For better or worse, LinkedIn now serves as your online resume. Millions of job seekers and recruiters use the site every day, and most job applications require your LinkedIn profile. If you want to have any chance of landing a solid job, you really do need to have to a highly optimized LinkedIn profile.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to make a strong first impression and stand out from the crowd.
The importance of optimizing your LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn profile serves as a digital resume for you, of sorts. It is often the first thing people see when they search for you on the internet. It also represents your personal brand. And when a person clicks on your profile, they immediately start forming an impression of you. You want that first impression to be a good one. Your profile should shine so that it stands out amidst millions of other profiles.
You also should optimize your profile for search purposes. Recruiters often use LinkedIn to search for potential employees, and having an optimized profile with relevant keywords can increase your chances of being found.
Finally, if you’re an entrepreneur or freelancer, your LinkedIn profile can attract new business. When potential clients see a highly polished profile that explains what you bring to the table, they’re more likely to want to hire you.
12 useful tips to optimize your LinkedIn profile
Now that you know the why, let’s talk about how to optimize your LinkedIn profile.
Select the perfect profile picture
Your profile picture conveys a lot about who you are and what you represent. It is almost always one of the first things people look at when they are browsing through LinkedIn profiles, and you want your picture to pop.
Here are a few quick tips about selecting the right profile picture:
- Use our online design tools to help you create the best-looking version of your photos
- Use a high-quality, professional-looking photo.
- Make sure the photo is recent and accurately represents how you look now.
- Smile! A smile can make you appear more approachable and friendly.
- Avoid using group photos or photos with distracting backgrounds. You want the focus to be on you.
- Be very careful about using a humorous picture as your profile pic. While it may make you stand out, it also might not be seen as professional.
Write a catchy headline
The headline is the text that appears directly below your name on your profile. It’s one of the most important parts of your profile because it summarizes who you are and what you do. It also appears next to your profile every time you post something or comment on something, so you want it to be powerful.
A great headline should be short, snappy, and descriptive. It should grab a reader’s attention and give them a clear idea of what value you can bring to them.
Don’t just list your job title for your LinkedIn headline. Instead, write a sentence that communicates what you for your clients/team/company. For example, “Empowering individuals to achieve their full potential” is much more intriguing than simply stating “Life Coach”.
Create a captivating LinkedIn banner
The next step in optimizing your LinkedIn profile is to create a fantastic LinkedIn banner. A LinkedIn banner is a large image that appears behind your profile picture. It’s another opportunity to showcase your personal brand and make a good first impression.
Choose an image that aligns with your industry or personal values. If you’re not sure how to create a good banner photo, use one of our professionally-designed LinkedIn templates. These LinkedIn banners allow you to easily customize and add your own personal touch. You can change the colors, fonts, and images until you have a LinkedIn banner that perfectly reflects who you are as a professional.
Turn your about section into a story
Your profile should be more than just a list of your achievements and job titles. It should tell a story about who you are, what drives you, and what makes you unique.
Use the About section to share your personal journey and how it has led you to where you are today. Use this space to showcase your personality, passions, and values. Explain why your work matters and how it helps people. This will help potential connections get to know the real you, beyond just your professional accomplishments.
Fill in your work experience
Your LinkedIn profile is about so much more than your work experience, BUT you still should fill in this section. You don’t have to include every job if you have a long and detailed work history. Instead, include jobs you’ve held that most demonstrate your expertise and are relevant to your current professional goals.
In each job description, use bullet points to highlight key accomplishments and responsibilities. Don’t just list the duties you had – focus on the results you achieved and how you added value to the company. This will give potential employers a better understanding of your skills and abilities.
Show off your skills
LinkedIn allows you to showcase your top skills on your profile. Take advantage of this feature by selecting skills that align with your industry or desired career path. These can include technical skills, soft skills, or any other competencies that set you apart from others.
Don’t be afraid to ask for endorsements from colleagues or supervisors who can vouch for these skills. This will add credibility to your profile and show that others recognize your abilities.
Also, make sure that you include any education or certifications you have obtained that help position you in the best light.
Share your work samples
If you have a portfolio or samples of your work, LinkedIn is the perfect place to showcase them. You can add media such as documents, presentations, videos, or images to your profile under each corresponding job experience. This will allow potential employers to see the quality of your work and get a sense of what you can bring to their company.
Additionally, you can also share links to articles or publications that you have written or been featured in. This demonstrates your knowledge and expertise in your field and adds credibility to your profile.
Choose your URL
LinkedIn allows you to choose the URL of your LinkedIn profile, and you want to take advantage of this. Personalize your URL with your name or a variation of it so that it is easy for others to find and remember. This will also make your profile appear higher in search results.
Avoid jargon
Wherever possible, avoid using jargon in your profile. Don’t talk about how achieved “synergy” between departments or how you “utilized leverage” in a project. These buzzwords can make your profile seem generic and unauthentic. Instead, use clear and concise language to describe your experiences and accomplishments.
Ask for recommendations
When you optimize your LinkedIn profile, don’t forget to ask for recommendations from others. LinkedIn has a feature that allows you to directly ask contacts for recommendations, which can then be displayed on your profile. These recommendations act as social proof, demonstrating that you really do have the abilities and skills you claim to have.
Show off your love for learning
Another way to optimize your LinkedIn profile is to show off any LinkedIn courses you’ve taken. After you complete a course, you’re given the option of adding the certification/completion to your profile. While this may seem like a small thing, it demonstrates your willingness to learn and improve yourself, which is a highly desirable trait in any professional.
Brag about where you’ve been featured
If you’ve been featured in any publications, you have the opportunity to show it off in the “Featured” section of your LinkedIn profile. This is a great place to highlight any articles you’ve written, whitepapers you’ve contributed to, or podcasts you’ve been featured on. This adds credibility to your profile and showcases your expertise in a particular subject area.
How to optimize your LinkedIn strategy for greater visibility in the feed
Just because you’ve optimized your LinkedIn profile doesn’t mean that you’ll show up in people’s feeds. To increase your visibility and reach on the platform, you need to have a strong LinkedIn strategy. Here are some tips to help you get started:
Engage with others’ content
LinkedIn is all about engagement. If you want to show up in people’s feeds, you need to comment, like, and share other people’s content. This increases your visibility while also helping you build relationships with other professionals at the same time.
Post regularly and consistently
Consistency is key when it comes to building a strong presence on LinkedIn. Post regularly, whether it’s once a day or a few times a week. Doing this keeps you top of mind for your connections and help you stay relevant in their feeds.
Add value to your audience
If you really want to succeed with LinkedIn, you have to consistently provide value to your audience. Share insights you’ve gained over your career, discuss current issues, and offer advice. By consistently sharing valuable content, you establish yourself as an expert. You prove that you know what you’re doing and that you can be trusted.
Join and actively participate in relevant groups
LinkedIn groups are a great way to connect with professionals who share similar interests or work in the same industry as you. Joining and actively participating in these groups allows you to expand your network, learn from others, and share your own knowledge and expertise.
Utilize hashtags
Just like on other social media platforms, using relevant hashtags on LinkedIn can help increase visibility for your posts. Do some research to find out which hashtags are popular in your industry or niche, and start incorporating them into your content.
Conclusion
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile is the starting point for succeeding on LinkedIn. Once you’ve done that, you need to start regularly sharing valuable, insightful content that will capture the attention of your connections and potential employers. By actively engaging with others on the platform, you can expand your network and build strong relationships with other professionals. And if you stay consistent, you will start to see growth.
