How to make your LinkedIn profile stand out and how to connect with others.
I accidentally deleted this anonymous question. Here is my response, hopefully you see it anon. āØ
You want a professional photo that best show cases your personality. Itās how people are introduced to you and it governs their impressions from the start. The photo should be well lit with little to no distractions in the background.
It goes without saying but your outfit should be beautiful but work appropriate. Wear colours that best compliment your skin tone and make you look radiant. Avoid wearing distracting patterns, solid colors work best.
Keep your makeup simple and elegant.
Lastly ensure in your settings that your profile photo is visible to all LinkedIn members, you want recruiters to be able see your profile photo.
Headline: A great headline should
Show recruiters who you are
Show what you can do for them
Use role specific keywords so that you appear in search suggestions
Examples of good headlines:
LinkedIn summary and about section:
Your LinkedIn profile is your resume and it should be formatted as such, make your LinkedIn summary keyword-rich.
Keep in mind recruiters search for a combination of job titles, skills, and other keywords to find the right candidates.
Learn and understand your audience to identify what they are looking for.
Review job descriptions that interest you and take note of recurring hard skills and keywords that you think recruiters would want to look for. If applicable to you and your career goals, add these words to your LinkedIn summary and profile.
Your LinkedIn summary is the perfect place to add context to your career trajectory, show off your accomplishments (add specific data and awards), and dig into what makes you great at your job.
An example of a students LinkedIn summary:
An example of a job seekers LinkedIn summary:
An example of a career change LinkedIn summary:
Focus on showing your impact in the role rather than just highlighting your responsibilities, use your bullet points to share the problems you were presented with, the actions you took, and the positive results it brought the business. Exemplify this by making use of metrics as well.
Examples of impact statements:
Coordinated with the marketing team to form a 10-person group for a new product launch that resulted in $50,000 in company revenue and greater synergy between both departments.
Surpassed annual sales goals by over 35% for four consecutive years using active listening and communication skills to better understand customer needs.
Analyzed market trends to launch five new products within a year that resulted in a 30% profit increase for the company, up from 10% from the year prior.
Education, License & Certifications:
Include information on all your formal educational training, itās especially beneficial when aside from formal educational training you have additional certifications on hard skills.
I already mentioned that recruiters input specific skills or keywords into complex queries to find candidates in LinkedIn search.
So the skills you list throughout your profile should match the frequency and exact wording found in the descriptions of jobs youāre interested in or have applied for.
Additional Note on optimizing your LinkedIn profile. Change your settings to let recruiters know youāre open for work.
Who to connect with on LinkedIn:
Professionals in your industry.
Professionals in your desired role.
Professionals youāve engaged with at industry and networking events.
Recruiters and hiring managers in your industry, especially if their profiles mention that they are hiring.
Message templates to use to connect with others on LinkedIn:
Template for career guidance and potential mentorship:
Iām a (state occupation or simply mention that youāre a student and the college you attend) interested in working in (desired role) For the last year, Iāve been following your work for (company), and itās really inspired me.
I particularly loved your (compliment a recent article or achievement of theirs and mention what stood out to you). If you ever have 20 or so minutes, Iād love to hear more about how you started working in the field and what skills you believe are most relevant to the profession.
Template for someone you met at a networking event:
It was great speaking to you at the (name of event ) ( Highlight something significant they mentioned in your conversation and how insightful you thought it was.) Iād definitely like to stay in touch.
Iāve given you the ultimate LinkedIn guide, now go get your bag!
