If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile in today’s business world, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. 94% of recruiters now use LinkedIn to vet job candidates, so it's important to put the time into building an effective profile that attracts employers – otherwise it could have the opposite effect you were hoping for.
Here are our best tips for writing your first ever LinkedIn profile, and making it count.
CHOOSE A GOOD PROFILE PHOTO
It should be friendly and professional, and just of you. Avoid cropping your face out of a group photo on a night out. On the other hand, don’t use your passport photo either as this can look too serious. If you don’t have an appropriate photo it’s worth taking the time to take one, as it’s the very first impression visitors to your profile will have of you.
CUSTOMISE YOUR URL
When creating your profile you have the option to choose your own URL instead of the random combination of numbers allocated automatically. Ideally you want the URL of your profile to read: (linkedin.com/yourname). This makes it easier to share and remember. To change your URL simply click “Edit” next to the URL, write what you would like and then save it.
WRITE AN EFFECTIVE HEADLINE
The easy way to create your headline is to simply write your name and your job title. This is fine – but you can also use this section to make your profile stand out. Think about what your specialism is, what makes you valuable to an employer or why a potential employer should delve deeper into your profile. The key to any headline is making the reader move onto the next bit, so why should your LinkedIn be any different?
USE KEYWORDS
These are essential for ensuring your LinkedIn profile gets seen by the right people. Potential employers and recruiters can search LinkedIn for potential candidates. The words they use to make this search are the keywords that you need to pepper throughout your profile in the summary and experience sections to ensure you appear in the results. One easy way to do this is to look at the job descriptions for roles that you would like to apply for. Which words appear most frequently?
DON'T SKIP OUT ON THE SUMMARY
This is your chance to show off your passions, skills, qualifications, ambitions and achievements in a compelling way. Nevertheless it should also be short and to the point. Try to use 250 words or less as it is a summary after all. To add impact, if you have any numbers or statistics that show your credibility, use them.
REMEMBER YOUR TONE OF VOICE
When writing anything on your profile in general, the tone should be friendly, warm and show personality whilst still staying professional. Avoid buzzwords and end with a call to action, such as asking them to message you, follow you on Twitter or visit your website.
REMEMBER THAT YOUR PROFILE IS YOUR CV
The aim is to highlight your accomplishments and key responsibilities in an engaging way, demonstrating what you did, how well you did it and what effect it had.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO FLESH IT OUT
Include details of any projects, volunteering, secondary languages, and anything else you can to make yourself stand out.