utilize social media for career development, why social media matters for business and how to utilize social media tools and resources in Human Resources and Recruiting.

LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

I love my job.

But even though LinkedIn recently reached it’s 10th anniversary, Facebook has turned 9 and Twitter has crossed the 7 year mark, many people are still confused about or unaware of how to best utilize social media tools as business and professional resources. It’s not uncommon for me to talk with someone after an event where the person relates something similar to, “I was skeptical that using social media was something that I (or my organization) needed to do and I didn’t understand it, but now, I believe that it is – and I can!” Best. Feedback. Ever.

And it’s ok.

That’s one of the reasons why Laurie Ruettimann* and I are teaming up to offer a series of upcoming webinars to help business professionals, human resources pros and talent acquisition geeks understand the HOW and WHY of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook – and we’d love for you to join us!

We realize that many of you may not be inclined to attend a conference to learn more about how to use LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook and you also may not have the time or budget resources to do so. So we’re coming to you – in your offices, your cubicles or out on your back deck – via a series of 90 minute webinars to share what we’ve learned about using social media to cultivate awareness, develop your brand/your employer brand and effective ways to nurture both consumer and employment leads in the marketplace.

So here’s the scoop (click on the links for full session descriptions and for registration):

  • Developing a Strategic and Effective Presence on LinkedIn (May 21, 2013 at 2pm ET/11am PT )
  • Essential Elements for a Successful Twitter Presence (May 28, 2013 at 2pm ET/11am PT)
  • Strategies to Establish and Amplify Your Presence on Facebook (June 4, 2013 at 2pm ET/11am PT)

After doing webinars for other companies for years, many of whom charged quite a bit of money, we’d like to offer these webinars at an affordable price ($37 each or $99 for all three) and we’ll also provide everyone who registers with a free toolkit after each webinar that includes a copy of the slide deck, a recording of the webinar and a resource sheet with links to learn more from leading social media resources.

Not available during the specific dates or times? No worries. The webinars will be recorded for access at any time and you’ll still receive the toolkit!

Why are we doing this now? Because we want to help you and we want to share what we’ve learned from years of working as entrepreneurs, recruiters and human resources professionals along with our experience working in a variety of industries – both within corporate America and as external consultants working with some of the best leaders and companies in the world.

Have a question about the webinars or what’s in it for you? Let me know in the comments or you can find both Laurie and I on the interwebs via

LinkedIn – Laurie Ruettimann / LinkedIn – Jennifer McClure

Twitter – Laurie Ruettimann / Twitter – Jennifer McClure

Facebook – Laurie Ruettimann / Facebook – Jennifer McClure

Or just go old school and send me an email!

If you know someone who could benefit from one, two or all three of these webinars, please share this information with your colleagues or clients!

*True story. Laurie is my favorite Cynical Girl, Pixie of the Apocalypse, cat lover and thinker/agitator in the world of work. We “met online” years ago when I found her Punk Rock HR blog, so when we actually met for the first time in person at the 2009 SHRM Annual Conference, we were already BFF’s. Ultimately, Laurie has been one of the most helpful people to me in developing my business and my speaking career and is firmly ensconced in the Unbridled Talent President’s Club. See? Using social media to build real relationships and to grow your business can definitely work!

—–

Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of recruiting & human resources strategy, employment branding and leadership/career development. We offer keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

Categories: Blog, Employment Branding, Facebook, LinkedIn, Personal Branding, Social Recruiting, Twitter
Posted on May 8, 2013

Written by Jennifer McClure

What’s New(ish) With LinkedIn

Last week, I was fortunate to be invited to speak at a Cincinnati Social Media Group event on the campus of Northern Kentucky University at their gorgeous new College of Informatics facility – Griffin Hall.

I was pretty stoked to be presenting in such a visually stunning and engaging environment – and in front of a 15 feet by 25 feet presentation screen made up of  digital micro tiles! It was also great to see so many in the Cincinnati Social Media community that I follow and learn from each day. Thanks to several of the participants for taking some cool photos. These will definitely go in the scrapbook!

photo by Kevin Dugan
Photo By Mike Boehmer

For my presentation, Cincinnati Social Media Founder, Kevin Dugan (someone I learn a great deal from in regards to social media and marketing communications – and also quite the Instagram pro) asked me to share what’s “new” on LinkedIn and some new ways of utilizing basic aspects of the site with a generally social media savvy audience – as well as NKU students who were invited to the event.

It was fun to try to create a presentation for a mixed audience – many of whom are LinkedIn experts in their own right – and I’ve embedded a copy of my attempt below. Email subscribers can click this link to view on SlideShare.

What’s New(ish) With LinkedIn – March 2012

View more presentations from Jennifer McClure

A couple of things that get lost in translation when uploading PDF files to Slideshare – any animation used or videos embedded don’t show up. So here’s a link to the video on Slide 35 about LinkedIn’s mobile application – CardMunch – which CEO Jeff Weiner says will help LinkedIn to “replace the traditional  Rolodex” in the future: Digitize Business With LinkedIn’s CardMunch App

—–

Anything new in the presentation that you plan to look in to or implement – or anything you’d new(ish) you’d like to add in the Comments? I’d love to learn from you!

Categories: Blog, LinkedIn, Presentations
Posted on March 26, 2012

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  • Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Build Your Personal Brand and Grow Your Career
  • Is It Still Possible to Build Your Personal Brand Using Social Media in 2023?
  • My Mother’s Legacy: What It Means to Be an Impact Maker
  • 10 Activities Leaders Must Embrace to Lead With Impact in the Future of Work
  • 5 Things I Plan to Start, Stop, and Continue Doing in 2023

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  • Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Build Your Personal Brand and Grow Your Career
  • Is It Still Possible to Build Your Personal Brand Using Social Media in 2023?
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  • 10 Activities Leaders Must Embrace to Lead With Impact in the Future of Work
  • 5 Things I Plan to Start, Stop, and Continue Doing in 2023

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