So many people have incomplete or just plain bad LinkedIn profiles. Which isn't great.
Why? Recruiters and prospective employers will nearly always search for you and find your profile!
So it's important that your profile is complete, looks professional, and, if you are job seeking, is keyword optimised.
Now, I often post tips about LinkedIn - it's my favourite platform and there are just so many tips I want to share!
However, if you are just starting out or need to makeover your LinkedIn profile, here are my top tips.
Top 8 Tips for a LinkedIn Profile Makeover
1. Custom URL/weblink
LinkedIn will allocate you an ugly URL (web link) ending in lots of numbers. You can change this by clicking ‘Edit Public Profile and URL’ in the light grey box on the right of your View Profile screen, then Edit Custom URL. Choose a unique URL (delete the numbers on the end) and click save. This will look much neater when you post the link in your resume.
2 . Profile Photo
The simplest way to update your profile is to fix your profile photo and add a background image.
While you don’t need to get a professional profile photo taken, make sure that it looks professional and projects the image that you want in the workplace. (Maybe do your hair and make-up and have a photo shoot with a friend.) Once you upload your photo, you can adjust it using the LinkedIn filters.
3. Background Image / Banner
It’s also a good idea to add a background image that matches your profile photo. Check out unsplash.com for lots of free images that you can download then upload as your background image, or use Canva to create an image (search 'LinkedIn Banner' for templates).
4. Headline
Your headline is really important. It defaults to your current /most recent job title and organisation, but it's better if you over-write this and include keywords that describe who you are professionally.
You can add multiple terms. For example: Project Officer | Administrator | Policy Advisor. You have 120 characters, so put in as many key words as you can.
Alternatively you could list your value proposition - what you bring to an organisation. However if you do this, try to also include some keywords relevant to your job/industry.
5. About
The About (or Summary) section of your profile often gets left out, but it's really important to add it in. This section appears directly below your headline and should tell people who you are and what your unique skills or selling points are. It introduces people to you!
You should start with your Professional Profile from your resume (hopefully you have one you can cut and paste!) and add your personal pronouns back in ("I am a..."). Your profile should describe who you are, what your background is and what skills you bring to an organisation. The more suitable keywords you add in, the better.
You should also add your top 5 Skills; LinkedIn will prompt you to do this.
6. Experience
Make sure you align your job titles and dates with your resume. You can also add a couple of dot points describing your high level responsibilities for each role, but don't worry too much about this. While adding in job details will add to your keywords, it's more common to not have detail listed.
You can also list the top skills for each role. I suggest including up to 5 skills; any more than this and your profile looks messy.
7. Skills
In the Skills section you should add skills that define your professional roles and experience. LinkedIn will then ask your network to endorse you for those skills. This greatly increases your chances of being picked up in searches.
Not sure what to put? Search for people with similar roles and see what they have listed, and don't forget to include transferable skills such as stakeholder engagement, communication and leadership.
You should then reorder your skills, as the top 2 skills will show on your profile. (People need to click through to view them all.
8. Show Recruiters you are open to work
In your profile section just under your name there is a blue box that says "Open to" where you can Show Recruiters you are open to work. This can be set to private (only visible to Recruiters) or public (everyone can see you are open to work). You can select the location, type of work, and up to 5 job titles that you are interested in.
Want additional help to update your LinkedIn profile, including step-by-step instructions on how to write a professional profile/About section? Enrol in Rescue your Resume, my complete job application program with lots of support!
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