How to make the perfect LinkedIn profile

Jul 5, 2022

Tarlia Smedley

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    Are you tired of browsing job ads and sending your resume to prospective employers? Are you also finding it difficult to land the perfect job with a brilliant resume? If yes, that means you are not alone. Many professionals are struggling to find the perfect job because their LinkedIn profile isn’t up to the mark. Although you may not realise it, your LinkedIn profile is one of the primary ways hiring managers and recruiters will see your resume and see if you’re a good fit for their organisation. In fact, an updated LinkedIn profile is so important that many companies now require potential employees to create a profile before they even see their CV or resume. If you want to get ahead of the game and begin networking for jobs sooner rather than later, read on for our essential tips on how to make the perfect LinkedIn profile.

     

    Step 1: What Is A LinkedIn Profile?

    A LinkedIn profile summarises your professional experience, skills, and education that can be shared on social media, including LinkedIn. You can also use your LinkedIn profile to find jobs, collaborate with colleagues, and find business partners. Your LinkedIn profile is essentially your online resume. Like a resume, it explains who you are, what you’ve done, and why an employer should hire you. The average person spends 5 seconds viewing an application. Therefore, you want your profile to stand out, so you get the interview!

     

    Step 2: Optimise Your Profile

    The first step to creating the perfect LinkedIn profile is ensuring you’ve optimised it for hiring managers and recruiters. Although LinkedIn is a business-to-business platform, the majority of LinkedIn users are job seekers. To ensure that your profile gets seen by as many people as possible, make sure your profile contains the following information:

    • Title: Include both your current title as well as any previous titles you’ve held in the past.
    • Summary: Keep your summary between 5-15 sentences. Here, you can briefly talk about your current position, your career trajectory, and your interests outside of work.
    • Education: Include your educational background and details like the degree you received and your GPA. Be sure to list your previous graduate school experience as well.
    • Skills: This should be one of the most important sections in your LinkedIn profile. When listing your skills, don’t just list what you’ve done in the past. Instead, focus on listing transferable skills that can be applied to any industry.
    • Recommendations: If you’ve received recommendations in the past, be sure to include these on your profile. This shows hiring managers that you’re well-connected and have an established network.
    • Languages: If you’re bilingual, make sure you list it on your profile.

     

    Step 3: Add a Professional Photo

    The next step to creating the perfect LinkedIn profile is to add a professional photo. Studies have shown that hiring managers and recruiters will decide whether or not to hire a potential candidate within the first few seconds of viewing their profile. Your photo is the first thing that hiring managers will see, so it needs to be perfect. Ideally, you should avoid using any photos that show your face, especially if they’re dated. If you must use a photo of yourself, try to find a professional-looking headshot. If you’re unable to find a suitable photo, you can use a photo of a landscape or a product that represents you. Just make sure that it’s high-quality.

     

    Step 4: Write an Attention-Grabbing Summary

    A summary at the top of your profile is similar to a cover letter, but will be visible to a much wider audience. Make sure that you’re grabbing hiring managers’ attention and proving your worth by including the following information in your summary:

    • Your career trajectory: Highlight your career trajectory and where you want to go next. If you’re currently employed, highlight how your current job has prepared you for the next step in your career.
    • What you can bring to the table: While your summary should be less than 400 words, you need to show hiring managers why you’re the right candidate for the job. Be sure to talk about your transferable skills and how they can benefit your prospective employer.

     

    Step 5: Add Keywords To Help You Stand Out

    When writing your profile, use keywords that will help you stand out from the crowd. Think of your skills and interests and try to find synonyms that hiring managers may search for when hiring for a position. For example, if you’re applying for a sales position at a tech or software company, you can incorporate words like sales, tech, software, branding, and so on into your profile.

     

    Step 6: Network, Network, Network!

    The last and most important tip for creating the perfect LinkedIn profile is to network with as many people as possible. While many people think of LinkedIn as a place to find a job, the reality is that it’s also an excellent way to find new business partners and collaborators. If you’re trying to start your own company or build your own side hustle, LinkedIn is a great way to find like-minded individuals. Here are a few tips to help you network on LinkedIn:

    • Start with your existing network: If you have friends and family members who are on LinkedIn, be sure to send them a connection request. Your first connections will be the people you know. From there, you can begin to grow your network.
    • Join groups: LinkedIn has a section for groups where people can discuss topics, ask questions, and network. Join relevant groups and be sure to participate in discussions to help you stand out.
    • Find out who you follow: LinkedIn has a feature that shows you who has followed you, likes your posts, and has shared articles of yours. Through this feature, you can find out who is interested in your posts and articles.
    • Follow people: Similar to the above; you can use LinkedIn’s following feature to discover fresh new talent in your industry and follow them. This way, you’re more likely to be followed back and have the opportunity to exchange messages with them.

     

    Conclusion

    It’s undeniable that professional social media platforms like LinkedIn are extremely important resources for anyone looking to advance their career. As you can see from this article, making your LinkedIn profile as perfect as possible is key to success. However, unlike your resume, your LinkedIn profile is something that you can constantly be updating and improving. By incorporating these tips into your daily routine, you can ensure that your profile is always up to date and you’re making the most of this essential platform.

     

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