Are you ready to make 2015 the best year ever? LinkedIn to the rescue!
I’ve developed 
a quick and easy 20-question LinkedIn assessment to help you understand whether you are positioned to kill it with LinkedIn. In less than five minutes, you can add up your score and know just what you need to do to make 2015 the best year ever.
If you need more extensive help in any areas, I’ve included links so you can cash in on all the knowledge I’ve gained over the past six years as I’ve helped everyone from individuals to Fortune 500 companies use LinkedIn for maximum success.
Your LinkedIn Profile
1. Is your profile photo a recent, high-quality headshot? [score 5 points]
2. Have you optimized your Headline by using most or all of the 120 available characters and including your most important keywords? [5 points]
3. How clearly does your profile Summary explain what you’ve accomplished, what you currently do, and the types of people you would like to meet and connect with?
No Summary = 0 points
Somewhat (1 short paragraph, mostly historical info) = 3 points
Pretty good (1-3 paragraphs, current business highlighted) = 5 points
Excellent (close to 2,000 characters, keywords, clear explanation of what you’ve accomplished, what you do, and who you would like to meet) = 10 points
4. Does your profile include at least
one clear call to action? (See screen shot for good examples of calls to action) [5 points]
5. Have you included videos, slide shows, audio, or documents on your profile? [5 points]
6. Does your current job title entry include your most important keywords? [5 points]
7. Have you included your preferred contact information on your profile? [3 points]
8. How many recommendations do you have for your current job entry?
0 = 0 points
1 = 2 points
2-5 = 3 points
5-9 = 4 points
10+ = 5 points
Your LinkedIn Network
9. How many 1st level connections do you have?
0-200 = 0 points
200-500 = 10 points
500+ = 20 points
10. Have you clearly identified your LinkedIn connection strategy (what kind of people you want to connect with and how you’re going to find them) [10 points]
11. In an average week, how many people are you inviting to join your network?
0 = 0 points
1-5 = 5 points
5+ = 10 points
12. When someone in your target audience sends you an invitation to connect on LinkedIn, do you send a thank you note that includes information about how you could help him/her? [5 points]
Your LinkedIn Groups
13. How many groups are you in?
0-10 = 0 points
11-30 = 3 points
31-48 = 4 points
49-50 = 5 points
14. In an average month, do you get involved in or post a discussion in at least one LinkedIn group? [5 points]
Your LinkedIn Activities
15. In an average week, how often do you post an individual status update?
0 = 0 points
1-5 = 5 points
6-9 = 7 points
10+ = 10 points
16. In an average week, are you sharing, “liking” or commenting on at least three status updates from people in your network? [7 points]
17. Have you saved at least one Advanced People Search? [10 points]
18. When people in your target audience show up on your “Who’s Viewed Your Profile?” list, how often do you send them a message or an invitation to connect?
Never = 0 points
Sometimes = 2 points
Frequently = 3 points
Without fail = 5 points
19. At least monthly, are you publishing a long-form article on your profile? [10 points]
20. In an average week, how many hours are you spending on LinkedIn?
Under 1 = 0 points
1-2 = 3 points
2-3 = 5 points
3-5 = 7 points
5-8 = 8 points
8+ = 10 points
What’s Your Final Score?
0-50 You probably either just joined LinkedIn or haven’t spent much time exploring how the site works. Get off on the right foot by picking up a copy of my book and concentrating on Chapter 19,Ready…Set…Go! A Six-Week, Two-Hour-per-Week Road Map to Results.
51-80 Way to go! You’ve built your foundation for LinkedIn success. The best thing to do now 
is improve any parts of your profile where you didn’t score well and routinely spend some purposeful, consistent time on any activities where you missed the mark.
In the quiz you’ll find links to helpful articles and resources that will assist you.
81-110 You are in the upper echelon of LinkedIn users. You obviously understand the power of the site and routinely spend purposeful time doing many of the things that will lead to results. Focus on zeroing in on your target audience and making strategic changes in your profile.
111-150 Congratulations. You’re in “thin air” in the LinkedIn world. You’ve mastered this challenging site and probably wouldn’t want to go to work without it. You may have even upgraded to a premium membership. I assume you’re seeing quantifiable results and have many success stories to share with coworkers and friends. If you fine tune your strategies by focusing on the questions above where you had less than a perfect score, you should see a steady improvement in your results.
Let LinkedIn help you make 2015 your best year ever. And don’t forget to pay it forward by sharing your LinkedIn knowledge to positively affect your company, family, friends, and your favorite nonprofit organization.
This article was originally published on Wayne Breitbarth’s PowerFormula.net.
