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These days it's necessary for virtually everyone to be on LinkedIn. However, creating a high-quality profile does take a certain degree of know-how. This article is here to help by outlining the process so you can be on top of your social media game.
In the old days of social media, profile photos were the only concern. However, in the last few years header images have also started to emerge. But if you don't take advantage of this area to market yourself, you are going to miss out.
So, this obviously means you should upload a header image but you should also think about what you want to represent. To make the best impression on LinkedIn, go to Canva and you will find some amazing templates to edit. This will enable you to draw attention to your profile and market yourself exactly how you want.
Of course, the profile photo still plays an important part. Once again, you should make sure you upload a photo here to work with your header image. Remember LinkedIn is a business networking site at its core. This means you should be aiming for a professional headshot.
Whilst most people appreciate they need to have a headline to represent themselves. This is a common area where a major opportunity to market yourself is missed. Usually, they simply state their job title.
However, smart LinkedIn users realize there is more you can do here, especially if you have a few different strings to your bow. If this is the case then you can use keywords to your advantage that can make you more searchable. For example, if you are a freelancer, you could include content writer, social media manager and digital marketing specialist in your headline.
This is another section of the profile that a lot of people fail to take advantage of. You can actually use around 370 words in this section. But most people only write a brief summary that might be more appropriate for a resume. In some cases, they leave out adding an about section completely.
Therefore, if you want to stand out, consider writing a detailed summary of at least 250 words. Remember this is another opportunity to include keywords to help get your profile noticed. But it's also your sales pitch to get the rest of your LinkedIn profile read such as your career experience and education sections. As with any form of writing, it's critical to grab the reader's attention early on.
There are different schools of thought on the experience section of your profile. One theory is you should include everything on LinkedIn because you have more space to work with than your resume. However, that thinking is flawed because users have limited attention spans online.
Someone needs to be able to look at your profile and assess it within seconds. This will determine if they want to move forward with a career or business networking opportunity. Therefore, you want to streamline your experience section based on the opportunities you are looking for. For example, a job seeker should focus on the experience they have most relevant to the position they are looking for.
As with a resume, the work you have done most recently is always going to be most relevant. So, work you did 15 years ago probably doesn't need to be included on your profile. Equally, it's important you include summaries under each position you have held. But you don't need as much detail as you'd put on your resume.
Keywords have been mentioned already. But you should be using them throughout your profile not only in the headline and the about section. Remember that getting your profile found will depend on appearing on search results both within LinkedIn and via search engines such as Google.
In addition to that, you also want to make sure you are making full use of skills in your profile. This should be included within the positions you have held, for example. When you apply for jobs on LinkedIn you will see a match for your skills compared with the position. So, the better job you do including skills, the better the social media site can recommend roles for you.
Also, this will help recruiters and employers see how well you match against the roles they are hiring for. As ever, you can do yourself a disservice by failing to present yourself correctly. Remember if you don't include something on your profile, a potential employer won't be able to guess whether you have it or not.
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Most people now need to be on LinkedIn. But creating a compelling profile is not as straightforward as it might initially appear. However, it's crucial that you do both for your professional career and social media presence. Luckily, this article has provided some tips to do exactly that.
So, when creating/editing your profile remember to draw attention with your header image, use a professional profile photo, utilize a detailed headline, take full advantage of the about section, streamline your experience section, and include keywords and skills. When you do those things well, your profile is sure to shine.
And, less time obsessing about your local presence