LinkedIn has currently 610 million users worldwide, so you need to ensure you stand out. Having an up to date and fully optimised page can give you the edge in your job seeking journey. Just having a LinkedIn page is not enough, competition is fierce. For this reason, you need a profile that draws attention. Here are 8 simple tips to help make your LinkedIn catch the eye:
Use a Professional Profile – Remember your photo on LinkedIn is how people are introduced to you! Please, Please, please (can you sense how important this is?) have a recent picture as “catfishing” is just not acceptable. Smart casual attire is safe, it should not look like it belongs on a dating site! LinkedIn is a professional site so let us try and get off to a good start P.S Remember to smile!
Show Personality with a Background Image – we all talk about the importance of a good quality LinkedIn photo but the same applies for a LinkedIn banner photo. The banner is a fantastic way to show of some personality, its larger than your profile picture, so it is more likely to grab eyeballs and get more attention.
Personalise your URL – your URL link will consist of jumbled letters and words, ideally it is best to have a customised URL for example linkedIn.com/yourname. So how do you get this? Go to ‘manage public profile’ in setting, click ‘customise your public profile URL’. Then when finished, click set custom URL. This URL is so much easier to share and it totally on brand…you!
Use Keywords with Intent – A common mistake on LinkedIn is that we do not utilise keywords correctly. For example, under your name on LinkedIn this is where we put what we do, for example Senior Brand Manager I Diageo, let’s expand this to Senior Brand Manager I Diageo I Brand Management I Team Management I B2C I FMCG. Using the right keywords in your headline or summary in return will expose you to more eyeballs.
Write a Strong Summary – It is amazing how many people leave this empty or do not utilise it in the right way. Think of this section as your opportunity to tell your story. This is where you bring your experience and who you are to life. Think of this section as your “elevator pitch”. Give hard, quantitative evidence of your skills and abilities where you can. The more you complete this section the greater chance you have of being found! Remember stick to either 3rd person or first person, it is a debate that is still ongoing about which should be used, however there is no right or right just keep it consistent and stick to one of them throughout your profile.
Use your Experience section wisely – Treat your profile like your CV. Your CV is not a list of job duties, a CV is a place to highlight your achievements and accomplishments, therefore, the same rule applies to LinkedIn. Ensure your experience section is fleshed out with bullet points that describes *What you do/done *How you do/done it *What you have achieved/who it impacted.
Connections – Growing your connections is important, the more you grow your network the more you increase your reach and make yourself visible to others. However, as important as connections are, connecting with just anyone is not going to help you. LinkedIn is professional online networking platform, so, let’s think about it this way, you wouldn’t go to an event and just tap anyone on the shoulder randomly, you would do your research, understand why it is worth you and someone engaging, how you can help each out. So yes, grow your network but with relevant connections.
Keep it up to date – Something that people tend to forget about and which is so important is keeping your profile up to date, as a recruiter the one frustration is connecting with someone about a role only to be told “Oh sorry I left that role 5 years ago”. As soon as something changes such as a position, a company, a publication… make sure to update your profile.
