Create a Linkedin Profile That Will get you Noticed

Did you know that keeping your positions up to date on your Linkedin profile makes you 18 times more likely to be found in searches by members and recruiters?

Social networking has become an essential new tool for achieving your professional goals. When you join Linkedin, your goals are to be discoverable by headhunters and to develop professional connections that can help you with job search and career management. Just like any other social networking site, there are certain steps to take to make the most of your social networking experience. Do not confuse your Linkedin profile with a resume because it needs to be and can be so much more. It is more of a mini website where you can market yourself as a job seeker, service provider or entrepreneur seeking funding or something else.

Here is our take on how to create a Linkedin profile that will get you noticed by the right people:

1. A professional head-shot

A good first impression prompts people to read the rest of your profile. We all judge based on first impressions and the people who land on your profile will form an impression of you before they read anything you have written.The first thing that people notice about your Linkedin profile is your head-shot. A professional head-shot with an accompanying pleasant smile will go a long way towards making your profile inviting to read. Take a photograph of yourself in a business attire against a non-distracting background. Those photographs of you showing off your cute chihuahua or group pictures may be more suited for Facebook than your business profile. Appearance is important, so make yourself look like the job in every aspect you possible can.  

2. Summary

Use this section to show what you can offer to other people. How can you help other clients or businesses? Wat problems can you solve? What results can you help others to achieve? Another thing to keep in mind is that we have become time-pressed, multi-tasking and instant gratification humans. When it comes to reading, we prefer to scan and that means that people who view your summary wants to know “what’s in it for me?” in a matter of seconds. Make yours a benefit-oriented headline.

You can choose to do it either way:

a) If you have several skills, write a list of words naming those skills. Capitalise each word or skill and separate them using a vertical bar (straight up and down line on your keyboard). An example would look like this:

Lauren Pratt| Marketing Specialist| MBA in Marketing| 12 years in Retail Sales Industry

 b) 1 to 2 sentences summarizing your strengths and areas of expertise:

Top Graphic Designer who Makes your Promotional Materials Draw Customers In Like a Magnet

One strategy is to look at the profiles of other professionals who are in the same line of work and see what they have put as their summary. If you see something outstanding, take their lead. Make your headline summary as compelling and concise to make yourself stand out from the rest of the competition.

 3. Customise your profile link

When you first sign up for Linkedin and create a profile, your profile link will appear something like “linkedin.com/in/grsdqdw32309”. Try to clean up this incoherent link and make it simple by changing it to your first and last names. It will make it easier for you to print this (eg. Linkedin.com/in/rhondasmith) on your name cards, email signature and any social media websites. In addition, you might not need a separate website and instead drive your traffic to your Linkedin page. If the name you want is taken, try including your middle name or using different variations of your name. A unique link will make it easier for people to search for you and appear on the first page of a search engine.

4. Get (loads of it!) recommendations 

Recommendations are proof that you are as good as you say in your profile. It is a short statement or testimonial given to you, demonstrating your value to the organization. Let’s say if an employer is deciding between two people for work and one person has lots of strong recommendations in their profile while the other has none, the employer is likely to give the former a shot at the opportunity to interview. You are not able to edit the recommendation and that is where the perceived value exists. You can ask for recommendations from colleagues past and present, bosses past and present and people you have worked with such as vendors and suppliers. Recommendations are also credible proof as the names of those making the recommendations will show up as hyperlinks next to their recommendations so that they can be easily checked and their praise corroborated.

In addition, having more recommendations helps determine how high you show up in rankings when people do a search on Linkedin. Due to the search algorithm, you will appear higher on the list with the same keywords if you have more recommendations.

5. Endorse your skills

There is a 'Skills' area that allows you to identify up to 50 different skills such as “technical recruiting”, “multi-channel marketing” or “web content writing”. Determine the skills you possess and that potential recruiters or employers would seek with your professional title and add a list of professional skills to your Linkedin profile. Once your profile is visible to the public, people can endorse you for each of the skills you listed. The more endorsements you have of your skills, the more discoverable you are to recruiters. Adding skills to your online profile makes you more discoverable in database searches and your skills more accessible to readers. While you can post up to 50 skills on your profile, listing fewer skills can mean more endorsements for each and more endorsements increase your visibility on the web. As you would want your contacts to endorse you for the skills, be selective and list out those skills that you want endorsed, with reference to your current job. Mutual skills endorsements are also encouraged and can go a long way in helping you build better relationships with people you know on Linkedin.