Nowadays, your LinkedIn profile is equally, if not more important than the traditional resume or curricula vitae. Hiring managers tend to visit LinkedIn profiles to get to know candidates better and assess how they present themselves online.
Before you start making a ton of changes, we recommend that you change your “Sharing profile edits” to “no” so your peers don’t get notified with every little change you make. You can change it back to yes once you have made your updates. Access this under “Privacy and Settings”, then click on “Privacy”, and change it to “no” under “Sharing profile edits”.
1. START WITH A PROFESSIONAL LOOKING PROFILE PICTURE AND ADD A BACKGROUND PHOTO OF SOMETHING RELEVANT TO YOU AND YOUR INDUSTRY.
You’ll see that one of our recruiters, Kellie uses a professional head shot for her profile photo. It’s easy to see and you can click to enlarge. You should use a high-res or good quality photo that is square. The ideal pixel size for your photo is 400 x 400.
Now look at the background image, Kellie chose a photo of a bridge because it resembles her company’s tagline, “The Bridge Between Professionals”. You can choose a scenic photo of where you live, or something that resembles your company. Just avoid using an image with text because it often gets covered by LinkedIn ads, notifications, or the profile photo when viewing on a mobile device.
2. CUSTOMIZE YOUR PERSONAL URL FOR YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE.
Instead of having a long jumbled looking link clean it up by deleting the extra numbers and letters. To do this, go to “Profile”, “Edit Profile”, then select the settings button next to the current URL (under your profile photo). Then on the right side it allows you to edit the URL, if you have a common name it might be taken so you might have to try a few versions.
Include this new link in your email signature and any material you hand out.
3. WHEN CREATING YOUR SUMMARY, USE KEYWORDS SO YOU CAN BE EASILY FOUND.
Your summary is your personal brand. It tells the story about who you are personally and professionally. To create your summary quickly and efficiently, create a list of 3-5 keywords you would like to include. Then type your summary plugging those words in. You’ll see Kellie states what she does in the first sentence, then explains where she is located and why she is an expert in her field. She concludes with asking her viewers to then connect with her company on social media. Keep it brief and easy to read and your summary will be well-read by viewers.
4. KEEP YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE CURRENT AND PROVIDE DETAILS FOR EACH POSITION LISTED OF WHAT YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES WERE.
List job duties, accomplishments etc. and sell yourself! We’ll use another SearchWide Global employee’s profile for example. Start with a 1-2 sentence description of the position and/or company. Then use bullet points to list 5-7 job duties and accomplishments. Make sure you link the job to the company profile if they have one.
5. JOIN GROUPS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO YOUR INDUSTRY AND PROFESSIONAL INTEREST
Search for associations you belong to, industry topics, such as “Digital Marketing” or “Recruiting”, that way you can start getting involved in discussions and expand your network. Using the same search bar you would to find a person or page, press enter to perform the search, and you can select “groups” on the left column menu bar. When searching for companies you’d like to follow, instead of selecting “groups” on the menu bar, select, “companies”.
6. STAY ACTIVE! PROVIDE STATUS UPDATES, UPLOAD A PHOTO, AND PUBLISHING A POST IS A GREAT WAY TO GET NOTICED.
LinkedIn users tend to prefer industry news, your company updates or something relevant to them. So keep the topics you share professional. LinkedIn and Facebook are not the same.
By following these simple steps, you can improve your profile it just a few simple clicks. Start now to boost your personal brand and become noticed!
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SearchWide Global™ is a full service executive search firm, placing hundreds of executives, primarily for companies in the convention, trade association, and travel/tourism industries. Specializing in C-Level and Director level executive searches for companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized public and private companies and associations. Headquartered in St. Paul, MN, USA and several regional offices, SearchWide Global is able to serve clients and candidates nationwide. Founded in 1999, we have remained focused on four core values for almost two decades: INTEGRITY, ETHICS, PASSION and RESPECT.