LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional social network focused on connecting and informing professionals to help them to be more successful in their careers. LinkedIn makes it easier to make these connections and can help you to get a foot in the door with potential employers.
As a large percentage of jobs are now found through networking, LinkedIn is essential for identifying connections between other professionals you deal with, where they work and what their roles are. Using this information you can ask connected individuals for an introduction, advice on an organisation or a referral. To get the most out of these opportunities you need to have an engaging profile.
Here are our top 10 tips for creating or updating your LinkedIn profile (or any professional social media presence for that matter!).
1. Use a great profile picture.
Your profile photo should be recent, recognisable as you and importantly, be professional. Remember this isn't Facebook or Instagram, it’s a career focused networking platform so your profile photo should be reflective of that.
2. Show your personality in your Background image.
When you set your profile photo you can also select a background image (cover photo) that can be used to show the viewer a bit more about you. This doesn’t have to be an image of you, but it’s useful if it communicates something about you or your interests. Again, keep it professional.
Don’t forget to resize and crop your images so they look their best!
Image credit: Statusbrew.com
For information about other social media image specifications click here.
3. Add in your pronouns.
By adding in your pronouns up front you can avoid any awkwardness later. Whether it’s she/her, he/him, they/them or something else that suits your identity it’s a good idea to include these on your profile. Additionally, the LinkedIn mobile app gives you the ability to record an audio file of your name so viewers can hear how to pronounce it correctly, super helpful!
4. Create an interesting headline.
This brief description is usually used for job titles, but it doesn’t have to be. To boost the impact, you can add in a bit more detail about your role, career interests or accomplishments.
5. Make your Summary compelling.
We all have a story, and your LinkedIn summary gives you the opportunity to tell yours. Some people will use the summary section to list recent jobs or skills. However, it’s a chance to give viewers more insight into who you are. Consider including how you ended up in your career or where you see yourself going next.
6. Highlight your skills.
Your skills list is one of the most important parts of your profile. LinkedIn makes it easy to search and select skills that match areas of your experience and expertise. There are many skills options to choose from, however when making your selections remember to keep it accurate, relevant, and concise. This section will become less genuine if you select an excessive number of skills.
7. Content is king.
While a good LinkedIn profile is a great start, it requires ongoing maintenance to stay relevant and engaging. It needs regular, fresh content to keep it interesting. It’s a good idea to share the posts of other members that resonate with you or to create some content of your own. Make sure your content is of interest to your connections so they’ll engage and share it, growing your network. And once again - keep it professional.
8. Go Public.
If you want others, such as potential connections or recruiters to be able to find you, you need to have a public profile. To make your profile public just click on the “Me” button under your profile picture, then select “View Profile”, you’ll then see an option for Edit Public Profile & URL. Select this option and you can toggle your public profile status on and off.
Remember to check how your profile displays on a variety of devices and screen sizes before making it live!
9. Get Recommendations.
Recommendations are a personalised testimonial about your work (interpersonal skills, projects completed, or skills) so it’s a great idea to include these on your profile. Consider reaching out to some of your close contacts for recommendations that are relevant to your current or next career goal. You can do this via the platform by navigating to the “Recommendations” section and selecting the + icon.
10. Follow others.
The huge variety of professions and interests listed means there is something for just about everyone on LinkedIn. It’s a good idea to search for and follow people who have similar interests so you can connect with members relevant to you and your career goals.
However, don’t limit your network to these contacts, as a broad interest base can also be useful and turn up unexpected links.
