December 2020

Top LinkedIn Profile Tips

LinkedIn is an excellent platform to showcase your skills and experience. I highly recommend having a professional and up-to-date profile because believe me, potential employers are watching! 

On LinkedIn, you can research companies you like, join interesting groups, take part in discussions, meet people with similar interests to yourself, and of course, get yourself noticed. The advantages to LinkedIn are endless and it all starts with a great profile.

Make sure you get seen by following some of my LinkedIn Profile top tips.

Use the right profile picture:

It’s very important to have a good profile picture. LinkedIn is a professional network so add a professional and recent photo to your profile. There are no hard and fast rules for the perfect picture but don’t have a long-distance or blurred photo, they don’t look professional. Your face should take up roughly 50% of the available space and you should wear what you would usually wear to work.

Background Photo:

The background photo will help to grab people’s attention, it will make you stand out so don’t forget to add one.

Customise your URL:

Your LinkedIn URL is the web address for your profile. The default URL will have your name and some numbers on it, not very user-friendly!. Along the right side of your profile, you will see the option to edit your URL. it only takes a few minutes to change it and it will make your URL much more professional.

Your Headline:

Your headline can just be your job title but you are free to add any information you like here so try to make it more meaningful, make it more about you.

Your summary:

It’s surprising how many people don’t have a summary on LinkedIn. It is an excellent place to show who you are and the skills you have to offer. Make this section about you, it’s your space.

Grown your network:

LinkedIn is all about networking so use it to it’s full advantage. Expand your network through LinkedIn requests, contributing to groups & discussions or importing contacts from your email address book, importing these contacts is a quick and easy way to grow your network as most of these contacts will already know you.

Endorsements:

Getting an endorsement from another member is a great way to build credibility. You can endorse someone you know who deserves one, they will usually return the favour. You can also request an endorsement from someone, it’s a good idea to include the skills you would like them to endorse you for.

Highlight your skills:

Try to keep your listed skills up-to-date and relevant as these are what people will endorse you for and what companies and recruiters will search for when looking for candidates. Your listed skills are keywords so it’s a good idea to review this section on a regular basis, make sure the skills are up-to-date.

Keep your page active:

Remember, LinkedIn is more than an online CV service, it’s a social networking site so stay relevant and keep your profile up-to-date. LinkedIn will automatically rate your profile strength, the more information you add to your profile, the stronger your profile strength will be.

If you would like any more advice on LinkedIn or the Irish hiring market, please see www.enterprisepeople.ie or contact me at patrick@enterprisepeople.ie