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LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies
Give your LinkedIn profile the makeover it deserves--and get the attention you deserve
Look at your you know it could be a little better. Too many LinkedIn users are just posting a basic resume and hoping for the offers to come flooding in, missing out on the incredible opportunity the platform offers to properly showcase their talents, products, and services to 610 million professionals in over 200 countries. LinkedIn is way more than a resume tool--to display your professional past and present--it's also your career future and personal brand. Used to its fullest extent, it helps you demonstrate the unique value and culture you provide, the skills and aspirations that make you different, to get the outcomes you truly want. But how's it done?
Profile branding expert Donna Serdula pioneered the concept of LinkedIn Profile Optimization and through her Website, LinkedIn-Makever.com, has helped over 5000 professionals use LinkedIn to achieve increased success. In this guide she applies that experience to help you use all of LinkedIn's capabilities to meet your goals, whether they be job search, reputation management, or sales--including how
Create a memorable, successful profile Optimize personal keywords Showcase your experience, accomplishments, and unique value Use LinkedIn features to grow your network and more You never get a second chance to make a first impression--and people are Googling you right Get a fresh online look and get results!
Look at your you know it could be a little better. Too many LinkedIn users are just posting a basic resume and hoping for the offers to come flooding in, missing out on the incredible opportunity the platform offers to properly showcase their talents, products, and services to 610 million professionals in over 200 countries. LinkedIn is way more than a resume tool--to display your professional past and present--it's also your career future and personal brand. Used to its fullest extent, it helps you demonstrate the unique value and culture you provide, the skills and aspirations that make you different, to get the outcomes you truly want. But how's it done?
Profile branding expert Donna Serdula pioneered the concept of LinkedIn Profile Optimization and through her Website, LinkedIn-Makever.com, has helped over 5000 professionals use LinkedIn to achieve increased success. In this guide she applies that experience to help you use all of LinkedIn's capabilities to meet your goals, whether they be job search, reputation management, or sales--including how
Create a memorable, successful profile Optimize personal keywords Showcase your experience, accomplishments, and unique value Use LinkedIn features to grow your network and more You never get a second chance to make a first impression--and people are Googling you right Get a fresh online look and get results!
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 21, 2020
65 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Donna Serdula
4 books6 followersA business owner, author, speaker, and influencer, Donna Serdula thrives on empowering people to transform their lives and realize their most sought-after goals.
The pioneer of LinkedIn profile optimization, she built the successful website, LinkedIn-Makeover.com more than a decade ago. In that time, she has worked with more than 6,000 executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals, utilizing a talented team of over 30 writers, coaches, and branding specialists to bring dynamic brand storytelling to the masses.
Donna and her team act as a board of futurists/creative thinkers/global brand advocates for their clients, by designing success strategies that cross industries and change lives. Donna’s vision is all about possibility and the inherent power of connecting and consulting when developing personal and corporate brands. It is this foundation that inspired her to launch and establish Vision Board Media, the parent company of LinkedIn-Makeover.com, where she helps to infuse the global marketplace with diverse, brilliant people and products.
Donna is an in-demand speaker throughout the US and has been featured on prominent media outlets such as Business Insider, Time’s Money Section, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, LA Times, NBC, and SiriusXM Radio’s Wharton Business Radio. She has presented keynote speeches and workshops for Comcast NBCUniversal, Columbia University, Wharton Business School, Intuit, Texas State Bar Association, GSK, and hundreds more.
Donna earned her stripes in corporate America with more than ten years in sales, marketing, and business operations. Today, she lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children. As a daughter and wife of former military, Donna believes in giving back and provides her digital products free to active duty and veterans.
The pioneer of LinkedIn profile optimization, she built the successful website, LinkedIn-Makeover.com more than a decade ago. In that time, she has worked with more than 6,000 executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals, utilizing a talented team of over 30 writers, coaches, and branding specialists to bring dynamic brand storytelling to the masses.
Donna and her team act as a board of futurists/creative thinkers/global brand advocates for their clients, by designing success strategies that cross industries and change lives. Donna’s vision is all about possibility and the inherent power of connecting and consulting when developing personal and corporate brands. It is this foundation that inspired her to launch and establish Vision Board Media, the parent company of LinkedIn-Makeover.com, where she helps to infuse the global marketplace with diverse, brilliant people and products.
Donna is an in-demand speaker throughout the US and has been featured on prominent media outlets such as Business Insider, Time’s Money Section, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, LA Times, NBC, and SiriusXM Radio’s Wharton Business Radio. She has presented keynote speeches and workshops for Comcast NBCUniversal, Columbia University, Wharton Business School, Intuit, Texas State Bar Association, GSK, and hundreds more.
Donna earned her stripes in corporate America with more than ten years in sales, marketing, and business operations. Today, she lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children. As a daughter and wife of former military, Donna believes in giving back and provides her digital products free to active duty and veterans.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 13, 2020
This book hits you over your head with 2 simple messages:
- You should write to an audience
- LinkedIn is a search engine, so you need to optimize
But while this seems simple, 98% of users don‘t account for it. I liked that the author provided a clear process in many cases and while I decided against some points, they were never just for being there. Definitely one of the better nonfiction books
- You should write to an audience
- LinkedIn is a search engine, so you need to optimize
But while this seems simple, 98% of users don‘t account for it. I liked that the author provided a clear process in many cases and while I decided against some points, they were never just for being there. Definitely one of the better nonfiction books
November 3, 2025
This review originally appeared in "Technical Communication" Volume 65, Number 1, February 2018
If you have recently attended a networking event and swapped contact information with your new contact, the odds are that at least one of your contacts has sent you an invitation to connect on LinkedIn, a professional networking site. While LinkedIn is free to join and makes it easy to create a personal profile, most people do not take the time to learn the nuances of crafting an effectively presented LinkedIn profile. How much detail do you add? Is it worth including a photo? How similar to my résumé should it be? What do I place in my profile summary? These are all questions that LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies adroitly handles.
Much like other books published under the “For Dummies” series, this book strives to simplify a sophisticated concept, in this case, LinkedIn. Serdula divides the book into several sections, such as “Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started,” and even recommends which sections to pay extra attention to if you’re short on time. The chapters within each section clearly build on one another and help guide both new and experienced users. New LinkedIn users will find step-by-step instructions to walk you through both simple and complex tasks alike. For seasoned users, Serdula delves into the deeper regions of LinkedIn, such as groups, influencers, and personal branding. People of all experience levels can benefit from her lists of keywords that help flesh out your descriptions in a professional, but eye-grabbing manner. The books doubles as a workbook, so if you are creating your profile while reading straight through the book, each section builds on the previous content you added to LinkedIn. Its generous illustrations, clear instructions, and logical organization create a sound paper-based experience for upgrading your electronic persona.
Even if you consider yourself an expert in social networking, LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies has something for you. Perhaps your personal summary is not up to par, your email address not trendy enough (avoid AOL or Hotmail or else be screened as a technical dinosaur, warns Serdula), or maybe your professional photo doesn’t do you justice. Throughout the book, Serdula uses her own LinkedIn profile as an example so you can see exactly how she puts her recommendations into practice. Overall, I see LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies as an excellent resource to help you bridge the gap between traditional résumés and new online professional networking.
If you have recently attended a networking event and swapped contact information with your new contact, the odds are that at least one of your contacts has sent you an invitation to connect on LinkedIn, a professional networking site. While LinkedIn is free to join and makes it easy to create a personal profile, most people do not take the time to learn the nuances of crafting an effectively presented LinkedIn profile. How much detail do you add? Is it worth including a photo? How similar to my résumé should it be? What do I place in my profile summary? These are all questions that LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies adroitly handles.
Much like other books published under the “For Dummies” series, this book strives to simplify a sophisticated concept, in this case, LinkedIn. Serdula divides the book into several sections, such as “Getting Your LinkedIn Profile Started,” and even recommends which sections to pay extra attention to if you’re short on time. The chapters within each section clearly build on one another and help guide both new and experienced users. New LinkedIn users will find step-by-step instructions to walk you through both simple and complex tasks alike. For seasoned users, Serdula delves into the deeper regions of LinkedIn, such as groups, influencers, and personal branding. People of all experience levels can benefit from her lists of keywords that help flesh out your descriptions in a professional, but eye-grabbing manner. The books doubles as a workbook, so if you are creating your profile while reading straight through the book, each section builds on the previous content you added to LinkedIn. Its generous illustrations, clear instructions, and logical organization create a sound paper-based experience for upgrading your electronic persona.
Even if you consider yourself an expert in social networking, LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies has something for you. Perhaps your personal summary is not up to par, your email address not trendy enough (avoid AOL or Hotmail or else be screened as a technical dinosaur, warns Serdula), or maybe your professional photo doesn’t do you justice. Throughout the book, Serdula uses her own LinkedIn profile as an example so you can see exactly how she puts her recommendations into practice. Overall, I see LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies as an excellent resource to help you bridge the gap between traditional résumés and new online professional networking.
October 23, 2021
Truly LinkedIn guru of the century. Refresh what you know, did and strengthen your LinkedIn profile. Could not put it down once you have picked it up.
May 24, 2025
It’s been a busy year and I’m counting this toward my 2025 reading challenge. But full disclosure, I read the parts that were relevant to me in depth and skimmed others, like premium features.
Definitely a great resource for anyone looking to improve their profile, which includes me. There is some good info about how LinkedIn works in terms of social media functions (who can see which parts of your profile, and how you can control that) and some useful advice on how to really fill out your profile.
Some points may seem obvious to some (ie your profile pic should be a good quality headshot), but others, like how to write an “About” section, were worth my extra attention.
One tip I walked away with: Use buzzwords in your header for SEO optimization. Another: Join groups based on your target audience—in my case mostly clients, not other industry professionals, who might be competitors.
There’s also a brief section on how to address employment gaps. Useful beyond just LinkedIn profile updates for any applicant who has an employment gap.
No major criticisms. It’s a narrow topic that covers everything direct and tangential that you might need. All in all good resource.
Definitely a great resource for anyone looking to improve their profile, which includes me. There is some good info about how LinkedIn works in terms of social media functions (who can see which parts of your profile, and how you can control that) and some useful advice on how to really fill out your profile.
Some points may seem obvious to some (ie your profile pic should be a good quality headshot), but others, like how to write an “About” section, were worth my extra attention.
One tip I walked away with: Use buzzwords in your header for SEO optimization. Another: Join groups based on your target audience—in my case mostly clients, not other industry professionals, who might be competitors.
There’s also a brief section on how to address employment gaps. Useful beyond just LinkedIn profile updates for any applicant who has an employment gap.
No major criticisms. It’s a narrow topic that covers everything direct and tangential that you might need. All in all good resource.
September 18, 2018
Interesting, but nothing I didn't already know.
January 7, 2024
Since LinkedIn is the most important of the business social media, it is worth reviewing your profile again. You may want to refer to the profiles of others who have done well.
May 9, 2023
Get Linked In!
Are you tired of your LinkedIn profile being ignored by potential employers or business connections? Look no further than this read!
This book is the ultimate guide to revamping your LinkedIn profile and getting noticed.
With a plethora of strategies and tactics to choose from, this book provides easy-to-follow steps for improving all aspects of your profile. Serdula's expert insights and practical advice are invaluable, making this book a must-read for anyone serious about using LinkedIn for professional networking.
Whether you're a job seeker, a business owner, or simply looking to expand your professional network, "LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies" has something for you. With Serdula's guidance, you'll learn how to optimize your profile for search, create a compelling headline and summary, showcase your skills and experience, and much more.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their LinkedIn presence and take their professional networking to the next level.
It's an easy and informative read that will provide you with the tools you need to succeed.
4.3/5
Are you tired of your LinkedIn profile being ignored by potential employers or business connections? Look no further than this read!
This book is the ultimate guide to revamping your LinkedIn profile and getting noticed.
With a plethora of strategies and tactics to choose from, this book provides easy-to-follow steps for improving all aspects of your profile. Serdula's expert insights and practical advice are invaluable, making this book a must-read for anyone serious about using LinkedIn for professional networking.
Whether you're a job seeker, a business owner, or simply looking to expand your professional network, "LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies" has something for you. With Serdula's guidance, you'll learn how to optimize your profile for search, create a compelling headline and summary, showcase your skills and experience, and much more.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their LinkedIn presence and take their professional networking to the next level.
It's an easy and informative read that will provide you with the tools you need to succeed.
4.3/5
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews