America’s Next Top LinkedIn Profile

Would Tyra Banks pick you to be the next CEO of America’s Next Top Model based on your digital presence?

Tyra Banks, Lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and…American television personality, producer, businesswoman, actress, author, former model and occasional singer.

Hari Srinivasan, Head of Identity Products at LinkedIn, was generous enough to come share his “Top Tips” for a successful LinkedIn profile at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Before he could put words to the PowerPoint slide he projected, I was deep into my own profile doing the following:

· Add a professional photo

· Detail my work experience

· Add skills

· Get meaningful endorsements

· Craft a compelling summary about my accomplishments and aspirations

· Link examples of work experience in photos, presentations or videos

· Publish content pieces on LinkedIn

I clicked save. Boom. According to Hari, I had an All-Star LinkedIn profile (or at least that is what LinkedIn’s auto-analyzer told me…). However, it didn’t feel compelling.

Immediately following our class with Hari on reputation management is a class being taught by Tyra Banks on one’s personal brand. According to Tyra, “perfect is boring” and “being different is better than being better” (more of her tips are live on her Facebook page if you’re interested!).

By following a scripted approach for my LinkedIn page, it felt cookie-cutter and not unique. How do I make myself stand out?

Well, according to Tyra and Hari: Follow rules yet be different and exciting. Here is my take on it:

· Get a professional headshot — with accessories that speak to your personality, in an environment you thrive in, styled such that you feel confident. (For me: that’s with a pop of color, with my hair styled professionally and taken outdoors — new photo coming May 23rd!)

· Detail my work experience — by sharing the impact you had on both the individuals you worked with and the company. If I were to ask former colleagues what your legacy is at the company, what would they say?

· Add skills — Think outside the box about the skills you bring to the table. What is something you are a master at that isn’t obvious from your work experience?

· Get meaningful endorsements — encourage your endorsers to share what is different about you that makes you better.

· Craft a compelling summary — Nobody is perfect. What do you aspire to be and do? What are you most proud of? Who are you outside of work (do you have a fun passion or side-project?)

· Link examples of work — with beautiful images of the products you worked on. (For me: launching the Apple Watch in 2015 was a significant milestone — so share a photo of the finished good).

· Publish content pieces on LinkedIn — remember: being different is better than being better (or putting me to sleep so quickly I click off your page after 5 seconds). This is tough as you’re putting yourself and your thoughts out there!

Advice is the viewpoint of one person. Combining the views of multiple people (who ideally have VERY different perspectives) can usually lead to glorious outcomes. Thank you, Hari and Tyra, for your inspiration to professionalize and electrify my brand!

Now, it’s your turn :)

I encourage you to open up your LinkedIn page. What does it say about you? And likewise, I’d relish feedback on my own page: Am I boring? Would you want to reach out and grab a cup of joe to learn more?

Coffee is on me as I’d love to get to know you and hear what makes you unique and cool!

Your digital presence is public. Might as well be alert when curating!