Perfect linkedin profile

With over 690 million LinkedIn users worldwide – and rising – the competition to see and be seen is intense, making it all too easy to be overlooked by recruiters.

In this article, we show you how to boost your LinkedIn profile with six simple steps for networking success.

1. Choose Your Profile Picture

Dogs and cats are cute, but they don’t belong on your resume. So, why should they appear on your LinkedIn profile? We’d also advise that you save your vacation pictures for your Facebook profile – that is, unless you work in the travel sector. These days, everyone can be an amateur photographer, but it’s worth going to a professional to ensure your photo is top quality. Update it every five years, or invest in a refresh when you are actively job-hunting. Don’t look too serious: a smile shows warmth and self-confidence.

2. Write Your Profile Slogan

LinkedIn automatically fills the profile slogan with your current job position and employer. This shows you just how important this section is not only for your contacts in general, but also for recruiters and employers.

To stand out, use this field as it’s meant to be used – as a slogan. To give you an example: “Marketing Manager | Content Strategy | SEO | Social Media.” A developer might add specialties such as Java, Mobile and UX/UI.

Focus on your career goals, because you can build on these keywords once you get to the LinkedIn description.

3. Craft Your LinkedIn Description

Your description can absolutely influence an employer or recruiter’s first impressions. Choose three keywords – for example, ones from your profile slogan – and build your text around these blocks. Describe your career goals and how you plan to achieve them.

In a similar way to Google, LinkedIn uses SEO keywords to connect professionals with one another, which is, after all, the ultimate goal of this network.

4. Present Your LinkedIn Skills

For an SEO Manager, ‘SEO’ is not a special skill but a minimum requirement for the job. If, however, a web designer or marketer adds SEO to their skillset, the candidate’s value for the employer rises. Thanks to smart technology, LinkedIn offers suggestions for popular skills as soon as you start typing. Moreover, it will ensure you are writing your profile using the most searched-for terms.

5. Give and Get LinkedIn Recommendations

Recommendations are vital to add credibility to your profile. Quality, not quantity, is important here.
We are not talking only about recommendations you receive. Your shared recommendations assure an improved LinkedIn profile as well. This way, the recruiter or employer can see your personal relation to your former or current workplace from your point of view.

Turn it around: ask a former boss for a LinkedIn recommendation and offer one as a thank-you in return.

6. Join LinkedIn Groups

Active membership of several LinkedIn interest groups emphasizes your expertise and passion for your profession. Depending on your sector, it can be of real interest to hiring managers to know that you are actively networking and could bring your contacts along with you.

What’s more, relevant contacts can help you secure a job interview. By joining conversations, you can share your knowledge with a group and learn new things, maybe even participate in creating new trends in your sector.

Follow these tips in order to appear more often in LinkedIn search results and catch the attention of recruiters as well as hiring companies.

If you’d like more assistance in your job search, please browse our advice section or reach out to one of our consultants today.

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