Not sure it’s worth spending time on your LinkedIn profile? LinkedIn operates the world’s largest online professional network with more than 250 million members in more than 200 countries. More than two new professionals join every second. If you’re invested in your career, you need to be on LinkedIn.
Here are fourteen ways to perfect your profile and impress recruiters, hiring managers and prospective customers.
- Get Current: Take a fresh look at your overall profile. Ask yourself, “Does this tell a compelling story about what I want to do professionally?” Maybe that paragraph about your teen years as a camp counselor don’t really lend credibility if you’re positioning yourself as a Financial Analyst job candidate. Feature experiences that are more relevant for the future positions you desire and highlight the skills that prove you’re up to the challenge.
- Extra, Extra, Read All About It!: Headlines. The LinkedIn headline is listed right under your name in your Profile and appears with your name in a variety of places – in the “People You May Know” section, LinkedIn searches, LinkedIn job applications, posts, messages, recommendations, and invitations to connect. It’s real estate to claim a piece of professional identity, but also a place to change this as you navigate seasons and roles (aka – take care with it, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself!). There are many ways to write one which can vary between listing your current title or a longer-term descriptor of the role you generally play across jobs. Here’s a list of examples to spark some ideas for you:
- Mentor, Advisor, Servant, CEOCareer and Leadership DevelopmentCEO | Keynote Speaker | InvestorGraphic Designer & Illustrator | Web Design | Photography | Adobe Creative Suite MasterLife and Business StrategistClient Success ManagerHelping brands reach customers through thoughtful and relevant contentVice President of Finance and AccountingFractional CFOHelping small and midsize companies get found online
- Advisor. Thought Leader. Entrepreneur
- Talent Advocate
- Cloud Architect
- Senior Editor
- Director of Marketing
- Digital Content and Social Media
- Sr. Director of Sales
- Partner at ABC Ventures
- Facilitator, Speaker, Author
- Strategic Accounts
- Helping busy professionals elevate to the next level of success
- Head of Customer Success
- Psychologist / Keynote Speaker / Author
- Product Manager
- Marketing Specialist at XYZ Company
- Sales Leader at Company | Automating Paid Campaigns for B2B Marketers
- Global Agency Alliances
- Data Engineer
- Enterprise Sales Director, Retail and Company Goods
- Global Digital Content Leader
- Lean and Agile Development
- Creator and Host at Podcast Name
- Sr. Manager | Customer Success
- Revenue Enablement, Learning Design, Sales Effectiveness
- Senior Recruiter | Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner
- Technical Writer | Strategic Planner | Problem Solver
- UI Developer
- Professional Summary: The “About” Section: This is an opportunity to show off both strong writing skills and career accomplishments. This is one place where your Baseball Card Stats (or “Experience Highlights”), can be used. The written paragraph speaks to your jobs, years of experience and value proposition. The “stats” would be five or so bullets that showcase (quantified) results.
- Career History: The “Experience” Section: It is your choice whether you want to write a long form summary of what you accomplished at a past job or put it into quantified bullets – similar to the “About” section, we recommend a combination of both. This includes a short overview of your experience and then some bullets that highlight accomplishments and skills. Recruiters love numbers!
- Quantify, Quantify, Quantify: You know how resumes featuring quantifiable results are more powerful than those with general statements or descriptions of job duties? The same principle applies to LinkedIn. Whether you’re thinking about recruiters, hiring managers, prospective customers, potential hires or future investors, people like to read results (e.g., ranked number one in sales three years running, increased market share by twelve percent, wrote ten white papers which generated 5,000 website downloads). Use numbers to back up your claims and tell the story of your achievements.
- Come Find Me!: If you want your profile to be easily found by the right recruiters and hiring managers, it can be helpful to make sure your profile is optimized to the relevant keywords so you show up in searches. Here’s one way to find the right terms:· Find five job descriptions for roles you are interested in or targeting.· Paste them all into Resymatch.io job description scanner.· Save the top 15 skills, and make sure to weave these throughout your profile.· The same can be done for your resume!
- Become a Groupie: LinkedIn groups help professionals in the same industry or with similar interests share content, find answers, post and view jobs, make business contacts, and keep up with industry trends. This is a good way to broaden one’s network outside their immediate contacts. Use the ‘Search’ feature or ‘Recommended’ list to find Groups you’re interested in joining. Or, create a new Group based on the topic/industry you’re passionate about. Don’t overdo it just to bulk up your profile. Join only those groups that add real value and help you advance your career goals.
- Follow Influencers: Search LinkedIn for professionals you specifically admire and ‘follow’ them. You not only will you benefit from their personal updates and shared content but also will get a view into their professional network and world. Be genuine with your admiration and consider focusing on both influencers or leaders in the professions/industries you aspire to as well as leaders or voices that look and sound different from you, or in a different industry, to gain a more varied perspective. Be thoughtful and strategic – too many “voices” and aspiration can trap us in the comparison game and make us forget what we have accomplished, but be selective on whose views you welcome into your consumption.
- Follow Companies: The same best practices apply to ‘following’ companies on LinkedIn. Make a list of companies you love (and would welcome into your news feed) and ‘follow’ them. Also, this is another data point for recruiters, hiring managers, future hires, etc., to see who you look to.
- Pay It Forward: LinkedIn allows you to endorse other users’ skills – basically giving them your stamp of approval. Good karma never hurts, so spend some time ‘endorsing’ other people’s skills. Be genuine. Only ‘endorse’ skills you know or believe that person possesses. Many professionals will return the favor and ‘endorse’ your skills.
- Embrace Your Inner Book Worm: Reading online articles or books and sharing them on LinkedIn (with thoughtful commentary) enhances your profile and news feed. It also can be a great way to establish credibility as a subject matter expert and demonstrate your commitment to learning.
- Ask for Recommendations: Have you asked others to recommend you on LinkedIn? People who are close to you and can vouch for your work ethic and skills can use the ‘recommend’ feature to paint a compelling picture of who you are and what you have to offer. Consider people that are in varied relationships with you – boss, direct report, colleague, vendor, client, etc.
- Profile Pic: Is it time to update your profile photo from ten years ago? Do you have a professional headshot you can use instead? Do you look friendly and mature? Is this image high quality and crisp? If you don’t have a professional headshot handy, it could be worth asking a friend or taking a strategic selfie with a clean background.
- Find Fresh Eyes. Ask a friend or colleague to review your LinkedIn Profile and provide feedback. What impression do they get after reading it? If they were a hiring manager for the type of position you’re seeking, would they pursue you as a candidate? Getting an outsider’s perspective goes a long way.