1. LinkedIn Profile Changes: What You Should Know
LinkedIn is rolling out an updated version of its profile pages, including larger photos
and heavier emphasis on the Summary section. Here's how to stay current on the
professional social network.
By Kevin Casey, InformationWeek
August 22, 2012
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/careers/linkedin-profile-changes-
what-you-should/240006005
2012 Salary Survey: 12 Career Insights
(click image for larger view and for slideshow)
LinkedIn has begun rolling out a refresh of its profile page, the online face of more
than 175 million professionals. Among the most noticeable changes: Your actual face
is more important than ever.

2. The updated profile includes a larger, more prominent picture, which LinkedIn-
Makeover.com's Donna Serdula listed as the most obvious impact to the page. As a
result, that crop-and-chop job you did on a recent family photo isn't going to hack it
anymore.
"LinkedIn is really putting that out at the forefront. It's putting the emphasis on the
way the person looks," Serdula said in an interview. "It's no longer going to be
enough to scan a photograph that was taken at a wedding. If you want to stand out
from the crowd, you're going to have to go to a professional photographer and get a
headshot."
Photography's not the only skill needed to optimize the new LinkedIn profile; you'll
want to hone your writing chops, too, because the Summary content now stands
under a brighter spotlight. "At one time, a person could copy-and-paste their resume
and feel like they did a good job," Serdula said. "That's not true anymore."
[ Read LinkedIn Password Breach: 9 Facts Key To Lawsuit. ]
To hear Serdula tell it, the best LinkedIn profiles require the same level of attention
as any business website; without the right mix of content, keywords, and other
elements, you're liable to get lost in the fray. Treating the profile as just an online
version of your old-school resume is a rookie mistake.
"People are using LinkedIn as a search engine and they're looking for people. Simply
copying and pasting your resume isn't going to provide enough keywords to be
found," Serdula said. "Say to yourself: How are people trying to find me? And: Let me
make sure that all of those keywords they're using, I'm peppering throughout my
profile so I can be found."
An honest, robust summary is also critical, Serdula said, because users are
increasingly using LinkedIn to do their homework on people they do business with in
a variety of contexts. "People are really using LinkedIn as a way to research and feel
more comfortable with candidates, with vendors, with people. You need to take this
opportunity and really showcase yourself. Now that the summary is so front-and-
center, you can't just not fill it out or copy-paste your introduction from your
resume. It's just not going to cut it anymore."
LinkedIn's profile updates are part of a broader site-wide reboot that includes the
recent redesign of the homepage and the launch earlier this year of LinkedIn Today,
the company's social news service. Expect more changes to come, including more
updates to the profile page.
"We are focused on making it easier for LinkedIn members to get more value out of
the services we offer by creating simpler, more relevant, more social experiences," a
LinkedIn spokeswoman said via email. "This new look-and-feel to the profile is the
first step of many more exciting changes to come to the LinkedIn profile later this
year."

3. Serdula pointed out another significant change: Job titles no longer appear in the
brief overview that appears next to the photo--only the names of current and recent
employers, as well as educational institutions, are listed. In general, that light-gray
area atop the profile is much smaller than in the past. "That's huge," Serdula said.
"Perhaps they're leveling the playing field there, but that also saves in screen real
estate."
Contact information, including websites, email, Twitter handle, and phone number,
are now housed behind a Contact button just beneath the photo and brief overview.
Users need to click to reveal them, but Serdula said this is an improvement rather
than a de-emphasis of the content.
"Yes, they're saving screen real estate. But they're actually making it easier to reach
out outside of LinkedIn," said Serdula. "Success on LinkedIn is getting off [of]
LinkedIn. If you want to forge relationships, you can't do that strictly online. You
have to call that person up and talk to them directly. That's what's going to separate
you and lead you to future success. LinkedIn, I [think], believes that, and that's one of
the reasons they've brought that up from the bottom of the page."
The space freed up by these tweaks enables the heavier emphasis on the Summary
section, which means it's time to revisit what yours includes. Even on LinkedIn,
content is king. "You have to tell a story, you have to hook people, and you have to
get them motivated to pick up the phone and call you," Serdula said.
That's something Serdula said she has been preaching to clients for years; the
updated LinkedIn profile is probably a good thing for profile-writing businesses like
hers. But she said her advice now will likely include a much sharper focus on picking
the right photo, noting that a poor profile picture is already one of the biggest
mistakes people make on LinkedIn. That mistake could sometimes be glossed over
with the smaller image, but no more.
"Over and over and over again, we see people uploading photographs that aren't
professional, aren't attractive, aren't appropriate," Serdula. "This picture is [now] so
big that there cannot be an error there. It's just going to be too glaring."
Social media make the customer more powerful than ever. Here's how to listen and
react. Also in the new, all-digital The Customer Really Comes First issue of The
BrainYard: The right tools can help smooth over the rough edges in your social
business architecture. (Free registration required.)
http://www.slideshare.net/Spredfast/marketing-your-brand-
on-linkedin-webinar (from hutch on business)
Box for LinkedIn Overview and FAQs

4. LinkedIn recently announced a new profile design that replaces its current inApps
platform with a new method for viewing content like documents, presentations and
videos from a profile page. As a result, the current Box inApp integration is no longer
supported.
Part of the new design, LinkedIn has developed a new tool to let users showcase 3rd
party portfolio-type content on their profiles. You can now choose individual Box
files to display on your profile, making it quick and easy to share important content
with visitors.
When would I use the Box for LinkedIn integration?
•By adding files from Box to a LinkedIn profile, you can share important content for
profile visitors to view and download.
•Example use cases: •Looking for a job? Share your resume or portfolio on your
LinkedIn profile so your LinkedIn contacts have access.
•If you're recruiting, get your employees to spread job requisitions virally by posting
them to their profile.
•Small business? Consultant? Freelancer? Post a one-pager or presentation that will
get you hired.
•Are you a start-up? Post your company overview to get angels, VCs, potential
employees and customers excited about what you're launching.
How do I add Box content on the new profiles?
•After opting in to the new profile type, you can easily add a specific Box file to
display in the LinkedIn professional gallery
•To get started, copy and paste the file’s direct link in the LinkedIn professional
gallery on the page •Find the direct link by previewing the file as you normally would
in Box, selecting File Options > Share > Get Link to File and then clicking on Direct
Link to generate the URL
•Paste it directly in the LinkedIn professional gallery
•Repeat the same steps for other files you’d like to add to your profile
What types of files can be added?
•Currently, the LinkedIn professional gallery allows users to add and display .pdf,
.ppt and some image files (.jpg, .gif and .png)
•Some common file types, such as .pptx, .doc, .tiff and .docx are not supported
•Please contact LinkedIn for a full list of supported file types
Can I add multiple Box files to my profile?
•Yes, just follow the same instructions outlined above
Can I add a folder from Box on my profile?
•No, currently only individual files can be added to the LinkedIn professional gallery
.

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