I first heard about LinkedIn while sitting in class in third year of University, it was supposed to be the Facebook for adults. I did what any student would do, I went home and created a LinkedIn profile! It looked like a replica of my resume and it sat there for awhile. Fast forward to today, I have over 20,000 connections, have been offered my last three positions through LinkedIn and would like to show you how you can too.
I hope these guidelines can help you create “that” profile:
This should be just that; your name. Less is more and if you really want to include a designation that is fine.
Recommended to be a professional picture; I cannot stress this enough! You are in luck if you have a friend that dabbles in photography or you can even find someone to do this for you online at a reasonable price. Try to refrain from using a selfie, no matter how good the lighting is or using a “cropped” group photo.
In other words, this is your personal branding tag so use it wisely. It should be catchy and contain keywords, so you will come up in searches. Consider answering these questions:
· What do you do? Job, industry, education, etc.
· How do you do it? Think of some strategic keywords here.
· How do you do it better? Think of how you have met goals or accomplishments and have been recognized professionally.
· What is your proof? Experience, credentials, stats, etc.
Side note: Leave out your employment/un-employment status here. You have done the hard work and want to get a fair assessment from anyone visiting your profile.
This can be found under your profile picture, click on the small pencil to create a new URL. I would recommend to keep it simple, use your full name.
This is the hard truth: your summary is a huge part of your LinkedIn profile and personal brand and is not a copy of your cover letter.
You need to first understand who your audience is. If you are a recent graduate, then your audience would be potential employers. After you have this down pact, you may want to answer a few questions within your summary:
· What are some of your most important accomplishments?
· What are you most passionate about?
· What are your “superpowers”?
· What separates you from others?
· What are you looking for?
Once you have answered these questions, you will be able to confidently craft your story or in LinkedIn terms: your summary. Consider this your elevator pitch i.e. if you were in an elevator ride with someone, how can you share your story in 10 seconds or less.
It is highly recommended to write this in the first person although there is no hard rule. As LinkedIn is for connecting with others, you want people to come to your page and read your story as if you are speaking it. They will hear how confident, passionate, driven and everything else under the sun, if you want them to!
Include relevant positions, including your title, employer and the month and year upon joining and leaving the position.
If you are a student just entering the workforce, it may be a good idea to include co-op, rotations, or any other hands-on experience here.
You may have an entrepreneurial side to you, like I do, include that side hustle on here as well. I included a side cupcake business I started in University and it was mentioned as one of the reasons why I was most recently hired!
Go beyond your resume by sharing media, such as your accomplishments with relevant videos, images presentations, etc. Whoever is looking at your profile will stay a little longer as these media tags will make you look more attractive.
Include education whether that be College, University or any other additional courses you may have taken.
Side note: No need to include high school unless this is your only form of most recent education; otherwise all it does is date you.
Got an honor or award for the hard work you completed? It is a great idea to include it here and toot your own horn!
List off the skills you feel are directly related to your skill set. Be aware, these skills will be the same ones populated in a LinkedIn Recruiter search, so pick the wisely. Try to use common terms.
Ask for recommendations while you are still employed. I learned the hard way that upon leaving an organization, many former colleagues are not up for providing you a recommendation if you left to work for a competitor or client.
It is also beneficial to ask customers, clients, colleagues, teachers, etc. for a recommendation as well!
Follow groups that you are interested in. Whether that be the industry you are looking to work in or something you may be passionate about. I highly recommended to stay active within these groups; like, comment and post within them!
You are able to follow influencers, news, companies, and schools. This will allow you to see their posts, open jobs, and neat things happening on campus.
LinkedIn allows you to organize which way you would like all these parts of your profile to be presented. As a recent graduate, you may want to place education right after your summary whereas someone with over 3 years of working experience may place experience right after their summary. There is no hard and fast rule.
If you want feedback on your profile, reach out to a Recruiter and ask for advice. More times than not, you will get a response!
Ultimately, remember there’s no one way to create the right LinkedIn profile. If you have some of the basics down pact and stay active within LinkedIn, like I have, you may be pleasantly surprised.
If you have any additional tips you would like to share, please comment below!
