It is beyond doubt that LinkedIn is a very effective professional tool that eases the process of networking. But it is not an easy task to distinguish yourself from the 575 million other users who are also trying the same. However, there are a few small improvements that can create a big impact on your profile. So, here are 8 useful tips that can help you build an impressive LinkedIn profile.
- AN UPDATED PROFILE IS ALWAYS PREFERABLE
The first step in building a strong LinkedIn profile is to keep your profile updated. Many of us overlook updating our profile, but you should know that such inexcusable lapses don’t augur well for you in front of prospective recruiters irrespective of the fact that whether you are a total newbie or an experienced professional who is exploring new opportunities. So, it is for your own good that you avoid any outdated information about you on LinkedIn.
One of the most important section to focus on is the Professional Headline. You should make sure that your profile headline is enticing enough to lure the right set of people. Let me share a very good example of Aaron Orendroff’s profile headline – “Forbes Top 10 B2B Content Marketer. Founder of iconic content. Previous Editor in Chief of Shopify Plus.” So, the headline not only demonstrates his current venture but it also helps in building his brand through his previous association with Shopify and him being a top marketer. So, your headline should capture your current position and company at least, however, you can also go the extra mile to highlight your expertise, recognition, etc. You should see this as an opportunity to tell everyone on LinkedIn that who you are professionally and why someone should connect with you.
- YOUR PROFILE PHOTO SHOULD BE PROFESSIONAL
Statistically, LinkedIn profiles with a valid photo are 11x more likely to be viewed by prospective recruiters. So, it is essential that you portray the best image of yourself. However, please ensure that the profile photo is a recent one and should not be the ones you use for Facebook, Instagram or other similar social networking sites because at the end of the day you should realize that LinkedIn is for professional networking. So, you have to look professional to be among the professionals.
- A STRONG SUMMARY GOES A LONG WAY
This is another very important section of your profile as it helps you in endorsing yourself to the potential connections. The summary should be the elaborated version of your headline. In this section, you should emphasize on your skill set, career experience, noteworthy recognition, etc. While writing the section, avoid the use of jargons and keep it easy to read. Also, you do not need to worry about writing the summary section in the first-person or third-person narrative as it is okay to use either of them.
- USE CORRECT GRAMMAR AND AVOID TYPOS
Your profile is your reflection on the potential connections and existing network. As a result, it is quintessential to avoid any kind of grammatical errors, misspellings, and typos, as they can end up denting your image in front of your connections. Such mistakes will make you look like a person who lacks attention to detail, a reputation you would like to avoid at all costs.
- USE OF RELEVANT KEYWORDS
While building your profile you should be mindful of the fact that having the right keywords is incredibly important because search forms a huge part of the process. At times, these keywords can prove to be the difference between being shortlisted or rejected. As such, it is crucial that you identify these keywords that are relevant to your profile and use as many of them as possible in your headline and summary. The prospective recruiters will be able to find you on the basis of these keywords. For instance, “financial model”, “credit analysis”, “risk assessment” etc can be the keywords for a credit analyst profile.
- USE OF PERSONALIZED URL FOR LINKED IN PROFILE
It is another way to show your LinkedIn connections that how serious you are about your profile. When we create our profile, by default LinkedIn generates a profile URL that is simply a combination of numbers, letters, and backslashes. However, it allows you to modify your profile URL. For instance, Aaron Orendorff customized his URL that reads https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronorendorff/. So, go ahead and change your public profile URL to something that suits your personal brand.
- PUBLISH INTERESTING POSTS REGULARLY
You must have noticed that there are hundreds of posts published by your connections on a daily basis. Have you ever wondered why are they so active while most others just do not have enough time? Well, posting regularly helps in growing your visibility within your network and influencing new followers. In fact, whenever you publish, your existing connections get a notification, while new people can discover you when some of their friends like or comment on your posts. Please make sure your posts highlight your expertise and interests. Although text-only posts yield the best results on LinkedIn, visual content is also growing in importance nowadays and as such you can further strengthen your profile by adding videos, photos, and presentations.
- GROW YOUR NETWORK
One of the biggest advantages of LinkedIn is that it allows you to transcend the horizon of your organization or political boundaries to build a global professional network to explore new opportunities. So, feel free to connect to new people who can be relevant to your career interest, and that is the whole point of LinkedIn. You can leverage your network to get more endorsements or share your best content with more people across the globe. Growing your network on LinkedIn can also help you in building your personal brand.
CONCLUSION
So, now that you know all the secrets, if you aim to take one action once per day, then you will surely build a strong and impressive LinkedIn profile that will be more searchable and easy to navigate.
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