Your profile photo is the first impression you make on LinkedIn. If you are serious about making new connections, having a professional-looking profile picture will make a big difference.
Profiles without pictures do not get as much attention, as people may assume the profile is inactive or even fake. According to LinkedIn, having a picture makes your profile 14 times more likely to be viewed by others. So, if you want to be noticed, it’s worth having a good-quality headshot.
Your face should be clearly visible, smile, wear what you’d typically wear to work and make sure it’s a recent photo. Soft, natural light works best, as do plain or slightly blurred backgrounds. Ask a friend to take the picture or even a professional.
Your headline is positioned right underneath your name on LinkedIn, and it’s a great opportunity to grab people’s attention before they even click on your profile.
While many people choose to put only their job title here, make yours stand out by being a bit more descriptive and including some skills, keywords and accomplishments relevant to the role you are seeking.
Avoid generic terms such as ‘Actively seeking role’ or ‘Open to opportunities’ and instead use the space to highlight your value to recruiters and potential employers.
Adding a personal touch such as a fun fact or a hobby can also be beneficial as it will give people a little insight into your personality. Here are some examples:
– 6+ Years of experience in software product management | Helping tech companies grow and deliver outstanding SaaS products
– Junior DevOps Engineer | AWS, CI/CD, Docker, Python, Java | Music Blogger
When writing content on your profile, think about who your target audience is. In this case, recruiters. People usually skim through profiles very quickly when recruiting on LinkedIn and they are unlikely to stop and read big paragraphs.
In your summary or About section, introduce yourself briefly, mention your current role, what you are looking for, and include a few key relevant skills, characteristics, qualifications and certifications.
In the Experience section, keep the content clear, well-spaced, concise and easy to read. Use short paragraphs, up to 5 bullet points to give more detail and include relevant keywords, skills and past achievements, or what you want to achieve in the future.
Grabbing recruiters’ attention in this way with key information will increase the chances of them reading more and hopefully contacting you as a result.
When you sign up for LinkedIn, you are given an automatically generated URL that includes a string of numbers and letters that don’t mean anything and are almost impossible to remember. But, you can set a custom URL, which is advisable. It makes it easier to remember and share, looks more professional, strengthens your personal brand, highlights your attention to detail and can help identify you from other users with the same name. A good option is to use your name and initials in some format or even mention your company or title to make it even more unique.
Some examples:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-doe
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-smith-the-developer
Here’s how to do it:
In the upper right corner of LinkedIn, click Me > View Profile > Edit public profile and URL > Click the pencil icon > Enter custom URL > Click ‘Save’
Having a great profile on LinkedIn is all well and good, but you will need to be active on the platform to get noticed.
Comment, share, post articles, ask questions, join groups, congratulate colleagues or friends on any achievements and don’t forget to share your own! Every time you engage, your profile picture and headline will be seen, which is key to getting discovered.
Follow companies that interest you and people who inspire you. You can also follow hashtags, such as #softwaredeveloper or #java, to see posts relevant to those topics.
The more you curate your feed in this way by actively engaging with content relevant to you, your profession and your skills, the better LinkedIn will get to know you and in turn suggest appropriate job opportunities, contacts and posts.
So, there you have it. If you follow those 5 tips you’ll have made a great start to making your profile more attractive to recruiters and hiring managers. Remember, keep your profile up to date if you want to keep making new connections, grow your network and ultimately increase your chances of finding that dream job.
– List your relevant skills in the Skills section, along with mentioning them in your summary and work experience
– Request strong, relevant and recent recommendations. Also, giving recommendations will increase your chances of getting one in return
– Include your hobbies, interests, volunteer work, languages, certifications and any other achievements
– Add a background/cover photo relevant to your profession or personality. Get creative and make your profile jump out
– Avoid buzzwords and focus on your skills, describe your favourite parts of your job, results you’ve achieved, how your achieved them. Keep in interesting and engaging
