Spring is here! As you tackle those spring cleaning jobs, take a closer look at your LinkedIn profile as well.
LinkedIn provides a great platform for funeral professionals to connect with other business people and even C-Level executives of many lagre funeral companies.
So get our your old rags and brush the dust off your LinkedIn profiles with these 6 tips.
1. Be Picture Perfect: Make sure you have a professional headshot taken to post on your profile (or just a headshot). If you don’t have one, have a friend or family member take one at home in front of a white background or wall. Avoid putting up a dated photo — or worse, a photo that is not of you or no photo at all (many of you are doing this).
2. Be Descriptive: Just because your a funeral director doesn’t mean your profile has to be boring. Add a little pizzazz to your job description. Include catchy titles that allude to hobbies or peripheral skills, such as “Social Media Fanatic,” to gain greater visibility and boost buzz for your profile.
3. Be Linkable: Include a link back to your website or your funeral home’s website in your information. If it’s your own site, click through it to ensure all the links work properly. That way, you’re presenting yourself and your skills in the best light possible.
4. Be Thorough: Many funeral directors don’t bother to fully complete their LinkedIn profile, which can be a mistake. Not only can it be perceived as being sloppy, but potential bosses might feel that you don’t care enough to fill it in — and that might cost you from getting a potential job interview (LinkedIn is a great platform for finding many available jobs in the funeral profession).
5. Be Specific: Fill out your employment history with the skill sets that truly matter to the funeral profession. For example, if you’re applying for an embalmers position, your years bussing tables at Applebee’s won’t help you land the position. So, edit your work history accordingly.
6. Be Proactive: Gone are the days of paper recommendation letters, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask previous bosses and colleagues for their recs. Recommendations on LinkedIn help to give prospective employers a bigger view of who you are and how you’ll perform if they hire you.
Remembering to clean up your LinkedIn profile on a regular basis, whether you’re job searching or not, will help you stay prepared for any professional changes, expected or otherwise, that may be headed your way.
What have you done to make your LinkedIn profile stand out? Let us know in the comments.
(Photo via: Mashable.com)
