In this video, I will show you how to quickly add your email and contact information to your LinkedIn profile so that recruiters will be able to reach out to you when they are interested in making a job offer.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5YkSmNVxAE

Endorsements are testimonials that are written by individuals who approve your work or service. It is nothing more than a brief recommendation letter given by someone who has experienced working with you or for you. These recommendations help future employers or clients decide if you are worthy enough to form a business relationship with.

Recently, I was giving a presentation to a group of students at Georgia State University. In that class I gave an example of how the endorsements on my LinkedIn profile helped me satisfy the questions of a prospective client who was considering me for a paid speaking engagement with their professional organization.

See the video below as I explain the proper way to ask for and receive endorsements.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnbKxViflgg

Would you like to know what tweak I made?

I customized my Professional Headline.

LinkedIn defaults your professional headline with your current job title and company name. However, there is an option that allows you to change your headline and customize it with something more interesting about you or your expertise.

If you want to have more click throughs to your profile, customize your Professional Headline with something that is interesting and compelling.

Watch the video below to see how it is done.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkKwtYX2V6w

It’s both of those — and more.

Used correctly, LinkedIn can be one of the most valuable weapons in your job-search arsenal.

To get the latest and best tips, I interviewed Rob Mendez, an expert onLinkedIn and other social media, who helps job hunters via his CareerNetworkMinistry.com web site.

Here’s what we talked about …

“First, you have to figure out your target audience and your goal withLinkedIn,” advises Mendez. “Use LinkedIn to network with as many people as possible, because it is not about who you know; it is about who other people know.”

He urges job seekers to make connections at companies they want to work for.

“If you can’t find someone to champion you at an employer, you may have a hard time competing.”

Another tip: Know that first impressions count for a lot on LinkedIn.

“If someone searching LinkedIn and you pop up, they quickly see three things: your name, your picture, and your headline,” says Mendez.

Your name, photo, and headline should be compelling enough to cause someone to click through and view your profile. Otherwise, people will move on to someone else.

How can you make these three items stand out effectively?

For a start, your name can repel more people than it attracts, so play it safe there.

“Some people include an e-mail address as part of their name, or numbers or special characters, in the hopes of being different. Yes, they stand out, but in an annoying way. LinkedIn is a professional network, so make sure your name looks professional,” advises Mendez.

What about your photo? Again, the more professional looking, the better.

“It does not have to be taken at a studio. It should a headshot of you dressed up nicely. Not a body shot, not wearing sunglasses, not at the beach,” says Mendez, who recalls one profile picture of a man in a hammock.

“If I am looking to hire someone, do I really want him working for me, based on this picture?”

What about the headline section of your profile? In a nutshell, make the most compelling claim or promise you can about yourself.

“If I search LinkedIn for a realtor, for example, I can find a thousand of them. The results will include headlines like, ‘realtor, realtor, realtor, real estate agent,’ etc. Then, one profile has this headline: ‘I’ll sell your house within 30 days guaranteed or I will buy it for cash, even if it is a bad economy.’ That person just got my attention,” says Mendez.

Attention is everything online. No employer will click through and read your profile unless you first grab their eyeballs.

Final LinkedIn tip: Use effective job titles on your profile.

If you owned a small business, for example, don’t refer to yourself as “Owner.” Because, how many employers want to hire — and butt heads with — a former owner of something? Call yourself a General Manager or something similar.

“I have talked to recruiters and they say it is perfectly fine to change your official job title,” says Mendez. “For example, I was once a Technical Systems Manager. When people look at that title, it doesn’t stand out and they don’t know what it is. However, if I change it to, Post Sales Implementation Project Manager, now they understand.”

Now, go out and make your own luck on LinkedIn, remembering that your goal is always to turn online connections into offline meetings — and job interviews.

Kevin Donlin is contributing co-author of “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0.” Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people. For a free Guerrilla Job Search audio CD, visit www.MyNewJobHunt.com

Resource: You can learn about Guerrilla Resumes, which can serve as the perfect foundation for your LinkedIn profile, here: http://ocollier.gjobnow.hop.clickbank.net/

The video in this post will show you how to master online job networking using social media sites. Watch this video and learn how to maximize your use of social media sites.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQZiDLv7cwc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrI6BOU8huE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eTDnSnDMgE

SEO is the acronym for “search engine optimization”. It is a process of improving the visibility of a document when certain keyword phrases are searches for using a search engine. Documents that are optimized properly for the right keyword phrases have a greater chance of appearing in the top search results. Documents in the top results are the first viewed and often receive a high volume of traffic.

A LinkedIn profile is nothing more than a resume populated with keywords that describer  an individual’s employment background, skills, and experience. LinkedIn users search the social network’s database to find professionals based on keywords that accurately identify an individual’s qualifications.  Connections are made via this business-oriented social network for a wide range of purposes to include job opportunities, business relationship building, company research and so much more.

A fully completed profile can help a individual effectively network with others who are looking to establish direct business connections. In addition to landing career opportunities, LinkedIn can provide the benefits of building strong relationships with potential mentors, customers, and individuals with whom you can share intellectual capital with.

Items that should be included in your LinkedIn profile:

• Schools you attended
  - Full school name as well as abbreviations (University of Georgia/UGA)
• Companies you were employed by
  - Parent company, subsidiaries, mergers and acquisitions of defunct companies
• Job related skills you posses
  - Industry keywords, software, tools and acronyms (enterprise java beans/EJB)
• Associations you are a member of
  - Any relevant business associations including fraternity, sorority and civic community groups
• Elevator Pitch
  - Write your elevator pitch in the summary of your profile
  - Announce the solutions that your background and experience solves
• Recommendations
  - Request endorsements from managers, colleagues and clients (these are like product reviews)
  - Writing recommendations for others increases your exposure by being on someone else’s profile
• Public Profile URL
  - Change the LinkedIn default assigned value to something closer to your identity (www.linkedin.com/in/otiscollier)

It is important that special attention is given towards the specific keywords that are used in a profile. Users should carefully examine their background and use industry specific keywords that describe their work experience.  A great rule of practice is to write out a list of all the keywords that will show up on the user’s profile before it is created. This list will often serve as a memory jogger for keywords not initially thought of. Finally, users should conduct searches for individuals like themselves to observe what others are using on their profiles to be found.