10 Tips To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile.
LinkedIn has changed the course of applying and hiring for jobs. Almost every aspect of life has changed with technological advancement and so LinkedIn has replaced the quintessential form of applying and hiring for jobs.
LinkedIn like other major social sites is built on algorithms. Just like say for example Facebook is designed with such algorithms where they make you see the ads and everything based on your interests. In the same way, LinkedIn doesn’t work on your interests but how you’ve designed your profile and where to send you.
Employers now seek potential candidates on LinkedIn in order to hire them, but the same question here rises too. The question is how do I stand out from the many people that make their profile and apply for the same job that you are? Well, do not worry, we have some tips for you to apply so that you can get in a better position to rank yourself.
Let’s get started-
1. Relevant Keywords-
As said above, LinkedIn is designed to match you up with relevant employers. For this purpose, you need to have the Relevant Keywords that are matching your skills. If you don’t put in the relevant keywords, your profile is likely not to get any views and is likely not to get anyone’s attention all because of not choosing the right keywords for your profile.
When you’re done with choosing the relevant keywords for yourself, you need to put those keywords in the following places-
● Headline (the tagline that appears under your name).
● Your summary.
● A past job description.
● A present job description.
2. The Headline-
The headline in your profile is the first thing people see, and it is what catches other people’s eyes, so you know how important this is.
You need to have a headline that is catchy to the eye and not ordinary. By default, you’ll get a headline, but you shouldn’t just stop there, you need to customize it to your own benefit. For example, think of a keyword that a recruiter or an employer is likely to use when searching for someone. The headline portion of your profile has great importance.
3. Your Skills-
Although this section is self-evident that you need to place the skills that are relevant to you and not inflate them, there are some technical things that you need to keep in mind.
You need to refresh your skills after some intervals or when you understand that you have a skill that is getting in demand. You should put it there in your profile. For this, you need to do the following-
● Deleting any irrelevant skills.
● Adding key skills that are related to your work.
● Add new skills when you complete a new course or diploma.
● Try putting your keyword in the skill section too.
4. Links to your Personal Projects-
Recruiters/Hiring Managers love to check out any work done by those candidates that they want to work for them.
Attaching a link(s) to your profile adds credibility and shows the recruiter that you are worthy of landing the job.
It is one of the main and driving agents in determining if someone gets hired. Their previous work has always been a shiny aspect of their LinkedIn profile.
5. Get Recommendations-
In the classical way of applying for jobs, you’d always have to get a recommendation from someone related to your line of work (possibly your ex-employer). The same goes with LinkedIn too.
Getting recommendations for your work or skills on your LinkedIn profile is a major boost to your credibility.
6. Keeping your details up to date-
You don’t want to have a profile where your possible recruiter cannot reach you.
Make sure that every possible way of someone connecting with you is up there and not out of date.
If you have information that is out of date, it can have serious results for your profile, and could result in the loss of a possible job, just because your contact details weren’t up to date. The same goes for other information fields on LinkedIn.
7. Profile Picture-
A profile picture says a lot. As it goes, a picture paints a thousand words. You don’t want to have an unprofessional photo to be on your profile.
There are several tips for choosing a great photo, of which some of them are below-
- Be the only person in the image.
- Look presentable.
- Avoid distracting backgrounds.
- Use soft and natural light.
8. Connect with others-
You always, or almost always, need to be in the loop of connecting with others on LinkedIn. It’s a great way of keeping track of professional accomplishments and seeing where their career takes them.
9. Tell your story-
Just like any other blog post is designed to hook the reader, you need to do the same for your LinkedIn profile. Try to not have a dull profile, but rather, make it engaging and intriguing. Here’s how to do that:
● Explain your past. Tell where, in what capacity, and what challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
● Write how you speak.
● Highlight your successes.
● Ensure readability.
10. Keep visiting LinkedIn-
Many people visit LinkedIn only when they are job hunting. Use it like you use social media, on a daily basis. Little by little, in no time, you’ll be a LinkedIn superstar.
Being active on LinkedIn will increase your searchability and will help in getting noticed by recruiters.
Conclusion-
To complete your profile on LinkedIn there are some great tweaks and tips. The tips above are widely used by those that have seen success on LinkedIn. So, it would be foolish if you didn’t apply the above tips.
We gathered these tips and have shared them with you so that you may be able to understand them, use them and then finally apply them in your profile. Thank you :)
Carl is a Product Design recruiter at Facebook. Before recruiting, he was a UI/UX designer working with many tech startups to design mobile apps. Carl is also the co-founder of a Meetup called Global UXD where he helps connect designers with eachother and create new opportunities. Having completed Bloc and Designlab bootcamps before becoming a recruiter, he’s an expert at helping designers land their first design roles. Find Carl on carlwheatley.com and LinkedIn. Need your Design Portfolio Reviewed?? Check out Design Portfolio Review.
