With over 800 million users worldwide, LinkedIn has become the largest professional networking platform available. If one is looking to advance in their career, having a LinkedIn profile is crucial. However, it is not as simple as having a profile; the key is having a profile which draws the attention of the right people. Read on to discover 10 tips to help you make your LinkedIn profile stand out:
1. Add a suitable headshot and cover photo
It is always important to make a good first impression and on LinkedIn, the first thing profile visitors see when they visit your profile is your profile and cover photos. It is important to upload a good quality, professional photo of yourself as well as a suitable cover photo to go alongside it.
2. Write a proper headline
On your profile right below your name, we can find the headline. Rather than simply writing down your current job title, you are given the chance to create something eye-catching using the 120-word allowance LinkedIn provides. Remember, this is the first thing visitors will be reading so it is important to make it relevant to the audience you’re targeting.
3. Use Your Summary Wisely
The summary section gives you the opportunity to paint a picture of who you are as a professional, therefore, it is important to use the 2000-word allowance wisely. You are not required to use all of them (we actually do not recommend using all of them as less is more), however, this is the time to be creative and give a little insight of who you are and what you bring to the table.
4. Keep your skills, education and work experience up-to-date
In order to utilise LinkedIn to its fullest potential, it is crucial that you keep your skills, education and work experience up-to-date. A great habit to get into would be of updating these sections on your profile as soon as there’s something new to add rather than updating it only when starting a job search. Keeping one’s profile up-to-date shows potential recruiters and employers that you have good organisation skills as well as enthusiasm to share key career achievements.
5. Customise your URL
Customising one’s URL is a simple yet effective way of showing professionalism. When a user creates an account, LinkedIn normally assigns random letters and numbers as one’s URL which does not look great, especially when sharing one’s profile outside of the platform. However, this can be easily rectified by visiting one’s profile settings and customising the URL to a more professional one, such as one’s full name. This simple tip can help make your profile more personalised; it will even help those searching for your profile on LinkedIn find it easier.
6. Stay active on LinkedIn
As a social media tool, although different from other social media platforms, LinkedIn also requires its users to be active participants. Whether it is in the form of sharing one’s own original content such as articles and guides or simply engaging with other people’s content, it is important to be active on the platform as this will help with expanding your network as well as providing more opportunity to share further who you are, in addition to your experience and skills.
7. Build a strong network of connections
In order to be visible to others, you will need to build your pool of connections on LinkedIn; start by people you know, both personally or professionally, people you’ve worked with and continue building on from there.
8. Match your LinkedIn profile to your CV
When building your LinkedIn profile, it is essential to remember that all the information listed needs to match your CV. They do not need to be necessarily identical, however, dates, education, licences, certificates and work experiences need to match, otherwise you might give the impression that you are being dishonest in either your CV or your LinkedIn profile.
9. Add Licences, Certifications and other accomplishments to your profile
Apart from listing work experience and education, LinkedIn also offers its users a section where they can add their licences, certifications and other accomplishments such as volunteer work, amongst others. This is the perfect space to show off your qualifications which you have worked so hard for. This also gives a clear and structured insight into what your capabilities are and what ultimately makes you unique.
10. Network
Finally, apart from the people you already know, it is important to connect and network with people who would be beneficial to your career. In this case, you may send them a connection request alongside a note introducing yourself; explaining who you are, what you do and why you’d like to connect with them.
Conclusion
Social media has become a powerful tool and LinkedIn in particular has become instrumental when one is looking to advance in their career. Therefore, it is important to make the most of it by optimising your profile and utilising all its functions to their fullest potential which help you showcase your skills and accomplishments to stand out in a sea of candidates.
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VC (VacancyCentre) is a leading recruitment agency in Malta, facilitating the resourcing of talent needed by organisations of all sizes with particular specialisation within certain industry disciplines, namely Finance, Compliance, Technology & Operations.
To find out more about we can help you lad your dream job, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]