You only have one chance to impress. Unlike a resume, your LinkedIn profile has no page restrictions, and is a chance for you to entice someone who is hunting down a candidate with your unique talents for a new opportunity. Here are my top 10 LinkedIn profile tips for making the best impression:
- Use a professional portrait photograph, without your spouse, kids or pets. Statistics tell us that the moment you post your professional photograph on your profile, your profile is 1,100% more likely to be viewed.
- Customize your LinkedIn address. Too many profiles I see have the default profile address, with a jumble of numbers and letters after the name. A customized address such as https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbuckland portrays more professionalism and enhances the credibility of your search results on Google. This custom address should then be added to your resume, cover letters, bio, and business card.
- Include your contact information at the top of the Summary section. During a job search or career transition, you should always have your telephone number and personal email on your profile. Busy hiring managers and executive recruiters need to be able to contact potential candidates immediately. Make it easy for them to swiftly introduce themselves and talk about a new opportunity. Retain these details on your profile even after you secure a job; that’s just good career management.
- Have a headline that resonates and drives attraction. You have a 120-character limit, so make them all count! This is where a future career influencer may base their entire decision about calling you.
- Replicate your resume. LinkedIn allows you multiple opportunities to sell yourself. Use these various sections to maximize your impact, and optimize every character allowed. Executive recruiters and HR professionals agree with this recommendation. The only exception of course is confidential company details. Include vital information such as dollar values and percentiles in performance-driven stories.
- Maximize your skills list. These key words and phrases are how your profile will get picked up during a talent search for your next ideal position.
- Solicit at least three recommendations from each past and current job. Include a peer, a manager, and either a customer or a vendor.
- Include all relevant education, certifications, activities and societies. These round out your profile with a more complete picture of your various talents, training and life experiences.
- Join groups that are relevant to your career and business goals. Strategically choose which groups will be displayed on your profile. This list helps portray your areas of interest and expertise. Introduce yourself and be an active group member.
- Add multi-media work samples to your profile. LinkedIn is the ideal platform for you to strengthen your candidacy as a business leader in your field by sharing your own original SlideShare presentations, images, blog posts and other examples of your work and thought leadership.
HR professionals and executive recruiters search LinkedIn every day seeking talent for job opportunities. Use these 10 tips to be found, remembered and chosen on LinkedIn.
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