5 Simple Steps for Improving Your LinkedIn Visibility

by Stephanie Sammons published by www.socialmediaexaminer.com

Are you wondering how to get the most from LinkedIn? Over the last few months, the LinkedIn network has made upgrades and undergone changes.

If you already have a profile created on LinkedIn, it’s a great time to revisit and refresh your presence!

Or if you’re just wondering how to get started, these 5 simple steps will help you make the most of your time and effort!

Why LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the largest professional social network online today, with over 100 million professional users. The average household income of LinkedIn users is over $88,000 per year, which outpaces the average income for the readership of the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Business Week!

If you are a professional or a business owner, you can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity to build relationships with potential customers, clients, partners and peers on LinkedIn. It’s a powerful audience that you can engage, interact with and influence.

#1: Complete your LinkedIn “profile box.”

When visitors first land on your LinkedIn profile, a box displaying your profile highlights fills the screen. Given the importance of first impressions, the information in your “profile box” should be complete, current and optimized.

This is your best chance to make a good impression. In many cases, someone may read through your entire profile, but most people are going to get the information they need from your profile box.

Upload a professional image. This is your very best opportunity to make a great first impression and is essential to attracting connections. No professional photo? No credibility

Create a compelling headline. You only have 120 characters at the top of your profile to describe who you are, whom you serve and how you help. Use brief, descriptive, compelling keywords so the right professionals on LinkedIn can discover you. Focus on terms that your target markets are more likely to search for. What language do they use? Make your headline text compelling, but use words that resonate with your market. 

List your current position and at least two past positions. If you don’t list at least two past positions, your profile won’t be considered “complete,” which can mean missed opportunities to be discovered by prospective clients and customers. Make sure to describe each of your roles in depth, and again use those keywords that will resonate with your target markets! It is also okay to list two or three positions that describe your current role, as I have done in my own profile. 

Add your education information. List colleges and the high school you attended in this area. Why? One of the primary search tools within LinkedIn is the ability to locate people with whom you attended school. This is a potential connection point that can open doors for you. 

Customize your “website” listings. Under the Websites section of your LinkedIn profile, you can have up to three listed. Choose the “Other” option when setting up each of these links and describe the links to your brand with relevant terms. For example, rather than using the phrase “my website,” I use “Smart Social Pro Blog.” Not only is this more descriptive, it also gives me a better opportunity to rank for those keywords in search. 

Include a link to your Twitter profile. Add your Twitter handle to your LinkedIn profile. Visitors to your profile can now follow you on Twitter directly from within your profile box! LinkedIn and Twitter are tightly integrated. You can share your tweets as LinkedIn status updates (best practice: add #in to the end of specific tweets rather than choosing to send all tweets to LinkedIn), and you can share LinkedIn status updates as tweets! 

Edit your “vanity” LinkedIn URL. An example ishttp://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniesammons. This will enable your LinkedIn profile link to show up in search results under your name on all the major search engines! It is important to claim those results for your name as they provide a gateway into your personal brand.

Following these seven tips will ensure that you put your best foot forward with a comprehensive snapshot of who you are, what you do and where people can learn more about you. Your LinkedIn profile should serve as one of your most valuable professional digital assets. 

*Check out tips 2-5 here!

"What's your policy on Columbus Day?"

Weekly Wisdom: The 10 Worst Things to Put in Your Cover Letter

by Sindhu Sundar at www.fins.com

It's never too early to make a bad impression.

A cover letter or introductory email is often the first thing a potential employer sees when reviewing a job applicant. It's the first opportunity to impress recruiters and hiring managers and, therefore, the first opportunity to disappoint them. Everything from copy mistakes to inappropriate jokes in a cover letter could derail an application.

Here are the top ten worst things to put on a cover letter:

1. Next to Nothing

2. Criticism of a Prospective Employer

3. Personal Stories

4. Awkward Language

5. Someone Else's Words

6. Irrelevant Experience

7. Arrogance

8. Wrong Company Name/Wrong Cover Letter

9. Cultural Preferences

10. Jokes

See the full article here...

This Week in Healthcare IT

M&A, Financial Reports and Funding

PerkinElmer, a human and environmental health technology company, will acquire Caliper Life Sciences, an imaging and detection company, for about $600 million...Automatic Data Processing, a business process outsourcing and software company, has acquired Asparity Decision Solutions, a vendor of decision support software and consumer behavioral data analytics services, for an undisclosed sum...ImpactRx, a prescription market research and IT company, has acquired TargetRx, a provider of physician market research services, for an undisclosed sum.

Computer Sciences Corp. has acquired AppLabs Technologies, a software testing and quality management services provider, for an undisclosed sum...the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has acquired so2say, a provider of customized media products and communications services, for an undisclosed sum...MD On-Line, a provider of data exchange tools, has acquired health care communications company Strategic Edge Communications for an undisclosed sum.

Telehealth provider Teladoc has raised $18.6 million in funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Cardinal Partners, HLM Venture Partners, Trident Capital and New Capital Partners.

Contracts

The Oregon Health Authority, the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Corporation and the Oregon Department of Human Services have selected L.R. Kimball, the engineering infrastructure subsidiary of CDI Corporation, and subcontractor Science Applications International for cyber-security analyses and planning for the state's health insurance exchange...Royal Caribbean Cruises has selected eSeaCare's EHR system for many of its cruise ships...CMS has chosen 3M's ICD-10 medical coding transition tool...North Clinic in Minnesota will deploy eClinicalWorks' EHR application...Wasatch Pediatrics in Utah has selected Phreesia's automated patient check-in system...MedCenter One in North Dakota has picked Elsevier/CPM Resource Center's clinical decision support and documentation tools for EHRs.

The University of Michigan Health System has chosen Connexall USA's clinical alarm and alert data integration system for medical and communication devices at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital...Via Christi Health in Kansas has selected QuadraMed's EHR identity management system...the AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies, a Medicaid managed care plan in Pennsylvania, will deploy NaviNet's mobile clinical care alerts and e-prescribing services...New Directions Behavioral Health, a behavioral health care company serving four states, has deployed ActiveDocs Opus' document automation software...MidMichigan Health and California-based Citrus Valley Health Partners will use Allscripts' technology to connect and coordinate patient care and will offer Allscripts' EHR system to affiliated physicians.

Product Development and Marketing

Inland Northwest Health Services' Physicians Services technology division will offer Greenway Medical Technologies' integrated EHR and practice management software to its hospitals and physician practices...PhoneFactor has formed a reseller partnership to provide phone-based authentication services to Imprivata customers.

Personnel

Scott Kantor -- former senior vice president and CFO at BackOffice Associates, a provider of data migration and data governance tools -- has been named senior vice president and CFO at Advanced Health Media, a provider of digital media, sales support and compliance management tools for health care...Lynne Thomas Gordon -- associate vice president for hospital operations and director of the Children's Hospital at Rush University Medical Centerin Chicago -- has been named COO of the American Health Information Management Association...Richard Nevins -- former medical director at National Health Enhancement Systems -- will oversee GlobalMed's expansion of clinical telehealth applications.

Geeta Nayyar -- former principal medical officer at Vangent -- has been named CMO at AT&T...Patricia Mechael -- former director of strategic application of mobile technology for public health and development at the Earth Institute Center for Global Health and Economic Development -- has been named executive director of the United Nations Foundation and mHealth Alliance Partnership Board...Hon Pak -- former CIO at the U.S. Army Medical Department's Office of the Surgeon General -- has been named senior adviser to AirStrip Technologies, a provider of mobile medical monitoring systems.

Leon Rodriguez -- former chief of staff and deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division -- has been named director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights...Michael Freeman -- former business development and government contracts official at Taylor International Services -- has been named business development manager for NuPhysicia's medical services brand...Jean-Marc Edier -- former vice president of health and human services systems for MAXIMUS, a provider of consulting and program management services for government health programs -- has been named vice president of federal programs for Cognosante, a provider of health IT to state and federal governments and regional organizations...Charles Fazio -- former CMO and senior vice president at Medica Health Plans in Minnesota -- has been named CMO of Gestalt Health, a health IT services company.

Read more: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2011/9/16/health-it-business-news-roundup-for-the-week-of-september-16-2011.aspx#ixzz1YWoh8JJR

Hot Jobs Roundup!

Take a peek, tell your friends and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like to be considered.  Don’t miss out on a great opportunity; call Kate today @ 434-817-5300 ext 220! 

 

Sr. Director of National Accounts-RETAIL!  One of our largest clients is looking for a talented business development professional with team management experience and a background in healthcare.  Must have direct experience with, or extensive knowledge of, the retail healthcare space—specific experience with the retail pharmacy market is ideal.

EIGHT Regional Sales Directors Needed!  This company specializes in patient flow solutions designed to efficiently manage the transition to post-acute care.  Hospital software sales experience required.  Available territories include:  Pacific NW | SW | Upper MW | Gulf States | SE | Mid-Atlantic | Tri-State Area | New England

Exciting Growth Opportunity in Boston!  If you are looking for a position that offers great career potential and the chance to help shape the future of an organization, look no further.  Work directly with the CEO.  This client has a product—an online community for medical professionals—and paying customers; what they need is someone who can manage a territory that currently includes the greater Boston area.  The ideal person for this job will have exceptional territory management experience, a strong foundation in business development, knowledge of and experience marketing and demonstrating software solutions to office-based physicians and large medical groups, drive and a dedication to customer service.

When it rains, it pours!  Our favorite clients are inundating TMG with career great opportunities for Healthcare IT Sales professionals.  If you are even thinking of considering a job change, send us your resume or give us a call today!