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Eight steps to improve your LinkedIn profile today

Robert Tighe • November 11, 2020

Eight steps to improve your LinkedIn profile today

Getting your head around LinkedIn can be intimidating but it doesn’t need to be. Follow these eight steps to make the most of your LinkedIn profile and make it easier for recruiters to find you.

First impressions count, particularly on LinkedIn. If your profile doesn’t do a good job of introducing who you are and what you’re capable of, then it doesn’t matter how polished your CV is or how charming you are in interviews — you won’t get a chance to prove yourself.

Recruiters view hundreds of profiles on LinkedIn every week. Your profile has to stand out from the crowd, or at the very least not stand out for the wrong reasons.

Small changes to your profile can have a big impact. Yes, you may have to blow your own trumpet a little bit but you need to get over the fear of putting yourself out there. If you don’t then you’re missing a huge opportunity to convince recruiters to give you a chance.

Some of these are quick wins that can be done in a few minutes. Others might take a little more thought, time and effort, but all of them will add up to a LinkedIn profile you can be proud of and that will hopefully open some doors for you.

1. Every picture tells a story

There are more don't’s than do’s when it comes to LinkedIn profile pictures. Don’t post a selfie with your best friend. Don’t post a picture with your pet. Don’t post a group shot. Do use a recent pic that looks like you. Make sure the picture is clear and your face takes up well over half of the available space. Long distance shots don’t work, particularly on mobile devices. On that note, make sure to check your pic on mobile. What looks fine on your laptop might not work on mobile. Most importantly, smile and look approachable. You want to look like someone who would be fun to work with, not a serial killer.

2. Make your background count

Your background at the top of your profile is prime real estate so use it well. Don’t leave it blank with the default LinkedIn blue screen. Pick an image that tells people a little more about who you are or the industry you’re in.

 

If you don’t have a good photo yourself, use a stock photo website like Pexels or Pixabay to find something that will grab people’s attention. If you’re in the building industry, a striking cityscape full of cranes could work. Or an arty shot of some of the tools of your trade. If you’re the creative type, add some text on Canva to send people to your website or portfolio. Try a few different options and see what works best. Anything but the blue screen of death.

3. Headline news

LinkedIn recently expanded the headline field so you now have 220 characters to tell the world what you do and what talents you have. Don’t waste them.

 

Most people play it safe and use their job title as their headline but your headline can be so much more. A short snappy slogan that uses the following formula can help to make it really obvious what you can contribute:

 

I help X (the type of clients/people you work with) do/create/build/sell Y (the service/skills you provide) that does Z (describe in a few words what impact your role has).

 

Your headline is also an ideal place to include some keywords that will help you show up in search results. The keywords you use will depend on your job but one quick way to find relevant keywords is to search for suitable jobs on LinkedIn and make a list of the keywords that occur most often. For example:
 

  • Job title: Software developer
  • Keywords: JavaScript, CSS, SQL, .NET framework
  • Slogan: I help startups create beautiful apps that customers love

 

Put it all together and your headline could read something like this: Software developer | Experience in JavaScript, CSS, SQL, .NET framework | I help startups create beautiful apps that customers love

 

The common consensus is that it’s a bad idea to include the words ‘Seeking new opportunities’ in your headline. Firstly it’s wasting valuable space and secondly you can already show recruiters you’re available for work by adding your job and visibility preferences underneath your headline.

4. About you

The About section is exactly what is says on the tin, a chance for you to tell recruiters more about you and why you would be such a great asset to any company. Again, a lot of people play it safe and cut and paste their CV into this section.
 
Telling a story about the jobs and roles you’ve filled and a little bit about your personality and what makes you unique is a much more effective way of bringing your profile to life.
 
You don’t have to share stories from your 21st but try and explain how and why you choose to do what you do. A word of warning: don’t write about yourself in the third person — eg Robert is a writer who works with businesses to tell better stories. It makes you sound pretentious. Be human. Be yourself.

 

This might take some time and several drafts to get it right but it’s worth investing some thought into this part of your profile. 

5. List your relevant skills

Scroll down your profile to the Skills & Endorsements section and make sure to tick any that apply to you. Only the top three will be displayed so once you’ve made a long list, drag the top three most important skills to the top of the pile.

 

It also helps to reach out to previous employers and colleagues to endorse you for your skills. One way to increase the number of endorsements on your profile is to go through your network and identify people who you’ve worked with and endorse them. With LinkedIn, you’ve generally got to give (endorsements, recommendations, comments) if you want your network to return the favour.

6. Highly recommended

Another overlooked area in lots of LinkedIn profiles is the Recommendations section. Pick and choose wisely who you ask to recommend you and send them a personalised request explaining what skills in particular you would like them to refer to in their recommendation.

7. Get involved in the conversation

Posting on LinkedIn isn’t for everybody but at the very least you should aim to share and comment on stories posted by influencers in your industry. There’s no point in building your network and making connections on LinkedIn if you’re invisible. The only way to show up in your connections news feed is to comment, share or post something yourself.

 

Start by following four or five people in your industry in similar roles and add value to what they are posting. Not only does it show your expertise, it also increases your profile across LinkedIn, and helps you get noticed by people outside your network who may just be looking for someone with your credentials. Think the three E’s when commenting: Educate, Entertain or Enlighten.

8. Post original content

If you’re ready to start posting your own comment, it’s worth checking out how others do it. Pick one or two of the influencers in your industry, scroll down to the Activity section on their profile, click the See All button and then click on the Posts tab. Here you can scroll through all the posts they’ve ever written. Note which ones get the most likes and comments. Figure out a way you can talk about a similar topic using your own background and experience to give it a new twist.

 

Write the way you talk and encourage your friends and family to read your post and comment on it within the first hour or two. The more people who engage with your post within a couple of hours, the more of your connections will see your post. Keep an eye on the comments and respond with a comment of your own to keep the conversation going. Start by posting once a week and try to build up to three times a week. The more consistent you are, the more responses and more value you are likely to get from the process.

Summary

Start with some easy wins by getting your LinkedIn profile looking as good as it possibly can. Build up to the harder stuff like commenting and posting after you’ve figured out the lay of the land. Spending just a few minutes every day doing these things on LinkedIn will help build your profile and maybe, just maybe land the job of your dreams.

About the author

Robert Tight is a number-one bestselling author and freelance content writer. He has previously worked as the Country Editor for The Red Bulletin (Red Bull’s global adventure lifestyle magazine) and is an award-winning freelance journalist for various newspapers and magazines including: ESPN.com, Metro, New Zealand Geographic, Sky Sport The Magazine, Herald on Sunday and the Sunday Star Times. He founded Storybud to help businesses find and tell better stories.

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By Robert Tighe • August 25, 2020
There are almost 700 million people on LinkedIn. Many of them will have exactly the same job title as you with similar qualifications and experience. Many of them will be in the same industry, in the same town, chasing the same role. So how are you going to stand out? Apart from the obvious things like completing all of the sections of your profile and having a professional looking photo — a selfie taken on a night on the town is probably not the best option — commenting and posting on LinkedIn is a great way to get noticed by recruiters and senior leaders in your industry. My first post on LinkedIn was in April 2019. I had less than 300 connections at the time. The post was seen by a handful of people including my sister and a couple of friends who took pity on me and left a comment. One year after my first post, I have over 3000 followers and my posts are regularly seen by thousands of connections. Recently one of my posts received over 18,000 views and 300 comments. Those numbers might not be that impressive compared to some of the heavy hitters on LinkedIn (LI) but more important than the numbers is what posting regularly has done for me and my business. By building my network I’ve gained contract work and speaking opportunities and made some really strong connections who have helped me grow my business. Here’s how and why you should use LinkedIn to build your personal brand.

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Irish unemployment hits record 28%

By Colm McGrath • May 9, 2020
Irish unemployment hits record 28% Ireland’s unemployment rate shot up to 28.2% at the end of April including those receiving emergency jobless benefits due to the coronavirus pandemic, the highest rate on record and up from just 4.8% two months ago, the statistics office said on Friday. Ireland introduced stay-home measures at the end of March, shutting down all but essential services such as supermarkets and petrol stations to slow the spread of the virus. The government introduced a wage subsidy scheme on March 24, three days before the full lockdown but two weeks after it started gradually closing down the economy, so many companies had already begun laying off staff. Dublin intends to ease the lockdown more gradually than many other European countries from May 18. The new COVID-19 Adjusted Unemployment rate rose sharply from 15.5% in March after the number of people claiming the higher emergency payment more than doubled to 602,107, on top of a seasonally adjusted 216,900 on regular jobless benefits. Excluding the pandemic payments, the jobless rate rose to 5.4% from 5.3% in March. The highest previous jobless rate recorded since the series was first published 37 years ago was 17.3% in 1985. It hit a post-financial crisis high of 16% in 2012 when Ireland was midway through a three-year international bailout.
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