I spend a lot of my time on LinkedIn and you can really tell when someone has put a great deal of thought into their profile.
The last thing you want to see as a recruiter is a profile that’s been poorly put together or is way out of date.
This doesn’t mean you’re a bad candidate, but it does mean recruiters are less likely to find you. And if they do manage to find you, it’s very unlikely they’ll reach out to you.
So I’ll start from the top of the page…
Get a profile picture.
I appreciate not everyone wants to put their picture up (and that’s totally fine), but if you’re just procrastinating on it then this is a really quick win. Having a picture instantly creates a connection with the person on your page. Not having a picture just makes the whole profile look a tad untidy.
Try to take a picture that’s specifically for LinkedIn, rather than a cropped photo from a party or wedding as well.
An appropriate headline.
I tell you what, the amount of headlines out there that doing nothing but give you a massive headache… “DIGITAL MARKETING WIZARD, LEAN SIX SIGMA, SCRUM MASTER, ITIL, CEO…”
The saying, “less is more” is definitely applicable here. Just keep it simple. Put your current title and the business you work for. As recruiters, this makes it super easy to place you and know if you’re relevant for the job we’re looking to recruit (and the role you want to get).
“But what if I’m not employed?”
Put the role you generally do or are looking for. My personal preference is to stay away from anything related to “Seeking new opportunities”. There are other, more appropriate, ways to highlight this to recruiters.
Write a summary.
And not the one LinkedIn auto-generates for you. Give this a bit of thought. It doesn’t (and shouldn’t be) have to be long. Just a few sentences, written in the first person (my preference). Please avoid buzz words and fluffy statements like “I’m extremely organised and passionate about what I do.” This is great (and I’m sure it’s true), but anyone can say this and doesn’t give the recruiter anything to work with.
This is your chance to grab the readers’ attention. Make the most of it. Be creative and tell the world what you’ve achieved and what problems you can solve for any prospective employers.
There are a few other things (your work history, recommendations etc). But this is intended to be short, sharp advice that can be executed quickly. If you can implement these few things you’re well on your way to creating a strong first (LinkedIn) impression.
I hope that helped.
Thoughts/questions/feedback welcome.
Ash
Asheraf Joseph 