Bland CV… or Positioned Personal Brand?
Is your LinkedIn profile just a basic CV or an authoritative, approach-driven, positioned introduction?
Recently one of my new lawyer clients, a highly motivated individual who deeply cares about preventing and minimising business problems for his clients, said, “So many people could benefit from what I do… if only they knew!”
I hear this all the time! Sometimes your contacts choose your competitor because he or she seems better than you or cheaper than you. But most of the time your contacts will fail to reach out to you because they forget about you, or don’t realise you are the perfect fit.
What to do about it?
Educating your audience with quality content that clarifies what you do and gives examples will help them see where they fit with you. Doing this regularly will help you stay visible. Connecting meaningfully and building real relationships strengthens trust.
But there’s something much simpler you should do first to start positively impacting your business or professional goals…
Position your profile.
Most people’s LinkedIn profiles are little more than a list of jobs they’ve had, or simply a copy of a general CV. But this tells the reader little about you as a professional individual; nor has it been reviewed to support your current goals or written with a particular reader in mind… so it doesn’t really speak to anyone.
When I work with people on their profiles, we always start with a goal – their purpose for using LinkedIn! For individuals, this might be finding the next role or building their client base; for teams, it’s usually about helping them shine as professionals in order to build trust with clients, contacts, other stakeholders or with their own leadership team.
In thinking about how well you have positioned your personal brand, these questions might help:
- What is your goal in building your profile?
- Is your LinkedIn profile weighted towards the experience and knowledge that is most relevant to your current professional goals?
- Have you considered whether your profile or CV talk to the audience who can help you achieve your current goals?
- Does your summary on your LinkedIn profile (or bio elsewhere) clearly demonstrate the value you bring to stakeholders… backed up by proof of where you have achieved this?
- What’s the golden nugget in your purpose, passions or past experience that makes you different from everyone else?
Positioning your profile means creating a lens through which you want your audience to look at your career. Like a ‘theme’, this shapes the story of your career so we can see the unique value you bring as a professional today. It’s not about making things up or exaggerating your achievements – but it IS about owning the knowledge, talents, skills and experience you have, and crafting a well-written profile that very clearly demonstrates these qualities.
