LinkedIn was launched in 2003 and has been consistently growing ever since.
It has become massive with already around 600 million users and counting.
It's constantly changing, so now more than ever it’s already not enough just having
a LinkedIn profile.
Now it’s more about knowing how to make your LinkedIn profile stand out, how to make
the most of it and how to make it useful for your career.
I am Marat from EMMOTION, Human Resources Consulting Agency (myemmotion.com).
I’ve worked in Recruitment for over 10 years and I’ve used LinkedIn since nearly from
the start.
Both as a candidate and a hiring manager.
As a candidate I was approached through LinkedIn by a fellow recruiter to work for one of the
world’s largest fashion retail groups; and as a hiring manager, I networked with and
hired hundreds of experienced professionals from around the globe.
So these are my 7 tips to make your LinkedIn profile more attractive, to instantly get
noticed by recruiters and hiring managers, without wasting any of your time on it!
If you haven't already subscribed to my channel then definitely hit the subscribe button and
the little bell to get the fresh new professional and personal growth content every week.
And if you stick with me until the end of this video I have a special bonus LinkedIn
tip, on how to message to a LinkedIn member for free, without being their first connection.
Which I am sure you will appreciate.
1st tip is completing your profile!
It might seem obvious but about 50% of profiles on LinkedIn are not complete.
Let’s continue on the laptop, here is an example of an incomplete profile.
The complete profile is called All-star on LinkedIn, it will make you appear on the top
of all the relevant profile searches.
To find out your profile level, go to ME icon and check your profile, in your Dashboard,
which is private to you, you can see the level of Your Profile Strength Meter.
Complete your profile until you reach All-Star level.
To add your work experience click on the plus sign.
Add the title and then enter the company name, work tasks and duties.
The same goes to adding the education section.
Add the title and then enter the university name.
It's essential that your resume matches your LinkedIn profile because your potential future
employers will check.
Tip #2 is uploading a Good picture!
LinkedIn has reported that profiles with a picture get 15 times more profile views and
8 times more connection requests than the profiles without them.
I can’t stress enough the importance of a good quality photo on LinkedIn.
What does that mean?
Your LinkedIn profile picture is one of the first things that recruiters and hiring managers
look at as soon as they look you up on LinkedIn.
You want to have a photo which is recent and which is a high quality (or high resolution
if you prefer).
You also want the photo to look professional, ideally smiling and looking into the camera...
I have analysed so many LinkedIn profiles, so I really do not recommend using family
wedding pictures, selfies, pictures with animals, monuments, at the parties or even pictures
at the beach in swimming suit (yes, I’ve come across to those too).
Just as I said, well lit, smiling and looking into the camera pictures are the best choice.
It might get you all types of attention except for the one which LinkedIn platform is known
for.
So let’s just leave this kind of photos for Facebook or Instagram.
#3 A proper Headline To get started in the right direction on LinkedIn,
you have to customize your headline.
Think of your headline as of a Business Card title, it has to be clear.
Having your job title and the industry is a must...
By default LinkedIn will place your most recent job title as your headline.
You will have to go to your headline, press edit button and customize it using words that
define your profile and which would make it easier for others to find you.
Include your specialty and a avoid generic headlines...
You have 120 characters available to make your headline stand out.
#4 Making a consistent Summary.
Your summary should address who you are, who you help, collaborate or provide services
for.
There are 2,000 characters available for you to create your summary.
Your summary can sum up your professional history, qualifications, and personality.
It can also give viewers a clear idea of what they should do: accepting your connection
request, recruiting you for a job opening, or reaching out to you for networking purposes.
Your contact details, an email or a phone number, even both if you feel comfortable
with it, should be on your profile.
However people outside your network can not see your contact details so putting your email
in your summary could be a good idea.
It will make the contact with you faster during the time when you job search.
#5 Customize your LinkedIn URL and the background photo.
Customizing your URL on LinkedIn will help you to brand yourself, it allows you to reference
your LinkedIn page easily in your resume, business cards and other documents.
To do this click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
Click the "edit public profile and URL" section, you will find the URL section on the top right
corner.
Keep it simple, it could be your name and your last name, or your business name.
The background photo can be changed easily also with clicking on the ME icon, at the
top of your LinkedIn page.
Click the Edit icon in your intro card.
In the pop-up click the Edit on the top right corner of your background photo.
It even gives you a recommended size for your photo.
Consider having your company's logo and a short value pitch along with a photo that
could represent your brand.
Tip #6 Ask for recommendations!
Many people seem to hesitate to ask for recommendations from their current or previous managers or
colleagues, but these recommendations are a must.
Your profile is you talking about who you are and what you have done.
The recommendations give you the opportunity to have others reinforce your claims.
This is how you ask for a recommendation: Navigate to the profile of the 1st-degree
connection you'd like to request a recommendation from.
Click the More icon in the top section of the profile.
Select Request a recommendation.
Fill out the Relationship and Position at the time fields of the recommendations pop-up
window, and click Next.
You can include a personalized message with your request by changing the text in the message
field.
Click Send.
You don’t need to ask for 10 recommendations at once, go step by step.
Choose carefully who you ask a recommendation from, those should be people who you have
collaborated or worked with, and who know you as a professional.
TIP #7: Add and manage your LinkedIn Skills and Endorsements
Adding specific skills on your LinkedIn profile is a great way to showcase your abilities
to other members, colleagues, managers, and even recruiters.
They are a simple and effective way of building your professional brand and engaging with
your network.
According to LinkedIn, members who list skills on their profiles receive 12 times more profile
views on average than those who don’t.
If you don't have any skills listed on your profile, the Skills & Endorsements section
won't appear.
To add this section and a skill: Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn
homepage.
Click View profile.
Click Add new profile section on the right rail.
Select Skills from the dropdown.
Type the name of a skill in the Skill text box and select it from the list that appears.
Once selected, it will automatically be added to your list of skills.
When Skills & Endorsements section has been added to your profile, you can include more
skills at any time.
To add more skills: Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn
homepage.
View profile.
Scroll to Skills & Endorsements and click Add a new skill.
In the pop-up window, type the name of a skill in the text box and select it.
If your skill doesn't appear, type the full skill name in the field provided, then click
it to add.
These skills can be what you know how to do: Technical Recruitment, Social Media Management,
Data Research etc.
Think about endorsements as new and improved keywords.
LinkedIn automatically to rank your skills by the number of endorsements you have.
You will find out which specific skills you are best known for, they will rise to the
top of the list.
You also get a chance of having skills added in different languages you might use professionally.
Remember, endorsements are not anonymous and you are putting your name behind someone’s
ability to do something, helping to shape their professional profile.
And Just as I promised, here comes The Bonus Tip: Join LinkedIn groups!
Aside from being a place for professionals with similar interests to share content, find
answers, post jobs.
You can also contact a member of the group for free without them being your first connection.
To browse groups recommended to you by LinkedIn: In the Search bar at the top of your homepage,
type keywords or group names of interest, click Search.
On the search results, choose the Group you’d like.
You can then request membership by clicking the Ask to join button under the group description.
Join the LinkedIn groups which correspond to your interests.
They also help when you are interested in contacting someone who isn’t your first
connection.
Check the groups this connection belongs to, join the same group and once you are accepted
you can send them your message.
Note that there is a limit of 15 free messages per month, but, it should more than enough
when used as an extra tool.
Thanks for staying with me till the end of this tutorial.
Feel free to leave me your feedback, comments or questions.
Make sure you start working on your LinkedIn profile starting from now, and hit the subscribe
for more personal and professional growth tips.