A strong LinkedIn profile can connect candidates with potential employers and assist professionals looking to advance their careers. Have you taken full advantage of this powerful networking tool? With our comprehensive guide, we present LinkedIn profile tips to strengthen your LinkedIn presence and create an influential profile.
LinkedIn is a powerful networking platform that connects qualified candidates with other industry professionals and potential employers.
We know that an optimized LinkedIn profile can add significant value to a candidate’s profile and help users make connections, stay informed and find new opportunities. To help you realize the full potential LinkedIn has to offer, we’ve gathered the best LinkedIn profile tips to make sure your profile is gaining the traction it needs to help you succeed.
Here are a few of our favourite LinkedIn profile tips to get you noticed!
Before you get started on LinkedIn profile tips
Build your personal brand
Before jumping into the best LinkedIn profile practices, consider your personal brand. LinkedIn is a prime platform to market yourself and, as such, it’s imperative to remember your beliefs, goals and professional values. Your personal brand will help guide you in creating a profile that is both consistent and focused, while being true to your beliefs and values.
The basics LinkedIn profile tips
Create a custom URL
Creating a vanity URL is the first step to customizing your LinkedIn profile. The default URL combines your name with a series of numbers. To clean up and create your custom URL, go to the “Edit Public Profile & URL” screen on your profile. Under “Edit URL,” change your public URL; we’d recommend switching to linkedin.com/yourname. Once you’re finished click “Save.” Best of all, it’s completely free!
Add a profile picture
Did you know that a LinkedIn profile with a picture can get you 21 more views than one without? Make a picture perfect impression on potential employers by uploading a professional head shot or a picture of you at work. Make sure your photo is in line with your personal brand and that it emits a professional yet approachable vibe for future employers and professional connections alike.
Set a LinkedIn profile background photo
Elevate your LinkedIn profile by creating a custom profile background that highlights your brand. Include an image that reflects your accomplishments, company branding or a scenic view of your city. LinkedIn even provides thorough direction on background image sizing and instructions to upload.
Add your location
Location settings are particularly beneficial for members actively looking for a job. Recruiters will filter potential applicants by location to find the best candidate in their area. For instructions on setting your location and updating your desired commute time, click here.
Optimize your headline
Your profile headline will always default to your current job title, which can be limiting for candidates looking to switch careers or move up in their field. When editing your headline, make sure to clearly define your role and the value you bring to your organization. It should act as an attention grabber, making potential employers and connections want to click to learn more.
Manage your content
Create an engaging LinkedIn summary
The best LinkedIn summaries will wow potential employers by highlighting your top accomplishments and skills. Be sure to include your current position and accomplishments, past roles and other experiences, quality of work and what you are looking for in your next role. Learn from these high impact LinkedIn summary examples.
Highlight your experiences
Prove your value to potential employers by highlighting your professional experience. Using your resume as a reference, include job title, company name, start and end dates, role description and any media (video, projects, case studies) you have created.
Add your skills
On the job hunt? Make sure to add skills to your profile. It will pay off: LinkedIn users with 5 or more skills listed in their profile are contacted 33 times more by recruiters than other users. Keep your skills list relevant to your industry to ensure your profile matches with the right opportunities. Adding skills to your profile also enables other members to view and endorse you for those skills. Don’t forget to add and update as your career progresses and you gain new skills.
Post updates
Sharing public posts on LinkedIn is a great way to expand your reach, engage with your connections and connect with other professionals in your industry. Not sure what to post? Consider sharing blog posts, industry news, quick tips, photos and videos. Don’t forget to tag your posts with relevant hashtags to help other members connect with your content.
Other helpful content tips
Mind your tone
Keep in mind that LinkedIn is a social platform. For your profile to do well, your tone of voice should be approachable. Don’t copy your resume, but rather keep your profile content conversational. This will help identify you as professional without coming across as pretentious.
Complete your profile
It’s not enough to fill out your headline, summary, experiences and education. Completing your profile helps round you out as a candidate and makes you a more attractive applicant for those potential employers.
Update your profile to reflect promotions
Managing a strong LinkedIn profile is an ongoing process. Taking the time to update your profile with promotions, newly gained skills, or additional education proves to potential employers you are invested in your professional development.
Stay away from buzz words
Buzz words such as “team player” and “hard worker” do not define your skills or experience and should not be used on your profile. With a limited number of characters allotted for your headline, summary and experience, wasting these characters on buzz words does little to enhance your profile.
Incorporate keywords
Consider keywords relevant to your industry or target position and incorporate them into your headline, summary, experiences and skills. Incorporating industry-relevant keywords will help your profile rank in employer searches and ensure the right LinkedIn members are viewing your profile.
Improve your connections
Get connected
Don’t wait for connections to come to you. Inviting a professional colleague or acquaintance to connect can open the door to their personal connections. Utilize LinkedIn’s free tools to help increase your connections. The “People You May Know” page helps to connect you to contacts based on your profile, mutual connections, education and work experiences. Also, think about syncing your contacts to find people you may know on LinkedIn.
Engage with connections
Your interaction with your LinkedIn connections should not end when your request to connect has been accepted. Develop your relationship with your connections by liking or commenting on their posts, sharing content and engaging with your connections. This will help keep you top of mind when these connections hear of an opportunity that matches your qualifications.
Request LinkedIn recommendations
Not only do LinkedIn recommendations look great on your profile, they also act as public references and can distinguish you from other professionals in your field. To request a LinkedIn recommendation from one of your connections, visit their profile, click the “More” button and select “Request a Recommendation”.
Endorse your connections
Endorsing skills is a great way to recognize the professional abilities of past and present colleagues and professional acquaintances. Consider endorsements a digital compliment that fosters your relationship with your connections and improves their profile strength. Not to mention, an endorsement given may just turn into an endorsement received. To get started endorsing your connections, click here.
Join LinkedIn groups
Ready to grow your network? Tap into the unlimited potential LinkedIn groups can provide. With the ability to join up to 100 LinkedIn groups, connect with like-minded individuals or other professionals within your industry. Add value to these LinkedIn groups by answering questions and posting relevant content including news articles, images and videos when applicable. Participating in LinkedIn groups will help turn you into a networking pro!
Consider your privacy settings
Is your profile public? Are your connections being notified about your profile updates? Taking the time to review your privacy settings will make sure your hard work developing a strong LinkedIn profile pays off.
Take advantage of LinkedIn tools
Publish content through LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform
Are you an expert in your field? Prove it! Using Linkedin’s Publishing Platform, you can write and distribute your original content. Available to the entire LinkedIn community, content created through the platform can help identify you as a thought leader to potential employers and connect you with other professionals in your field. Find it by clicking “Write an article” from your home dashboard.
Invest in a Premium account
Connect with hiring managers, gain access to courses to learn new skills and compare your profile to other candidates in your field. Investing in a Premium account can equate to investing in your future. Try your first month free and watch your network grow!
Make a profile badge
Drive LinkedIn members and prospective employers to your profile by creating a custom profile badge. With options to promote your profile, website or media content, visit the public profile badge builder to get started and get noticed!
Follow industry thought leaders
Keep up to date with news and trends by following industry thought leaders. 2018’s Top Voices identified LinkedIn members who spark conversations and included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Melinda Gates and Richard Branson.
Don’t forget!
Proofread your profile
Typos or grammatical errors have no place on your professional LinkedIn profile. Proofread your headline, summary and experiences content before saving your revisions to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward.
