8 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile

Some people believe that LinkedIn is just a social networking site with a briefcase. However, in the past few years, LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to destination for all business professionals, job seekers, industry gurus, and market watchers to see and be seen. According to analytics, LinkedIn has long been especially popular with college graduates and high income earners, and this trend continues to hold true. 50% of online adults with college degrees are on LinkedIn. If you are a prospective candidate, looking to enhancing your business or educational skills, you cannot but help be a part of the LinkedIn family. Now that we clarified that bit, let us evaluate how to best position your profile to get maximum attention.

1.Love at First Sight? Yes, Magic Still Holds True.

Your LinkedIn profile should be appealing, honest, and click-worthy. Everything counts. A clear picture with a good background. Make sure to add a good headshot. Don’t put a picture of yourself in a party mood, if you don’t want your potential business colleagues or clients to form baseless first impressions.  Prepare an updated resume. An interesting looking skills section that employers may actually want to see. Videos and slides in your profile to make it look sassy.

Employers looking for potential candidates don’t want to waste time reading long, boring, resumes to figure out whether you are the right match. Just think how auto pilot SEO optimization has become for websites, that is kind of what you want to do with your profile, have relevant content in the right places, to be easily seen by the right people. It has to be love at first sight for them to be interested in your profile. If you have not used a catchy headline or a title to immediately summarize who you are as a professional, you will miss the bus.

Avoid inconsistencies. Don’t hype your profile. Resume padding is frowned upon by most professionals. In any case, your case will fall through like a ton of bricks when you will go through the interview process. Hence, it’s best you don’t portray what you aren’t.

Brass-tacks. Make sure that everything you put out there is: a) extremely important b) absolutely relevant and c) completely honest.

2. Do to Others as You Would Have Them Do to You.

Would you like someone sharing or liking your comments or posts? Would you feel pleased if others responded to your messages? Well, if it makes you happy, quite likely it makes others happy too. Don’t shy away from social niceties. This includes, sending out ‘likes’, ‘share’ or ‘follow’s. If you have a relevant comment to make, don’t hesitate. Some of the best friendships have sprouted from a mere comment on social media sites.

Having said that, you don’t have to go all guns blazing, and ‘like’, ‘share’ or ‘comment’ everything you see. Be selective in whom you want to engage with.

3. Be a Picky Reader and Share Only What Looks Good on You.

As an Editor, I always make it a point to write, comment or share topics related to writing. I believe it strengthens my case. If you were to visit page of many a freelance-promoting websites, you’ll know that if you seek to build yourself as a social marketing guru, it does not help your profile to share articles that are not in sync with your profile. While the occasional article you share on football are okay, you don’t want to seem like the guy who can’t think beyond NFL. Potential employers also want to know what you like to read or engage in during your spare time. I always tell my readers, “it’s not what you say that speaks about you, but rather what you choose to not to say that reveals the whole story.

4. Leave a Digital Footprint That Would Make You Proud.

Your LinkedIn profile is your showcase. A window to your personality. You don’t want to put your personal pictures, preferences, or your goofy side on a professional platform. Leave the unsavory images and videos for your private consumption. As far as your digital footprint goes, keep it clean.

• Design your LinkedIn profile in a way that it leaves recruiters curious to know more about you.
• Bait them with interesting information bytes.
• Use action words to show what you accomplished in each job.
• Add more meat to your profile by linking it to relevant visual media that grab eyeballs.
• Make sure to link to relevant Facebook, Twitter, and other social media posts, or articles published on your blog or outside publications that add weight to your profile.

5. You are Known by the Company You Keep.

Do you know the CEO of Pepsi Co.? Or someone important at Google? Well, if you do, now’s the time to show off. Your LinkedIn profile gets more clout by the heavyweights you have gathered around you. That’s a no-brainer. So go ahead, and connect with the best of the best in your industry. In today’s age of hyper connectivity, your connections matter the most. So keep working on the company you keep.

6. Network, Network, Network!

Don’t have a cool gang to call your own? That should not stop you from networking. Every person you aspire to connect with are just a few degrees removed from your connection. LinkedIn has this great feature that tells you how you can connect with someone through a known friend or a friend of friend. Use your ammunition to connect with the industry’s top guns. It seems obvious, but it is easy to forget. You need to keep growing your connections as you meet people. Having a lot of connections helps to keep you visible to others because of LinkedIn’s system of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree connections.

That being said, while you can connect with people you don’t know, it’s preferable to connect with individuals whom you know personally, have worked with, or met in a professional capacity. If you want to latch on to another person to build your contact list, do so by gently developing a rapport or engaging with small talk and take the relationship forward.

7. It’s OK to Stick Out Your Neck for a Cause You Strongly Value.

Keen to talk about your project on waste management? Feel strongly about environment pollution. If there is a topic that sets a fire in your belly, don’t hesitate from talking about it. Potential recruiters want to see the spark in you.

8. Look Who’s Stalking!

LinkedIn has this unique feature where you can find out who has been checking out your profile. Here is your chance to break the ice and engage with top shots at the industry. Take the opportunity to network with relevant people in your industry. Work on your LinkedIn profile to attract attention. Right from the choice of picture, to the content you post, or the people you are connected with is the sign for others to engage with you.

Your LinkedIn profile is your gateway to corporate growth and professional success. Keep the relationship growing.

9. Ask for recommendations.

This is a big one. Think of people that you’ve developed a good working relationship with in the past. When you edit your profile, there is a link to click that says “Ask for Recommendations.” Click on it. You then choose what you’d like to be recommended for and can choose a list of people from your connections. Send it out and hope you get some great feedback.

Recommendations are a key to making your page stand out. Employers want to know that others have approved of your work.

Help your karma out and recommend some of your connections back.

10. Keep your page active.

LinkedIn is more than an online resume. It’s a networking social media site. That means to get the most out of it, you need to remain active. Check out what other people are posting. Engage them with thoughtful comments. Like and share posts that strike you as helpful.

Join groups that are on LinkedIn. Whatever your professional interests are from marketing to accounting, there are going to be groups talking about it. Join one or two and interact within that group. It’s a great way to meet some new people and share ideas.

11. Check your profile strength.

If you look at your current LinkedIn profile, there is a gauge on the right hand side that gives you a “Profile Strength” measurement. Essentially, this is telling you how completely you’ve filled out your profile. Keep adding more and using the site’s tips until that gauge rates you “All-Star.” It’s simple, but it can help you realize if you’ve overlooked something.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool and one that’s really easy to use. Make the most of it by optimizing your profile to grab attention, sell your skills and validate your accomplishments. You want your page to be visually appealing to visitors while making it easy for them to get a feel for who you are and what you really can do for them professionally. These 10 tips make a great start for building your winning LinkedIn profile.
DO you want some expert tips to create a stellar Linkedin Profile?Read the blog – Top 10 Tips to Create a Stellar, Searchable LinkedIn Profile