Where To Put Military Service On Linkedin

Before nosotros even start discussing how to use LinkedIn, there are several questions that you demand to ask yourself.

Showtime of all, why are you on LinkedIn? What makes y'all different than the 250 one thousand thousand folks on there? What is it near you that's going to catch a hiring decision-maker'due south or recruiter's eye and make them want to human activity? What industries and position titles are you targeting?

One time y'all've put some time and attempt in answering these questions in writing, you are set to proceed. Post-obit are 10 of the biggest mistakes veterans make on LinkedIn, and how y'all tin avoid making them yourself:

1. Thinking That LinkedIn Solitary Will Get Y'all Hired

Let me dispel the myth that just past having a potent LinkedIn contour that prompts recruiters to contact you nigh employment opportunities, you're going to get hired. The lesser line is that your job search is never complete until you've signed an offer letter and started your new employee orientation.

We've all probably heard the story of the person who got the job offer, just to find out information technology was rescinded due to a contract non beingness awarded, the position funding non existence appropriated or even a more than suitable candidate being called. Don't be one of them. Never stop your job search until the ink is dry on the offering letter. (Click here to tweet this idea.)

2. Thinking LinkedIn Is a Monday-Through-Friday Network

In that location'south a wrongly held belief that LinkedIn is strictly a Monday-through-Fri social networking site. Nil could be further from the truth.

In an era of smartphones, nosotros check our emails constantly and read whatsoever interests u.s. as nosotros await in line at the section store or grocery. Nosotros are an uber-connected social club, like information technology or not. On a typical mean solar day, I get 200+ emails in my work inbox, compared to the 15 or and so that I go on my LinkedIn business relationship from people I know personally. And so, which practise you recollect has the college likelihood of getting a response?

It's important to note, however, that sensible rules of etiquette still apply. Delight don't email before than 9 a.k. or later than viii p.thousand. The objective of the email is to result in a telephone call. I advocate the philosophy of using "old-schoolhouse techniques and new-school technologies."

three. Thinking Your Network Size Doesn't Matter

Now, earlier you run out and become a Lion (LinkedIn Open Networker), I'll ask you the all-important question: If you lot had an exotic sports car, what blazon of gas would you lot fill it up with?

I hope that your answer was "premium gas." That's considering if you put regular unleaded in that vehicle, it would non perform at its optimum capacity when you needed it to. At the end of the day, you want to be able to contact anyone in your network and ask them for an introduction to someone they know, and feel confident that your relationship is such that they'll feel comfortable doing so.

That being said, your employment opportunities will be driven past the number of connections that you have. Call back, y'all're notwithstanding networking, admitting in a virtual affair, and the more you lot reach out, the more career opportunities will come well-nigh because of it.

Also keep in mind (those who practice the hiring, embrace your ears!) that the employer seldom knows what they actually want. Building relationships with your LinkedIn connections and getting to know them helps you to identify what their needs and wants genuinely are. Ask them what prompted them to connect with you in the outset place and what you can do for them. These questions will help you in building your social uppercase with them, as well.

I know that some of you who still have a few years left in the uniform may be tempted to terminate reading right now. Don't make that mistake! Armed forces professionals are the perfect candidates to be passive job seekers. What is a passive task seeker? This is a professional who isn't actively looking for a task — but, if the correct opportunity was presented to them, they would express some interest in it. In the military, many servicemembers do it all the time when they're promotion-eligible. They say, "If I get selected or promoted to ____, then I'll re-enlist or obligate for a few more than years."

In an era when the armed forces are forcefulness-shaping through Enlisted Retentivity Boards, the management of your military career isn't on autopilot as information technology once was. Equally a veteran, now Military candidate recruiter, I nigh oftentimes encourage folks to proceed serving our country, but you should ever exist prepared to get out. It'southward best not to be caught off-guard or procrastinate. Trust me when I tell you, lack of grooming leads to agony, and desperation scares people (especially employers) away. This is the same whether you are an Due east-3 or O-seven.

4. Non Having the Bones Housekeeping Washed

First of all, delight complete your LinkedIn profile. An incomplete profile not only puts yous at the bottom of the search results; it communicates to the recruiter or hiring determination maker that this is what to expect in terms of the quality of work that yous do. Then carve out a portion of the day, or even a few days, and complete it. Fifty-fifty if you cull not to do anything else, you're still communicating a message to the world.

5. Your Network Isn't Protected

I of the first things that I advise you do is to go to your privacy in the "settings" section of your LinkedIn profile and select "who can meet your connections." LinkedIn's default for this is "your connections." However, I suggest that you changed this to "only you" in order to protect your network.

The terminal matter that you lot want is to have someone who only connected with yous scrolling through your black volume seeing who y'all know and contacting your network unsolicited. Too, if y'all're planning on making lots of changes and updates to your profile, be sure to turn off your activity feed in this section, as well. (Merely be sure to turn it back on after all of your changes are washed.)

After doing this, head over to your right and select what y'all desire to be displayed in your public contour. Keep in mind that this is what viewers volition exist able to see even if they aren't connected to you. I suggest that y'all deselect past positions, and then that a person who may be interested in you because of your public profile would accept to initiate contact by sending a connectedness asking or calling you in guild to find out more than. Be sure to customize your LinkedIn contour URL while you're here, also.

6. Your Existing Network Is Weak

The real value of LinkedIn and other social networking sites is the ability to automatically map out your network. The old-school way of doing this was to draft a spreadsheet list of the names, emails and phone numbers of anybody that you knew. So, y'all would pick upwardly the phone and call everyone to see who they knew. LinkedIn and other sites show you, through mutual connections, those individuals who can introduce you to the people you need to know in order to grow your professional person network.

Because of this enormous benefit, I suggest that you use LinkedIn's feature of uploading contacts from your regular personal email accounts. For those of you primarily employ .mil email accounts, you lot may need to consign your contacts as a CSV and and then import the file into LinkedIn. This allows yous to see who already has a profile on the site.

LinkedIn does enquire you to invite contacts in your network to bring together LinkedIn. I suggest that you skip this step, because most folks you send the invitation to volition think that it'south just a request to join nevertheless another social networking site and will ignore the e-mail, anyhow. Don't fret near adding your family and close friends. Remember, if you lot're confident your contacts would introduce you to the people in their networks, then you have powerful connections.

Make sense? Okay, let's proceed further…

vii. Your Picture Is Sending the Wrong Message (Or, Fifty-fifty Worse, Yous Don't Have I)

Hither's the reality: Your contour motion-picture show is your first impression. Should you exist in compatible? If you've got more than 24 months left before you transition, information technology's okay. Still, anything less means you should lose it. Why? Because you want your audition to envision you being a part of their organization. Not to mention you don't want them to have concerns about whether or not you're ready to hang the uniform up.

Ane frequent question I'm asked is whether or not to take a photo professionally taken. The reply is simple: Yes! Invest in yourself and become down to the nearest big box retailer and take one taken. No need to spend lots of money here. Heck, I think they may fifty-fifty give you a keychain for free. Recollect, this is your initial screening interview.

This brings me to another concern I hear often: the practice of age bigotry. Do companies discriminate? Aye. However, I ask you the question: Which is better? Being called in for an interview, burdensome information technology and non existence selected because of your historic period (which you'll exist able to tell)? Or would you lot prefer not to get through the emotional anguish considering you were screened out beforehand without your knowledge? Call back that companies are looking for talent, not just a job seeker. Then if you lot market yourself properly and bear witness your value, age becomes less of a concern. Plus, you wouldn't desire to work for an organisation whose corporate culture encourages that type of beliefs, anyway.

viii. Your Location Is Killing Your Job Search

One of the overlooked aspects of a lot LinkedIn profile is the location entered. If your location is not-local — that is, not the location y'all want to live in after leaving active duty — information technology may signal to a hiring manager or recruiter that you're looking all over the country. Consequently, y'all may exist less appealing to a potential employer considering they recall that if you're looking everywhere, there's less likelihood of you choosing to work at their location.

There'due south besides the risk of a visitor passing on you as a candidate because they may exist concerned with the cost of relocation for you and the family (if you accept one). If you're open to a specific geographic location and industry, say then several times in your LinkedIn summary.

ix. Your Summary Is Putting People to Sleep

Your LinkedIn summary should not — let me echo, non — read like a resume. No third-person narratives hither. Engage your audience.

This is literally your x- to 15-2d lift speech. Are you looking to reach out to recruiters and hiring managers? Then say so. Make it piece of cake for them to contact you. A flake concerned about putting personal phone number out there? And then go Google Voice for free and use that number instead. You may too desire to put your email and phone numbers in the same format I use in my LinkedIn profile to avoid spam and being put on call lists.

Also, make sure you lot utilise lots of white space, headlines and the keywords for which yous desire to be found. (This is the best section to use the word "transitioning," non in your headline.)

10. You've Got the Premium Service (And You lot're Not Using Information technology)

The final question I hear often: Should I pay for LinkedIn? The answer is: It depends. I generally advise y'all stick with the costless version until it starts limiting what y'all want to do, then opt for the free upgrade that's available for veterans so you can utilise all of the additional features.

And there you accept information technology: some basic LinkedIn boot army camp tips to get your profile looking better than the majority of military users on the network. Demand to fine-melody it farther? Exist certain to register for one of our LinkedIn webinars and put some actress octane in your profile with 21 additional steps. Also be sure to connect with me. And, as e'er, I look frontwards to your comments and feedback.

Veterans, how tin you lot make the virtually of your LinkedIn profile?

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