LinkedIn is one of the largest professional networks in the world with nearly 800 million members. Therefore, it is essential in 2022 to have a profile that is complete and visually appealing. Below are five helpful tips on how to quickly elevate your LinkedIn profile.
- Update Profile Picture
First impressions matter! Your photo will be the first thing a potential employer, client, colleague or peer will see, so we recommend getting a professional photo taken of yourself. It’s worth the investment since you can use the pictures for multiple social platforms and purposes. In your photo, look personable and keep it true to life! If you wear glasses, have a beard or often wear a tie, make your profile photo representative of how you normally look at work. Additionally, use most of the frame. Your face should be centered, leaving a small space over your head with the picture extending to your shoulders. Lastly, keep the background neutral. Don’t let the background distract viewers. Choose a neutral and non-busy background.
- Have a Compelling Headline
This is the most important aspect of your profile! Be concise, creative, and include key terms that make it easy for others to define your industry and your role within. Customize it to your audience. A brief, simple headline signals that your profile is an easy read. Generic terms don’t describe the unique value you have to offer. Also, make it a little more inventive and more about what you do and what you can offer. Finally, it’s important to mention who it is you work for so proudly showcase your company!
- Spice Up Your Summary (About section)
To make your profile more search friendly on LinkedIn, use industry-specific keywords as this will help you appear higher in LinkedIn searches by recruiters. Additionally, Proofread your summary and avoid abbreviations. Keep it as formal as possible. It is your time to shine, so remember to highlight your skills and accomplishments.
- Experience (Jobs and education)
The main item people will focus on in your LinkedIn profile is your experience. Whether that’s within finance, travel, sports or sales, you need to get your skillset across to people as quickly as possible.
This is not a resume that you send to a recruiter. However, it bears some similarities and can serve the same purpose, so include all the organizations or companies that you have worked for. Another important thing is to include details about your responsibilities, achievements and growth. LinkedIn users are less interested in what you say you can do compared to what you’ve actually done. Show that you have the skills by listing the accomplishments that came as a result.
Incomplete or skimpy job descriptions may raise questions and won’t help your chances of appearing in search results. Your profile is viewed up to 29 times more if you have more than one position listed in the experience section.
Lastly, always list your highest academic level. This will make it easy for you to find people you have studied with and provides an opportunity to impress onlookers. You can also include activities which you participated in while attending school/university. Users who list their education appear in searches up to 17 times more often than those who don’t.
- Keywords
LinkedIn scans for keywords in your professional headline. Your profile must have at least one instance of your keyword that you are focusing on but don’t go overboard. Take an approach of optimizing around secondary keywords that are still relevant and descriptive of your skill set. Instead of writing out full paragraphs, use a wide variety of comparable keywords in bullet pointed lists.
Formatting your descriptions will also increase your profile’s scan-ability. Optimizing your job titles slightly to include a few keywords is just smart. Instead of “Sports Therapist” bait search engines by adding something more descriptive like “Elite Multi-Disciplined Sports Therapist”.