Link In and Be Found: 15 Changes To Make To Your LinkedIn Profile

Being found is the key to LinkedIn.  Whether you are looking for a job or not, your LinkedIn profile is your biggest asset.  It will lead recruiters and hiring managers to you but only if it’s complete, professional and conveys what you do.   Even if someone has your resume, they will probably still check out your profile online.  Is it time to work on yours?  Here are 15 tips for getting your profile noticeable.

1.  Work on it.  Like your resume, your profile needs work and editing.  It should be complete and let readers know your skills, where you have worked and what you have done.

2.  Picture perfect.  You need a photo that is professional looking.  A photo can convey passion, energy, and charisma.  All attributes that can help you.

3.  Your headline matters.  Use it to highlight your specialty, value or ‘you.’  It’s your opportunity to shout out to the world who you are.

4.  Summarize your summary.  Your summary is not a lengthy biography.  It’s a brief, concise overview for the reader about your skills, passions, qualifications, achievements, industries or whatever you want to highlight.  Keep it to a maximum of 3 short paragraphs.

5.  I’m creative, strategic and boring.  Get rid of the buzzwords.  LinkedIn is full of them and they don’t help to distinguish yourself.  If you want to highlight how creative you are, buzzwords will prove otherwise.

6.  Profile/resume.   Make sure your dates, titles and employment history align.  One difference on LinkedIn is that you can really flush out what you did, how well you did it, the impact, etc.

7.  ‘I’ is okay.  Unlike a resume, your profile should be in first person.

8.  You are always working.  Make sure your current position and title are listed.  If you are currently unemployed, you can create a dummy job that includes a title that you are targeting in your search — Vice President, External Communications (in transition.)  Recruiters will sometimes search by title so it’s important that you have one.

9.  Embellish.  You can have some fun with your LinkedIn profile by adding corporate logos, websites, projects you’ve worked on, blogs, etc.

10.  Extra, extra.  If you have great volunteer experience, certificates or language skills, add them.

11.  Keep current.  If you have recommendations, keep them current.  If you have one that is poorly written or unsolicited, you can hide it.  Just go to ‘Edit Profile’, then select the position you want to hide and click ‘Manage’.  Uncheck the box of the recommendation you want to hide and you are all set.

12.  Update.  Share articles that you wrote, professional news etc. at least once a week.

13.  Be connected.  Have a minimum of 50 contacts.  You want to show people you are connected and that you know how to do it.

14.  Confidentiality.  No one needs to know you are looking for a job.  Changing your profile can be a red flag.  You can tailor your settings so your boss and/or others in your company do not see that you have redone your profile.  Privacy settings are easy to change.  Just sign in and select ‘settings’ from the menu.

15.  You are doing this so that you can be found.  Remember to add you email address, your twitter handle or any other contact information.

Little changes can made a big difference.  They just need to be done in the right manner.