How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

Although LinkedIn may be a useful networking tool, standing out from the hundreds of millions of other users who are also seeking to get seen is no simple undertaking. But even a few little adjustments may make a significant difference. Even better: It just takes five minutes to improve your LinkedIn profile.

Why You Should Make Improving Your LinkedIn Profile a Top Priority

When hiring managers are seeking fresh talent to join their teams, a strong LinkedIn profile will help you stand out to them. Remember that 90% of recruiters regularly utilize LinkedIn!

LinkedIn is not just for job hunters, though. It’s a fantastic method to establish oneself as an authority figure or even an influence in your field! More and more professionals are regularly using LinkedIn for both personal and professional growth.

How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

Create a Public Profile

Verify the visibility of your public profile by checking your account settings. You can appear in searches (and be found by recruiters) with one easy tweak.

Updating Your Location

This will make search results for phrases like “Engineers in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area” more accurate. If you want to be employed or be found by clients, this activity can help you move your online network offline and is beneficial.

 It’s how members of your extended network will learn that you reside in their town and would thus consider inviting you to a fun event or to meet up for coffee.

Think Strategically About Your Recognised Skills

Do you have recommendations for many generic abilities that don’t make you stand out (consider Google Docs and Microsoft Word)? If so, they take it away. Include keywords that make you more searchable in your abilities area, and support the narrative you’re conveying about who you are and what you can do. So, when you click there, do these three steps:

• Remove any skills that have no use. (Hint: Unless you have social media management experience and training, you shouldn’t list Facebook.)
• Include competencies that are essential for someone in your field and job.
• Place your most critical competencies at the top of the list.

Customize the URL

• You may edit your public profile and URL under the block that says “Edit public profile and URL” in the upper right corner of your profile. Press the open button.
• Again, you may update your URL by clicking the corresponding button in the upper right corner. This is an opportunity for you to edit your URL and make sure it isn’t a made-up string of characters that LinkedIn produced for you.
• If a popular name you have is already in use, you may still use your own name and manage the remainder of the URL by, for instance, substituting “john-snow-king-of-north” for “john-snow.”
• If your name contains unique characters, you might choose to replace them with more common ones. As a result, you’ll be simpler to discover on Google or Bing, and your URL will be better to copy and paste to subject lines for emails and other places.

Your Profile Photo and Desktop Background

Use a headshot that is of excellent quality and a professional kind. It is advised that you post this image so everyone can see it.

• A list of your available visibility choices is displayed in the right-side column. You can make your profile photo “Public” or visible to everyone on LinkedIn, including your connections and network.
• You may make it simpler for people looking for you on search engines or other networks to find you (and believe you when they do!) by setting the visibility of your profile image to the public.
• Select a high-quality background image that accurately reflects you, your employer, or the cause you support.
• Additionally, you might decide on an image that symbolizes a subject that interests or inspires you. Your background picture should be 1584396 pixels in size.

Headline and Summary of your article

• Describe what you do in your headline in no more than 120 characters. Be unique and inventive while being lucid and instructive.
• As it makes it simpler to locate while searching for experts in your field of expertise on LinkedIn, be sure to include the most pertinent keywords in your headline.
• Aim for maximum accuracy by updating your summary frequently, keeping it succinct and engaging, and paying attention to keywords.
• One significant development on LinkedIn is that users are beginning to emphasize future objectives and goals rather than just reporting (past) accomplishments.
• Use this strategy and describe your future or what it would be like to work with you rather than describing your past experiences (15 years of social selling experience, for example). For example, “In ten years, I plan to be running the largest consulting company regarding the health and maintenance of parrots. The Parrot Whisperer, with love and care).

Show Social evidence in the featured area.

There is a sizable feature section. You may use it to your advantage to add the following:

• Linkedin posts.
• Blog posts.
• Links.
• Media (like PDF Guides, Lead Magnets…).

If you’ve previously published some successful articles, select articles from the menu and then Feature to have your LinkedIn post appear in the “ Featured ” area on your profile.

Your post will thereafter display in the area with featured content.

• Doing this may convince visitors that they should pay attention to what you have to say.
• To increase traffic to them, you may include your website, your best blog posts, instructions, or articles from LinkedIn.

Some of them could turn out to be customers.

Detailing work history and credentials

Make a résumé that highlights only a portion of your job. Instead: 

• Tell a story
• Show your expertise
• Stand out

Having direct access to the websites of the businesses you worked for is convenient in case someone wants to conduct any background checks. Additionally, you may connect to your own material.

Request Suggestions

• People generally appreciate your work through referrals and customer success stories, whether you work for an agency or as a freelancer.
• More so than your professionally-written cover letter and résumé, people respect references.
• Although it is not necessary, having skills endorsements will always seem good since you want to take advantage of all the options LinkedIn allows you to stand out.
• On the other side, recommendations may be extremely effective leverage if you’re looking to grow your consulting firm through Linkedin.

Don’t be afraid to use your:

• friends
• colleagues
• current clients
• old clients

To receive some fantastic recommendations about your job’s calibre, which is amazing.