Interviewee: Karimah Lawal
MEET KARIMAH
A passionate, thoughtful leader and impactful enthusiast. She's Yoruba and was born into Islam. As a skilled creative writer and ed-tech entrepreneur, she is a skilled advocate of SDG four with a sole focus on educational technology.
Karimah's journey is marked by tenacity, making an impact, and conquering challenges.
Founder of Skillsard - Bridging the gap between traditional craftsmanship and modern education.
Karimah's uniqueness is packed with the spirit of resilience, empowerment, motivation, and influence for young people who need personal development, education, and growth.
She's currently a United People Global Sustainability leader promoting SDG Four.
1. When did you decide to join LinkedIn, and why?
Answer: I decided to join LinkedIn to find sponsors for Skillsard, and get acquainted with global leaders and opportunities.
2. What did LinkedIn look like when you joined, and what does it look like now?
Answer: LinkedIn looked scary when I joined. To be frank, everywhere looked different, and I had no one to rely on. But right now, I have friends, family, and a lovely community of 16,000 people cheering me on, checking up, and wishing me well.
3. What common question do people ask you about LinkedIn Profile Optimization, and what's the answer?
Answer: How can my profile get me leads?
The answer to this will be to brand your profile well, make it so it becomes love at first sight when people visit it, and make them not go away without falling in love with it. These can only be done if you have a good banner, clear profile picture, proper brand image, and every other branding of your profile.
Make your profile rich and leave a memorable and actionable impression on those who visit it.
5. What tips do you have for anyone who wants to optimize their LinkedIn profile?
Answer: Don't just find bright colors and add them to your profile; optimization goes beyond that. Keywords are important, and the experience section is equally important. The features section, about section, and content marketing are also part of your optimization. Take it seriously.
6. What common mistakes do people make on their LinkedIn profiles?
Answer: Just adding any banner without a call to action. Your banner should speak to your ideal audience. Most people fail in that part.
Also having so many things in your headline, you don't need to write a million words for people to know who you are. Keep it simple and straightforward, you don't have to complicate it.
7. What is one important thing that is always ignored, but important to LinkedIn profile optimization
Answer: Niche keywords.
If you want your profile to rank in search results, it has to be optimized with the right keywords.
8. What current trend do you think won't last, and why?
Answer: Image with text. It's a trend that has been in vogue for a long time, but is slowing down.
LinkedIn is concentrating more on videos and carousels now. That doesn't mean image alt text will go away, but the reach won't be enough.
9. How do you do a digital detox? Is it even necessary?
I constantly practice this every one month in a year, I go off all digital platforms and concentrate on family and offline duties. This is done many times during Ramadan (Islamic fasting period).
Yes, this is necessary, especially for a woman who wants to take good care of her family and concentrate more on them. This differs for everyone, but taking a break is important.
10. If you could go back, is there anything you'd do differently?
Answer: Yes, I would study tech and start networking early.
11. What advice do you have for anyone who wants to join LinkedIn today?
Answer: Don't get scared. LinkedIn is not as tough as it used to be; people are now more human, and we have more Gen Z's and lovely people to celebrate you, help you, and inspire you to be great.
12. What's next for you?
Answer: Marriage, career upskill, and Impact one child at a time!
