Linkedin profile is important for everyone who does have a Linkedin account, you use your Linkedin profile to connect with people in your network, and recruiters can find you when they are sourcing candidates if your profile includes details on your job qualifications, employment history, education, skills, and experience. To get the most out of LinkedIn, it’s important to make your LinkedIn profile as comprehensive and compelling as possible.
In addition, your LinkedIn profile can increase your visibility online and help you build a professional brand that showcases your background to prospective employers. So how to build a professional Linkedin profile? Here are tips on how to make your LinkedIn profile stand out from others:
1. Write a Comprehensive and Engaging Profile
It’s important to be sure that your LinkedIn profile is complete and detailed – and interesting and readable. In fact, you can consider your LinkedIn profile as your online resume. It should have all the same information that is on your resume including your qualifications, your experience, and your skills.
You should add a photo to your LinkedIn profile. And make sure the picture represents the professional you and isn’t too casual. LinkedIn isn’t the place to show off your dog or significant other.
2. Highlight Your Experience in the Summary
The Summary section of your LinkedIn profile is a great way to highlight your experience.
Don’t forget the headline, because that’s right at the top of the page when someone views your profile. Also include certifications, languages, and other skills you may have. The more robust your profile, the more you will get noticed. Select an industry, because recruiters often use that field to search.
If you’re unemployed, there are several strategies you can use to present your current employment circumstances. Carefully consider options before you decide what to include and when you should update your profile.
3. Use Your Resume to Write the Experience Section
In a nutshell, the Experience section of your LinkedIn profile is your online resume. Include employment (current and past), education, and industry.
To quickly create a LinkedIn profile, review your resume and copy/paste the relevant information into your profile. It’s essential that your resume matches your profile because prospective employers will check.
4. What to Do About Recommendations
Take time to request LinkedIn recommendations. Recommendations from people you have worked with carry a lot of weight. To a potential employer, a LinkedIn recommendation is a reference in advance.
The best way to get recommendations is to give them. When you recommend a LinkedIn member, you are attesting to their qualifications, and people love being recommended. They will most likely reciprocate if you take the time to recommend them.
On a “what not to do on LinkedIn” note, don’t ask people you don’t know for references. That’s not how to ask for a recommendation, even if you do know the person.
5. Showcase Your Skills
The Skills & Endorsements section is an important component of your profile. It’s a way recruiters can find you and how your connections can see, at a glance, the attributes you have. In fact, your profile is 13 times more likely to get viewed if it includes skills.
Just like you did with the Experience section, you can use your resume to get started with a list of skills to include. Focus on the skills that highlight your strongest assets and are most relevant to your career goals.
6. Include Relevant Additional Information
Use the Additional Information section of your LinkedIn profile to include links to your company, your website, your blog, your Twitter account, and to other sites that provide professional information about you.
7. What Not to Include in Your LinkedIn Profile
When you’re creating a LinkedIn profile, it’s important to stand out from the job searching crowd. You don’t want your profile to read exactly like everyone else’s profile. Here are the top 10 terms that are overused on LinkedIn:
- Motivated
- Creative
- Passionate
- Driven
- Extensive experience
- Organizational
- Strategic
- Track record
- Responsible
- Problem-solving