Are you optimizing your LinkedIn profile?
20 August 2021
Building a LinkedIn profile that conveys your unique brand and professional story is a highly effective way to get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers, connect with professionals in your current or desired industry, and land your next job.
As of July 2021, LinkedIn reported “nearly 740 million users, across 200 countries and regions worldwide, with the US having more than 176 million users.”
Needless to say, with that many users there’s a good chance that there is an opportunity on this platform just waiting for you.
So how to you tell your unique and compelling professional story?
You are the main character on profile, so it’s important to paint the picture of who you are professionally, what is important to you, what your unique superpowers are, and what you are looking for.
There are many effective ways to do this, but here are my top 10 tried and true ways to get the most return from your profile.
Picture and Background
Make sure you select a headshot that is close enough to see your face and projects warmth and openness, which people respond to better than a headshot that is sterile and robotic.
LinkedIn reports users with a profile photo receive “up to 21x more profile views,” so be sure to pick a good one that shows off your personality and demeanor.
And don't worry if you don't currently have a good one, ask a photographer friend or family member to take some headshots of you, or hire a professional.
Additionally, selecting a background photo that illustrates your brand is a really good idea.
Think about how you want people to identity you professionally. For example, do you want people to identify you as an expert marketer, talent developer, consultant, global development program leader, writer/editor, strategist, innovator, entrepreneur, coach, etc.?
Decide which identities are most meaningful and aligned for you professionally, and select a background picture, quote, infographic, logo, etc. to convey this.
Headline
This is where you put your branding words.
Similar to above, these are the words that best represent who you are professionally and where you are trying to go.
For instance, here are some of my branding words:
Career and Leadership Coach
Leadership Development Consultant
Former HR Executive
Social Justice Ally and Advocate
Facilitator
Strong Bias for Action
You’ll notice some of these words are titles and others are identities.
Make sure whatever words you use are what you want to be doing in the future, rather than simply a title or identity you’ve held in the past.
Video Cover Story
This is a new feature that allows you to record a brief 30 second video introducing yourself and giving your elevator pitch.
This shows your viewers a little of your personality and gives a high-level overview of you.
It’s just one more way to set yourself apart and give the viewer as much data as possible to understand you.
Gender Pronouns
This is another new feature that I recommend including.
Not only is it more inclusive, but LinkedIn also states that 72% of hiring managers agree this is a positive practice.
Location
Include your location can help your profile surface in “up to 23x more searches,” as stated by LinkedIn.
Recruiters often run location-based searches, so including your location is a good practice and may result in more relevant opportunities.
About Section
Time to narrate your story - in no less than 40 words.
This section represents your past, present, and future, and you want to hook the reader to want more of your future.
First, convey what is most important to you in your career. This is your why, what makes you tick, what you're especially jazzed/passionate about.
Example: I am on a mission to help motivated professionals land jobs they love, just by being themselves. I am passionate about identifying people's unique gifts and leveraging them in their careers.
Next, identify key successes you’ve had thus far. These are your experience, skills, and achievements.
Example: I've successfully coached hundreds of people from around the globe, putting them in the driver seat of their careers. I've also recruited and hired hundreds of employees, making me well informed of what hiring managers are looking for in candidates.
Over the past 20 years, I've worked as a people and culture executive, organizational development director, and leadership development program director. Most of my career has spanned the social impact sector, including philanthropy and nonprofits, and I have had the privilege of helping company's transformation their organizational cultures to incorporate diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging.
Then, list out your strength and talents and why they matter. These are your superpowers.
Example:
I am a "get things done" kind of gal and no obstacle keeps me from driving towards results.
I have a strong bias for action and am especially competent in building new programs, projects, initiatives from the ground up, with a healthy balance of planning, building as I go, evaluating, and iterating.
I am empathetic and can read the room, making me a good facilitator and able to surface what's under the water line.
I am quick to understand the big picture and how all the pieces fit together.
Finally, say what you’re looking for. These are your motivations and values.
This can be direct if you are unemployed and/or not worried about it being public that you are looking for your next role.
Example: I am looking for a role in corporate social impact with a company that values their people and sustainability.
It can also be indirect, if you are currently employed and don't want people to know you are looking.
Example: I am looking to connect with other professionals in the corporate social impact space and am especially motivated by companies committed to their employees and the environment.
Make sure your about section it is a minimum of 40 words, which will make your profile turn up in more recruiter searches.
Experience
List out every job you’ve held (that are relevant to your career; if you were a server in college you don’t necessarily need to include it, if you are no longer in the restaurant or customer service fields).
Be sure to also include a one sentence high-level synopsis of each role and scope.
Then, follow up with bulleted achievements, outcomes, deliverables, and responsibilities.
With all of these, especially your achievements and deliverables, try to quantify them with numbers to give them scale.
Make sure your first two to three bullets are quantified achievements, outcomes, or deliverables.
Recommendations
You should have at least three recommendations, but even more is better.
Supervisors, senior leaders, peers, direct reports, clients, co-collaborators, partners, colleagues, etc. all make for good recommendations.
And LinkedIn makes this so easy with just a click of a button.
Before you click the button though, be sure to send them a private message asking if they’d be willing to do this.
Think of a minimum of three people right now and go ahead and send them a message asking if they’d be willing to recommend you on LinkedIn.
Platform Settings
Make sure you check the setting that indicates to recruiters you are “open to work.”
Doing this will include you in recruiter searches (and only they will be able to see this on the back end, no one else).
You can pick what sorts of titles/roles/industries you are open to.
Platform Engagement
Regularly update your profile to keep it relevant and current.
The more your actively engage with the platform the more people will see your profile (per the algorithm). Try to engage with some sort of consistency that works for you.
You might set a target such as 2x/week you look at your feed and like/comment/re-share people’s posts. You can also your own articles or content.
Connect with people all the time.
Your brand is only as powerful as your network is, so set a goal for yourself to connect with new and relevant people consistently.
People in your aspiring job and industry and will expose you to the language, topics and issues people in that space are talking about.
You’ll also be exposed to more opportunities.
Put these tips into action
While this may seem like a lot to do, it shouldn’t be that big of a lift.
Dedicate a few hours to giving your LinkedIn profile a makeover – and of course if you need support, I’m always here to help!
Share this post on:
RECENT POST
09 February 2022
09 December 2021
09 Sepmtember 2021
SUBSCRIBE
©2019 by Erin Thomas Career + Leadership Coaching.
All Rights Reserved.