Top LinkedIn Tips to Optimize Your Profile
Use Your LinkedIn to Tell a Story and Build Your Personal Brand
When you are building your LinkedIn profile, you need to think about your personal brand. Who are you and what do you want to be known for? What sets you apart from your peers in your industry? Once you know your personal brand, you can express it throughout in your LinkedIn profile.
Your LinkedIn is your opportunity to give a broader narrative around your strengths and work style. You have more room [than your resume] to showcase a wide range of experiences and skills, which means a greater chance that there will be something in your profile that a viewer will connect with. Establishing a powerful connection with the viewer is key in any successful job search.
Strong branding example:
Know Your Audience—and What Keywords Will Get Their Attention
As you craft your profile, think about who will be reading it—likely other professionals and recruiters in your industry. What will those people specifically want to see in a job candidate?
Once you know your keywords, weave them into your headline, summary, experience, skills, and anywhere else they make sense on your profile.
Strong keyword example:
Complete Your All-Star Profile
LinkedIn’s algorithm rewards users with complete profiles. You are far more likely to show up in search results with a complete profile. LinkedIn assigns different strengths to profiles based on their completeness, and there is a “massive advantage” to being at the highest strength of “All-Star.”
Recruiters and hiring managers are going to look at your profile whether you apply for their jobs on LinkedIn or anywhere else. A barebones profile doesn’t make a great impression.
Example of an “all-star” profile:
But Focus on the Top Sections
Recruiters are busy and so are most professionals. There are a lot of technical advantages to having a very full profile, but you can’t expect everyone who arrives at your page to read every word. You must hook them from the start. Include your most important skills, experiences, and qualities high up in your profile. This means your cover photo, profile picture, headline, summary, and recent experience. Of those, your profile picture and headline are most important.
So, if you won a huge award or have a key certification, don’t wait until the “Accomplishments” or “Licenses & Certifications” sections to mention them. Add them to one of your top sections—as high as is appropriate. The same goes for your most important keywords. Do not let your most marketable skills get buried in your “Skills & Endorsements” section.
Example of great top sections of LinkedIn profiles:
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Tips to Build a Professional LinkedIn Profile
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