Let your “star” shine!

Not long ago I met with Jennifer Spencer, a business consultant with the Larimer Small Business Development Center in Fort Collins. The SBDC is my go-to for when I need some fresh ideas on how to improve the results of my service business. This time I wanted to brainstorm ways to increase the flow of leads, as they’d dropped off when I moved out of my high visibility  location on Mulberry.

“If they can’t see your sign, then it’s all about gold stars and reviews,” Spencer told me. She then went on to explain how many of us now approach fulfilling many of our life needs as if we’re shopping on Amazon: we type relevant keywords into a search engine, and then scour the results for high marks and positive comments to help us make our choices.

It’s not so different for hiring managers when they’re looking for candidates. Using LinkedIn, they type in the experience they’re seeking, and then review profiles of potential candidates. And as part of those profiles, they can draw conclusions about each candidate by studying the following sections:

• Recommendations: Like the glowing review you might leave about the new sandals you just purchased online, these are words of praise that people in your network can write about you based on their experiences with your work. Recommendations must come directly from another person, and as the owner of the profile, you can’t change what they’ve written yourself (you can decide not to post it, however). And unlike physical letters of recommendation which can be fabricated, recommendations on LinkedIn carry more credibility.
• Skills & Endorsements: Similar to the gold-star ratings you consider when making a purchase, this section gives decision makers some idea of what others think of you, based on the number of times you’ve been endorsed for a particular ability. A high number of can also help raise you in the search rankings.

So if you’re hoping to be found for your expertise, a focus on your own “stars” and reviews on LinkedIn can help…and one of the best ways to get more, is to give them to others first.