No matter what stage of your career you're in, you'll always need a LinkedIn profile that stands out. LinkedIn is easily the largest professional network out there and an updated and relevant profile will make a serious difference to your career and future opportunities. When job seeking, it becomes absolutely essential.
So let's look at 10 small things that you can do that will make a big impact to your profile.
1. Update your profile picture and cover image - Make sure that your LinkedIn profile picture and cover image are fully up to date. Your profile picture should be clear and professional. Your cover image can be easily created for free using Canva.
2. Customise the URL - LinkedIn URLs can be customised to create a simple web address that includes your name only. It is easy to change your profile URL - Check out this help article by LinkedIn.
3. Be specific about your endorsed skills - Endorsed skills are a great way to tell your network about your current skill set. Be specific about the skills you ask to get endorsed. Make sure the skills are aligned with your career path and help make a difference to your profile.
4. Spend time crafting your headline - After your profile picture and cover image, the thing that viewers look at next is your headline. Your headline needs to be informativ, not just your current job title. It should tell user what you currently do, what your skill sets are and how you are making a difference. The headline can be a total of 120 characters and we recommend making the best use of all of them.
5. Delete industry jargon - While creating and updating your profile, it can be very easy to use industry jargon as you are so familiar with it. But remember, the profile is not only for you but also for visitors. Some visitors may have the ability to understand the jargon, and others may not. The idea of updating your profile is to make it accessible to everyone and not just a particular group of people.
6. Request recommendations - Recommendations create a positive impression on any visitors and add credibility and professionalism to your profile. Reach out to your network to ask for recommendations. This can include your colleagues, college alumni, previous manager or boss, customers, suppliers etc.
7. Actually create content - something that most people don't do. But a quick, concise post providing information, tips or opinions on a relevant topic will do wonders for your LinkedIn credibility and visibility.
8. Use visual media - You can even mix up your content by including images, videos, memes and GIFs. Creativity is often remembered by the viewers and makes you stand out from the crowd.
9. Keep your page active - Even if you are not an active content creator on LinkedIn, you can chose to be active on the newsfeed instead. Give yourself the task of commenting, liking and sharing content at least twice a day. This will make you more active on LinkedIn and will keep your account relevant.
10. Review your About section regularly - A highly keyword optimised section of the profile, be sure you are making the most of this by including lots of great detail and keywords about your skills, experience and value add.
Our team at Blue Sky Career Consulting is here to help if you need assistance updating your LinkedIn profile. Send us a message or reach out at info@bluesky.net.au to get started!