Now is the time to optimize your LinkedIn profile seriously. Check out some LinkedIn profile optimization tips.
This manual will demonstrate you:
Learn how to improve the way that employers view your LinkedIn page by reading on.
First, let’s discover this mystery!
Your personal page on LinkedIn, optimized with all the sections filled in with details about your background and areas of expertise, is your LinkedIn profile.
It’s an extremely well-polished LinkedIn profile, designed to attract attention from other users and achieve a higher search engine ranking.
Well, but is it really worth the time to work on making your profile better? Let’s look into them.
Over 200 million Americans use LinkedIn, according to the company itself. Isn’t that a remarkable figure?
Thus, picture a headhunter exploring these pages in hopes of identifying a qualified applicant for a job. They have to approach it strategically because there is no way in the world that they can view every single profile.
And they do; they filter the search results when looking for candidates. In this manner, they view profiles that meet the required parameters. A headhunter won’t be able to view your LinkedIn page if it lacks the information they need to see.
For you, what does that mean? You may receive fewer job offers per day than other people. You probably pass up opportunities that other LinkedIn users with comparable qualifications get. And I’m not saying that to make you feel FOMO; after all, your career is on the line.
You now understand the significance of LinkedIn optimization. And I’ll walk you through the process in the upcoming chapter.
This is a helpful list of ideas for LinkedIn optimization. Some are simple and quick to complete; they only take a few minutes.
Others demand a great deal more work from you. The good news is that it’s not something you have to do in one sitting. LinkedIn page optimization is a continuous process. What matters is that you get started right away.
No, you can succeed in your chosen career without having perfect features. However, people are unable to refrain from judging others by their appearance. Additionally, the evaluation goes beyond personal taste in art.
Indeed, a recruiter is likely to try to infer your personality from your profile photo if they think it conveys enough information about you.
Firstly, the specifics of a business profile photo on LinkedIn:
Therefore, unless you’re naturally defying the rules, choose a photo that accurately represents what people would expect from someone in your line of work. Strive for a natural expression to convey seriousness or a self-assured smile to convey openness.
If none of your pictures work, think about investing in a professional headshot. It’s a bit expensive, but it might be worthwhile if it opens up more work options.
You can promote your business persona for free by using the background image on your LinkedIn page.
Of course, it’s okay if you’d just like to upload a picture of your preferred mountain vista. To entice recruiters to stay on your page longer, I suggest optimizing the LinkedIn background image and posting it to other social media sites.
Here’s how to create a background for your page that grabs attention:
Select a picture that best captures your work: It could be a real picture of you at work, but it could also feature your place of business, your services, your home city, or something related to your line of work. You can use an attribution-free image from websites like Pexels or Pixabay if you’re not good at taking pictures.
Create a banner that highlights your personal brand by using it to create a banner with text instead of uploading a picture. You can share your proudest professional accomplishment, include a motivational saying, enumerate the services you offer, or provide your contact details. Consider it to be a larger business card. Try making your image with online apps like Canva.
Observe technical specifications: a JPG or PNG file should contain your optimized LinkedIn profile image. Its ideal dimensions are 1584 x 396 pixels, and its maximum file size is 8 MB.
Always verify that your newly uploaded image appears correctly on computer and smartphone screens after uploading it. Try a different image if it’s hazy or has noticeable pixels.
Your LinkedIn page’s headline can be up to 220 characters. Use them wisely—don’t waste this space stating, “Hi, my name is Lisa, and I work in PR.”
This short introduction, like a captivating resume headline, should incorporate important keywords that highlight your talents, qualifications, and most proud successes.
Here’s what to write in your LinkedIn headline:
If you have not yet edited your profile URL, you should do so. Does it contain random numbers or letters? Then, optimize your LinkedIn URL such that it displays your full name or brand name.
This is how you do it:
If you’ve ever written a resume summary, you’ll understand how to approach this one. And if you haven’t, this is an opportunity to learn.
A LinkedIn profile can reflect your vision, ambitions, and hobbies in addition to providing an overview of your qualifications.
A smart (and optimized) LinkedIn summary should include three to five sentences that summarize your professional background, what you specialize in, what firms or organizations you’ve worked for, and what distinguishes you. It has to fit 2,600 characters, or around 370 words.
As you can see, there is no need to create a full biography. Instead, aim for an elevator pitch. However, if you think a lengthier introduction is preferable for you, go for it!
Remember that most page users will just read the first two to three phrases of your profile summary. If you want them to continue reading, you must be captivating.
One of the main sections of your LinkedIn page is dedicated to professional experience, much like the work experience section of a resume.
You can add your current and previous positions, as well as information about your employment responsibilities.
Nevertheless, including information about all of your former employment and activities may necessitate a great lot of effort, so approach this carefully.
Enhance Your Profile’s Experience Section
Here’s how to boost your LinkedIn profile’s Experience section:
It’s also a good idea to look over the profiles of people in your network to see what they’ve accomplished. Look for influencers in your sector and study their profiles. They may have some unique and inspiring ideas that you may use.
Keywords on your LinkedIn page help headhunters find you in the same way that resume keywords do. As I previously stated, most recruiters utilize LinkedIn to identify interesting profiles and then use filters to limit down the candidate pool to a manageable number.
How to enhance your LinkedIn profile with keywords:
Adding keywords to your LinkedIn page is a continuous process. It’s a good idea to take a critical look at your profile on a regular basis and identify a few things you may easily improve.
The Skills section is another essential part of your profile. You can add up to 50 competencies, which seems like a lot. But what are the ideal abilities to highlight on your LinkedIn page? You may read dozens of online articles telling you which are most in demand, but the truth is:
You should include talents that can be demonstrated through your experience or education.
Your abilities must be relevant to the job opportunities you seek.
Here’s how to maximize your LinkedIn profile’s Skills section:
If you look through your LinkedIn feed regularly, you’ve probably come across a few cliches. For example, someone who describes herself as a revolutionary inventor or a visionary girlboss.
When optimizing your LinkedIn profile, it’s best to avoid such worthless sentences and use keywords, which add significantly more value to your page.
If you really want to use hyperbolic words and phrases, be sure you have the necessary achievements and professional experience to make it work. You can add one or two extra words to make your profile more unique.
Did you know you may create up to 30,000 first-degree connections on LinkedIn? Thirty. Thousand. Connections. I’m not going to lie; my network is significantly smaller.
So, what is the goal of expanding your network, exactly? It makes your profile more visible in LinkedIn search results. This is because the results only include persons in your first, second, and third-degree connections.
A larger network allows more potential headhunters and companies to find you when they are looking for recruits. And, whether you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, more connections equals more potential leads.
What amount of connections should you strive for? That is not easy to say. Some business influencers recommend 500, while others suggest 1,000 to 3,000 connections. If you start from zero, that’s a lot.
But the thing about LinkedIn is that many people are willing to accept connections even if they do not know you personally.
You can connect with not only coworkers and school friends, but also previous clients, industry recruiters, influencers, and so on. Aim for 10 connections per day, and you’ll have 300 extra in a month. It is the easiest networking activity on the planet.
Each LinkedIn user is able to create posts. However, few individuals do, despite the fact that it is a fantastic way to showcase your skills.
Begin posting posts about your professional life after you’ve completed the LinkedIn optimization methods outlined above.
Did you receive a promotion? Share the news. Have you completed any work that you are particularly proud of? Write and submit photos. Did you have a nice business meeting with a client? Mention them. Have you completed a new online course? Brag about it.
You can also recommend inspiring books, discuss interesting articles you discovered online, and even upload a photo of your favorite coffee shop. And if you want to leave your current work and start over, this is the best place to declare you’re looking for business opportunities.
Your LinkedIn posts reach beyond your network, appearing in the feeds of second and third-degree connections. So there’s a good chance someone looking for job candidates will come across your post.
Are you a business owner or a freelancer? Then LinkedIn has a feature designed specifically for you: the Services section.
Choose a few areas of expertise and write up to 500 characters on what distinguishes your company from competitors. You can also include pricing information and specify how clients can submit requests.
What is the best way to write a CV without any work experience? Show that you have experience from non-work activities. The same goes for your LinkedIn page. If you’re a recent graduate, adding more LinkedIn sections can be really useful.
How to optimize a LinkedIn page with no work experience:
After that, make sure to update your profile on a regular basis to demonstrate that you are constantly working to develop your knowledge and obtain professional experience.
LinkedIn provides various methods of demonstrating your vital skills. Many users prefer Skills Assessment tests, which are ideal for proving hard skills like Microsoft Excel expertise or programming languages.
To receive a skill badge, you must achieve a score in the top 30%.
A new tool lets you demonstrate your interpersonal skills. You can make a video or write a response explaining what transferable skills you’d use in a particular industry.
If you decide to use LinkedIn to apply for jobs, you can incorporate these responses in your application.
You’ve optimized your LinkedIn profile by adding 41 skills. However, it appears to be really mediocre. Fortunately, there is a way to improve it: seek endorsements from other users.
People in your LinkedIn network can approve your talents, confirming that you are a true expert in this field. You may do the same for others. It only takes a few clicks.
Reference letters are still used, but not everyone is a fan. It is an outdated practice based on an unjust power dynamic between an employee and an employer.
On LinkedIn, however, recommendations are far less formal and more democratic. You can make recommendations to bosses, coworkers, and subordinates. You can also ask for recommendations from others.
Having a few recommendations on your page increases your credibility in the eyes of recruiters. They will be able to read what others have said about you and your work style.
Even if you roll your eyes when you hear the term “influencer,” you must realize that they exist and contribute value to the field in which they specialize.
Each industry has its own pool of influential specialists, including thinkers, inventors, experienced professionals, published authors, podcasters, and so on.
Search for someone whose LinkedIn content you enjoy reading. Following influencers will keep you up to date on industry trends, job opportunities, and content to share with your networks.
LinkedIn is a social network, thus in order for it to be useful, you must interact with other users. Respond to their posts, comment on their achievements, and congratulate them on their new jobs. It will increase your visibility.
Sharing your opinions by commenting on other people’s posts might also help you expand your network. And a larger network means more business opportunities.
If you enjoy writing about your business or area of expertise, LinkedIn is the place to do it. Use posts to provide your own content and establish your authority as an expert.
Of course, just like any other type of online content, your longer posts must be engaging for readers. So, avoid using excessive industrial jargon, which may make the text harder to understand.
Rather than posting your 30-page research, write a post listing five reasons why it is significant and presenting the key results.
It has never been easier to acquire knowledge. The majority of individuals can access and afford online courses. LinkedIn also has its own platform, which is jam-packed with development content.
Whenever you finish a new course, attend a workshop, or receive a certificate, write about it. It will show recruiters that you are aiming for excellence.
Do you regularly publish your work elsewhere? Maybe your research got into a prestigious journal? Add a Publications section to your LinkedIn page.
Here, provide the details about your work, share a link to the website that published it, and add a description to say what it’s all about.
Let’s say you’ve been using LinkedIn actively for a few months, and you find yourself publishing more and more posts. Consider switching to Creator mode.
It won’t automatically turn you into an influencer, but it will give you access to creator tools and analytics, as well as display your own content higher on your profile page.
OK, admit it — that’s a lot of ideas you can use to optimize your LinkedIn page.
What should you do now? I recommend going through the list and picking three ideas you can implement straight away, such as editing your profile headline, writing a new summary, and adding keywords. That will be a good starting point.
Then, try to spend at least an hour each week on LinkedIn optimization efforts, plus a few minutes each day to interact with the people in your network. It will greatly improve your visibility for headhunters.
What should you do now? Going through the list and picking three ideas you can implement straight away, such as editing your profile headline, writing a new summary, and adding keywords. That will be a good starting point.
Then, try to spend at least an hour each week on LinkedIn optimization efforts, plus a few minutes each day to interact with the people in your network. It will greatly improve your visibility for headhunters.
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