Your profile image is often the first thing people see of your profile - keep it clear, friendly and professional. This could be a professional headshot or an image of you at work- whichever you feel most relevant for your industry. Top Tip: ensure you leave the filters, excessive pouting and alcohol shots for Instagram!
Relevant Heading
As mentioned, your profile image is a highly influential factor, with this and your name being two of the first things LinkedIn users see in regards to your profile. The 'headline' is equally important. Many people use their job title and company name, to ensure clarity for networking. However, if you are actively seeking opportunities, let people know! You can add this information into your headline, followed by the types of roles you're interested in or key skills you have. Others even use it to mention certain qualifications, making them easily accessible.
Include Keywords in your LinkedIn profile
Adding keywords into your profile helps relevant recruiters and companies find you on LinkedIn, increasing your likelihood of encountering suitable job opportunities. These keywords should focus on your key skill sets- using free tools such as Google Trends will ensure you're selecting popular and relevant keywords.
Stay up to date
Ensuring your most recent work experience is present on your Linkedin profile is highly important to attract the right individuals to your profile, but it's equally important to ensure you remove any dated or unnecessary experience. Your experience section should be relevant to your future job aspirations, therefore it's unlikely your high-school Saturday job is suitable for publication- unless the experience is in fact applicable. Likewise, contact information should be up-to-date and accurate to make sure that dream opportunity doesn't slide through the cracks due to an undelivered email.
Get connecting
The more connections you have, the more likely you are to reach some great professionals and attract them to your profile. Try and get at least 50 connections minimum. With this said, don't take it too far, only connect with relevant industry professionals and people you've worked or studied with in the past. It's a little odd to start adding everyone, just to amass an unrealistically large network.
Join Groups
Joining industry-related groups and regularly contributing by partaking in conversations will improve your visibility on Linkedin, as well as evidence your passion, specialist knowledge and skills- although you should avoid bragging! They are a great way of meeting likeminded individuals, building your network and increasing your chances of finding your dream job.
Get recommendations and Endorsements
Recommendations on Linkedin are a great way to evidence your ability, acting as testimonials for previous work, available for everyone to see. Seek these recommendations from people you've worked with in the past and those who speak highly of you. Similarly, endorsements are a great way to clarify your skill set, with other professionals endorsing your individual skills. In both cases, a good way to get the ball rolling is by recommending and endorsing others.
