Creating a Winning LinkedIn Profile
Article Description
Our world is changing every day, hurtling towards a digital future. It has never been more important to stay up to date with how companies find their employees and to adjust to these ways so you can be in the best position to get a job that will shape and affect your life.
LinkedIn has become known as a portal where you can upload your career history and info, professional photos, and a variety of media relevant to you, your professional career and ambitions.
Companies have been using the platform to advertise, engage with customers as well as source candidates for years, and recent studies have shown that more and more hiring managers consider what they see about you online before they hire you. The competition is fierce in some industries, so many people have had to find creative ways to showcase their talents.
The Civets have scoured the internet, ferreting out all the info you need to compete with the top dogs of the digital world.
As with anything in life, nothing good ever comes easy. You have to put in effort to make something great. So, before you think this is a ten-minute thing and you’ll be set, think again… We suggest spending time on every single aspect of your profile from your profile picture to the skills, to job descriptions. The more effort you put in, the more it will show on your profile. Browse LinkedIn and get inspiration from your peers before you start.
You can even go a step further by getting some stock images from the internet and adding your own captions for your banner image. Remember to keep your images and photos very professional at all times. Try to see them from a recruiter's prospective. Would you hire you based on your LinkedIn profile?
Follow these tips to make sure your profile compliments you and reflects information that hiring managers want to see.
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Complete every section, you Allstar you!
Go for the “All-Star” status and fill in as many sections as you possibly can. Why? Because LinkedIn's algorithm favours complete profiles over incomplete ones. You can use this profile to completely control how employers and hiring managers see you.
The general assumption in the recruitment world is that if you can’t bother to put your best foot forward online (where most of us spend more than two hours per day), then you’ll have the same uncaring attitude towards your job.
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Make yourself easier to find with a custom URL
It is easier to advertise your profile with a shorter link, and some folks may even remember the link, so we suggest you select a custom URL.
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Broaden your location
Especially if you live in a small town within driving distance of a city in which you can work. This will widen the net for you and will make it easier for hiring managers to find you.
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Your profile Pic is SUPER Important
Your profile picture needs to be clear and not too photoshopped and you need to be professionally dressed. LADIES – please do not wear a tank top for a head and shoulders picture – since they have no sleeves, it could look like you are completely naked… You will attract the wrong attention, and no one will take you seriously.
If you can take a photo of yourself at work, please do so. For instance, if you are a speaker, ask someone to snap a picture of you at a speaking event, or take a photo of yourself at your PC… your imagination is the limit here.
A photo can show people how much you enjoy what you are doing – passion and energy always shine through in your mannerisms, posture and facial expressions.
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Add a banner image or a background image
Keep it simple, or even better, if you have the skill you can make your own! Consult Google for info on where to get free stock photo’s, how to edit photos and which programs to use for that. Just remember – keep it relevant to your career.
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Your Headline is just as important…
Our research shows that people hold different opinions about the headline. Some say it should definitely contain a job title, others say it doesn’t have to. We think it depends on what you want to accomplish as well as your profile privacy settings.
You can decide what people see about you when you show up in a search on LinkedIn. You can decide to reveal your job title. If you did this, it would be a waste of time and space to simply repeat yourself in the headline section.
However, if you are looking for a different job, then it may help to quickly mention your current position and then explain what your goals, actions and aspirations are.
Use the space to showcase what makes you great, if you have a speciality, elaborate on that. Mention how you can add value to a prospective employer and what sets you apart from your peers. Be as specific as you can.
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Education
If you have little work experience, you will want to flesh this section out considerably. Relate the info so that it is relevant to the job you would like to apply for.
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You can use job descriptions to keyword optimise your profile!
Some of you might glaze over when you see the term “keyword optimization”, but CV’s, websites, digital marketing campaigns and ultimately how your CV performs in the job market are all affected by keywords.
Do some research on Google on popular keywords in your industry and use them throughout your profile.
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Capitalise on the summary space
Your summary should be between 3 and 5 paragraphs long. It should tell the reader about your passion (related to your career), list a few important skills in bullet point format, and give a short summary of your relevant qualifications, experience, industries you’ve worked in and your measurable accomplishments.
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What do we mean by Measurable (in point 9)?
When listing your accomplishments, it is best to mention ones that resulted in something tangible, like increase in revenue, increase in readership, increase in anything good for business really…
Try not to mention what you think other people think of you. This can, too often, sound boastful.
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Use language that is warm and leaves a good impression
Your LinkedIn Profile is very often the first impression you make on prospective employers and recruiters. Therefore, it's very important that it's well structured and keeps the reader interested.
Use the first person throughout your profile and speak directly to the reader, as if you are having a conversation.
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Don't use buzzwords
Try to use words that are a little more unique. Imagine being the recruiter or hiring manager and seeing words like creative, effective, analytical, strategic, patient, expert, driven and innovative over and over again.
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Your experience section
You can use bullet points to describe your jobs to potential employers. Make a short summary of your achievements in each position at the end of each section.
Also, it is best to list a current position, even if you are not currently employed, simply because recruiters generally use the ‘current title’ search field most often… And they’re not typing ‘unemployed’ in that field. Whether that is a result of prejudice or of short-sighted recruitment methods, we cannot say. Beat this ‘glitch’ by adding a current title.
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Get busy and make, make, make…
Add anything to your profile that you think will help show your professionalism, passion and personality. Add examples of your work, links to articles you wrote, publish some articles you wrote (become an Author), start engaging people, start talking about trending hashtags. In short - engage every day.
The more you engage on LinkedIn, the more you show up in search results. If you have a hobby that helps you with skills to better do your job, add videos and photos of this. Make your own posts using images, video, voice, and anything else you can think of. Talk about topics in your industry and ask others for their opinion, or simply post an uplifting message or story. Once again, your imagination is the limit. The important thing is that you stay connected and that you talk to people. No man is an island and we need each other if we have any hope of growth – in business and in life.
Another way to stay engaged is to regularly update your status. Just remember this is not Facebook or Twitter – always keep it professional and please do not complain about your job, boss or colleagues anywhere on the internet.
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Don’t forget the volunteer experience, interests and languages section
In multi-lingual South Africa, it should come naturally to all of us to list our proficiency in languages, but many still forget.
It is important though, so don’t skip it! Same goes for volunteer work and interests
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Don’t forget to request those endorsements
This is the section that recruiters can look at if they want to know what other people think of you. People tend to believe testimonials more if they can hear it directly from the person giving the testimony.
You need to regularly request endorsements from your contacts. Don’t be afraid to specify what you would like to focus on – especially for people with varied experience in different industries.
Always offer a recommendation in return.
Take note that you can decide which recommendations show on your profile, so be sure to show the best ones first.
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Join some groups
Adding to our earlier analogy of ‘no man is an island’, you will need to join some groups. You can use them to meet people and hiring managers and get the chance to have a direct conversation with them. Always remember to add value!
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Connect with people
The more people you connect with, the more reach you have. Send a personal message with each connection request. This gives you another opportunity to impress someone you potentially want to work for. Please refrain from asking for a job outright in this message.
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Privacy Settings
You want to go through each and every line of these settings and make sure you select the correct settings that suits the level of privacy you want to achieve. It's best to not add cell numbers. You still need to be contactable so feel free to add an email address.
You are welcome to add links to your Facebook and Twitter profiles, but only if you are sure your content on these portals won't compromise your chances of getting a job.