LinkedIn has more than 350 million profiles from individuals seeking employment or employees. To really stand apart from the competition, your profile has to be an eye-catcher. Your number one priority is to have your basic profile elements sharp and on point. For example, you want a clear LinkedIn headline that will show recruiters what profession you are in and you want a picture that is confident. Below are ways to make the best LinkedIn profile using basic elements.
Name
This seems like a simple task but it’s amazing the ridiculous names floating around on LinkedIn profiles. The name section should include your first, middle (if preferred) and last name to help professionals find you. LinkedIn is not the social media platform for funny references and nicknames. This is your online resume, treat it as such!
Headline
Your headline is the most important aspect of your profile. LinkedIn has algorithms that will scan your headline for keywords so avoid slang job titles and write words that stand out and expand your job title. This is a great chance for potential employers to find you! Be creative but precise and use words and terms that are easy to identify.
URL
Creating your own URL may benefit for SEO purposes, plus it looks good to employers. Connecting your LinkedIn profile to your personal URL and name will make it easier for connections to find you through a Google search. Your unique URL will be in a light box above your displayed name. You can easily click the edit button and revise the set of numbers to just your name.
Profile Picture
Pictures are worth a thousand words and your first impression will always be your profile picture. Professionals care about your looks, no matter what industry you represent. If possible use a professional headshot or image of you in action within your career. You want to appear personable; just you, not your friends, family or animals. When you select a profile photo always have a neutral background so that it doesn’t distract viewers from your face. Studies show that having a professional photo can result in 14 times more profile views!
Education
Education ties into the big background feature on LinkedIn but it is also a basic element that can make your profile rock! It’s essential to include information about the degrees you have acquired and the schools you have attended. This provides viewers a chance to make other connection within the alumni which will impress employers, and potentially give you an insider into the company you dream of working for.
Recommendations
Your experience and work history are extremely important, but to add more credibility to these elements reach out for recommendations. A solid combination of skill endorsements and recommendation can help start conversations faster than anything. There is a difference between endorsements and recommendations. Endorsements are less specific and are not credible when it comes to recommendations. Recommendations are written by other people about your most important former positions within the industry and are seen as high quality on LinkedIn. You want your recommendation section to range between 5 and 10 and LinkedIn will show the two most recent recommendations.
You can easily manage and ask for recommendations from friends by going to the Privacy and Settings tab, manage your recommendation and then a tab will direct you to your next action. There is even n option for customizing your message for recommendations rather than an auto-generated one.
Connections
LinkedIn has set a minimum of 50 connections as the basis for a professional profile. Connections can be very valuable to your job search. Having people willing to connect with your is an endorsement that could potentially turn into a recommendation. Interacting is an important process on LinkedIn and some professionals give a rule of thumb that your connections should be 10 times your current age. It’s important to find people and groups with the same interests as you and in the same industry. Connections are only as valuable as you make them to be. If you connect with someone, ask them our or coffee. Get involved with groups and learn what others are talking about. Who knows, your knowledge and comments may get you hired!
Professional Gallery
A great way to stand out from the competition is by using multi-media and creating a strong visual content section. Embed video, add images or create small slideshow presentation of your previous work. Everyone would much rather see what you can do than just read about it!
It’s shocking that only 51 percent of LinkedIn users have completed their profiles 100 percent. One of the main reasons to complete your profile is to ensure that it appears in search engines and on LinkedIn results. Social networking sites change every day and LinkedIn is one of the top most used channels and is updating its features every day. It’s important to stay in tune with the developments and to ensure your profile is 100 percent complete. This act alone will cause you to be top of the line in search engines!
Your Online Resume
According to studies from the Society of Human Resource Management, 90 percent of recruiters rely on LinkedIn to find qualified candidates for open positions. That number is entirely too high to ignore your LinkedIn profile and let it get pushed behind the millions of people using the platform. We have recently covered how to make your profile really pop with basic elements such as your name, headline, profile picture, customized URL and education but now it’s time to dig deeper into the little details that complete your LinkedIn profile.
Your name, headline, URL, picture and education are all very important factors that recruiters and viewers will instantly jump to if they are looking for a qualified candidate. It takes someone 20 seconds to realize if they will stay on a page and read it, make sure your profile is worth more than a few seconds!
