Oftentimes the importance of LinkedIn is underestimated. The platform can have a crucial role in your career. By enhancing your LinkedIn presence, career opportunities that otherwise would have not presented themselves might become available and apparent to you.
Tip 1: Make sure you have the right type of profile picture
It is very important that the first impression is the right one and representative of the kind of person and employee you are. However, that can be difficult when the first impression takes place online. Therefore, it is crucial to have the right type of profile picture on your LinkedIn. There are several things to keep in mind with regard to your LinkedIn profile picture. First, make sure to look into the camera. By doing so you grab the attention of the person viewing your profile. It might be a cliché, but eyes often truly are the window to someone’s soul. There are a lot of things to gather from someone’s profile picture. For example, whether someone is confident, professional, calm, or kind, among many other things. If you do not already have a suitable picture, then take some time to take one that you connect with. Think about the professionals you look up to and how they present themselves. Try to take this into account when taking your picture and setting up your profile.
Tip 2: Make sure your profile layout looks professional, but personalized
There are many features that are adjustable on LinkedIn. It is recommended to make use of these features. One of these is the banner. Make sure that it relates to your career or the company you work for (or own). Also, make sure that your profile looks good on both mobile devices and desktops.
Tip 3: Create a good headline
A good headline has a few components. Giving it a creative and personal touch is recommended. The headline can be used to elaborate on how you experience your role and why you’ve taken on that role. It is likely that this is the first part of your profile that will be read by the viewer of your profile. Together with the profile picture and the layout of the profile, your headline will form the very first impression for the viewer.
Tip 4: A strong summary that tells your story
A summary is an essential part of a complete and advanced LinkedIn profile. It is where you can share your story. Here you can share why your skillset and your experiences are significant. Take your time when writing the summary, because this is your moment to market yourself most accurately and positively.
Tip 5: Mention your experience
There are a few things to keep in regard when writing about your experience. First, try to keep it short; only mention your main responsibilities and tasks. The second thing is to use keywords. However, when using keywords, make sure to not use too many buzzwords. There are many words that are oftentimes being over-used. Using buzzwords like ‘strategic’, ‘passionate’, ‘expert’, and‘certified’ can come across as generic if they’re strongly not supported by your skillset and experience. Make sure that you are truthful, authentic and smart when writing about your experience.
Tip 6: Mention your skills
Be sure to give a good overview of your skills. It is very easy for the viewer to scroll through these and therefore it is important to list the most relevant ones. What skills are at the core of who you are as a professional? Make sure to highlight these. In this case, more doesn’t necessarily mean better, so be critical about what skills are worth mentioning in your case.
Tip 7: Request recommendations
Recommendations are a more elaborate way of supporting your profile than endorsements. They are testimonials that have been written about how someone experienced working with you. If there are people you can think of that wouldn’t mind taking some time to write a recommendation, then send them a request through LinkedIn. These recommendations can be incredibly helpful, not only when looking for a job, but also as a way to self-reflect. We promise you, it is worth the effort!
Tip 8: Take a skill assessment
As mentioned before, it is challenging to create a LinkedIn profile that completely represents your professional path, your skills and your experience. That is why taking a skills assessment is a very smart move. It gives a very clear and tangible representation of your skillset. Research has shown that applicants with verified skills are more or less 30% more likely to be hired. By taking a skill assessment you are not only showing that you are confident about that specific skill, but you also strengthen your personal brand by displaying proof.
Tip 9: Grow your network
For many people, growing one’s network was the initial motive behind creating a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn helps us connect with other professionals from all over the world. However, it can be hard to know where to start. LinkedIn makes suggestions for people you could connect with that are relevant in some way to you. By being active on LinkedIn, you will find more and more people that you will want to connect with and with that are relevant to your professional life. Connecting through LinkedIn is also a great way to follow up on a meeting. By sending out requests, you will be able to expand your network and keep it up to date.
Tip 10: Be active on LinkedIn
This might sound very obvious, but it is very important. There are many professionals who underestimate the power of LinkedIn. If you have established a network then it is good to play an active role within that network. When one shares content it can help the LinkedIn algorithm to suggest other possible compatible connections that share those same interests. If you are sharing or liking posts that are not consistent with your own professional interests, then it will be likely that you can’t get the full potential out of LinkedIn. This is because the information presented to you will then be based on inaccurate information about what your interests are. So make sure that the content that you are sharing is content that you genuinely are interested in and that shares your point of view. So, invest some time in optimizing your LinkedIn profile. It will be worth the effort!
For more information check out our presentation and video about LinkedIn presence:
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