5 tips to create an effective LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn profile is probably one of the most important things for a job seeker. Apart from an impressive resume and your well-connected network, LinkedIn is a professional network that connects your experience, qualifications, skills, and personal brand with all of your future employers. And to get the most out of it, you want to make your LinkedIn profile as comprehensive, compelling and engaging as possible. Essentially, you want an effective LinkedIn profile.
Apart from that, LinkedIn is a great platform for searching and applying for jobs. But as soon as you start applying for jobs, you’re essentially asking employers to look at your LinkedIn profile. First impressions count, and you want to make sure your LinkedIn profile captivates the hiring manager.
With this in mind, we have put together five top tips to make sure your LinkedIn profile shows off your best skills.
1. Make sure your headline and summary are up to date
So this one’s obvious – you want the people looking at your LinkedIn to be offering relevant opportunities. Make sure your headline and summary clearly articulates the kind of jobs you’re open to and where your ideal location would be. This is the first thing potential employers will see when they view your profile, so you want to make sure it's targeting the right people. Make sure it represents the professional version of yourself.
2. Target job description keywords and use them in your profile
It’s all well and good making sure you have a profile that’s ready to win over hiring managers, but there’s not really any point if they never get a chance to see your profile. You want your LinkedIn profile to pop up when they are searching for candidates. As such, entering relevant keywords allows hiring managers to find you more easily and opens you up to more job opportunities. This can include your skills, knowledge, experience, and more. This is a great way to optimise your LinkedIn profile and to take advantage of the LinkedIn search tool.
3. Create a custom URL
Creating a custom URL is a great idea for two reasons; not only does it allow yourself and others to share your profile easily, it also looks more professional. LinkedIn is viewed as a professional network after all. A custom URL for your LinkedIn profile gives hiring managers the impression that you’re a savvy LinkedIn user with access to a network of opportunities and therefore leaves a good first impression.
4. Showcase your personal interests and hobbies
People often shy away from putting their personal interests and hobbies on their LinkedIn profile, but as long as it doesn’t overshadow your professional achievements, there’s no real reason you shouldn’t be doing this. Demonstrating a healthy interest in projects outside of your professional career can showcase a well-rounded candidate. It is also never a bad thing to show off your personality and the human side of you. If anything, it makes you more appealing. Hiring managers may even be able to connect with you on similar interests.
5. Ensure your skills and endorsements are relevant and up to date
Endorsements are a great way to highlight your credibility and are almost alike to live references. Getting some great endorsements on your LinkedIn profile is a great way for hiring managers to see what your team members you’ve worked with in the past have to say about you. It’s a good opportunity for you to demonstrate your value from another source apart from you selling yourself. You might also feel uncomfortable talking yourself up too much for fear of coming across as overly confident – this solves the problem. Let someone else talk about how amazing you are! Don’t be afraid to ask some former colleagues for recommendations and endorsements – giving these out is a great way to get them in return.
To get more advice on how to impress hiring managers at every stage of your job search, or even to further improve your LinkedIn profile for maximum visibility, get in touch with the team at Progressive Recruitment. We’re here to help you every step of your job search and our consultative service gives you access to a dedicated consultant ready to find the job you’re looking for. To find out more, why not contact the team at Progressive Recruitment today?
