Linkedin

[Dearnla]

I've had a few contacts on it, but never right for me. I don't accept all the invites I get either - if agents are patently trawling to build up their networks.
I'm a member of a couple of particular networks on there, so I see some of the jobs going anyway. That way, I can choose whether to respond or not.

[SallyPlanIT]

From a different perspective, I have a personal account which I have gained new clients through. I'm currently undertaking an on-line course to learn how to use it more effectively. I think it has a big role to play in the future.

[cojak]

I keep my contacts locked down as well. I'm a member of some groups and I don't want anyone messing with my network.

[Clippy]

Regarding previous roles/positions, how much detail do you include in your profile?

I know some people have a cut 'n' paste of their CV whilst others just have a basic position held/title and date.

I need to update my profile and was thinking of something in between such as a summary of the position.

This ties in with my view of Linked In in that it should be a 'shopfront' and not an exhaustive record of your career.

However, in these times, am a little bit un-sure if this is the correct approach to take.

Any thoughts?

[thunderlizard]

I just updated mine yesterday.

My "Summary" is just "X professional with Y years' experience in the Z industry".

My "Specialties" () is a copy & paste of the IT acronym soup that comes towards the top of my CV.

In my "Career history", because I went contracting straight out of university so have never had a proper job, just has one entry: "Consultant at ThunderCorp" and it contains a list of my last 5 contracts, with the name of the client and a 1-sentence description of what I did at it.

[Aman]

I tried to set up a profile but the site asked for dates and it looked too much like a CV. I can't see how to set it up so here is a current and past client list.

[Fred Bloggs]

I tend to copy/paste my CV, others don't. Which is right or better? No idea.

[SallyPlanIT]

Regarding previous roles/positions, how much detail do you include in your profile?

I know some people have a cut 'n' paste of their CV whilst others just have a basic position held/title and date.

I need to update my profile and was thinking of something in between such as a summary of the position.

This ties in with my view of Linked In in that it should be a 'shopfront' and not an exhaustive record of your career.

However, in these times, am a little bit un-sure if this is the correct approach to take.

Any thoughts?

The following is quoted from the linkedIn course I'm doing:

Start your first three paragraphs strongly, saying exactly what you do, your specialities,
and your niche.
Remember to use your Key Level words in the summary, and if possible in your first three
paragraphs.
Use the rest of the summary to expand on your Key Levels using paragraph spacing and
some simple graphics.
Try and build on the first three paragraphs offering more detail building up a written picture
of your experience.
I do see some people incorporating links and urls into their summary, if you do this
remember that people cannot click on them to use them, they will just cut and paste them:
I am unsure how effective this is, especially when LinkedIn already gives you the
opportunity to create clickable links in another section.