Is Your LinkedIn Profile Awesome

Is Your LinkedIn Profile Awesome Do you want to attract recruiters and your next job opportunity with your LinkedIn profile? Make your LinkedIn profile awesome by going through the list below. LinkedIn Profile Checklist [UPDATED] 1.             Headline Your profile headline is the first thing someone sees after your name. Make it memorable. It should help someone understand the role you want to do next and/or contain keywords important to your profession. See examples here: Fix Your LinkedIn Headline Today 2.             Photo Choose a professional, high-quality headshot for your photograph. A profile with a photo receives up to 21x more profile views and 9x more connection requests according to LinkedIn. 3.             Email List all the email addresses you use. You can set the default email which will be viewable by your connections and the account that receives InMail and updates from LinkedIn. 4.             Vanity URL Your LinkedIn profile has a URL (an Internet address). You can and should edit this by adding your name (www.linkedin.com/in/yourname). This also looks more professional when you include it on your resume, business card, or email signature. 5.             Other Web References If you have a personal website, professional Twitter account, or links elsewhere on the web, you can add them to your profile within the “contact info” section at the top. You should change the label from “other” to a short, descriptive title. 6.        About (formerly Summary) Consider this section a mini bio or the answer to tell me about yourself. Highlight the best of your background, experience and skills. You could also provide insight into your leadership style, personality, values, longer-term goals, or outside interests. Keep the reader’s attention by using short paragraphs. And make it more personal by writing in the first person by using “I”, “Me” or “My”. Add a specialties section to incorporate important keywords, skills and technology. You may even want to include your email address to make it easy for people to reach you who are not connected. 7.             Work Experience Include all the significant work history and include strong, keyword-rich descriptions and accomplishments under each position. Your work experience should be the same as listed on your resume. You may choose to include more or less detail for each job. 8.             Embed Media Add media (documents, video, images, audio) to your profile to make it an online portfolio. You can embed these links in your summary, work experience and education sections. Get ideas here.  Make Your LinkedIn Profile Media Rich 9.    Skills and Expertise List all the skills (up to 50) which are most important to your profession. Keep in mind work processes and procedures and other keywords companies ask for in job descriptions.    LinkedIn users with 5+ skills listed are contacted (messaged) up to 33x more   receive up to 17x more profile views (according to LinkedIn). 10.     Education Include all the institutions you attended. List your concentration, major, and/or minor. If you are a recent graduate, include clubs committees and groups you were active in. 11.     Certifications, Test Scores, Courses These sections are particularly helpful for new graduates. List the most relevant and important information. 12.     Projects You can reference class projects, special work assignments and side gigs as a project. This is another way to showcase skills and experience. 13.     Recommendations Ask for recommendations from colleagues, managers or even clients who know your work. Learn more here:  4 Reasons You Can’t Put Off Getting LinkedIn Recommendations 14.     Honors Awards, Publications, Patents Complete these sections with as much detail as necessary to highlight why it is important. 15.     Organizations, Volunteering Causes Provide details about your involvement in professional associations and the organizations you belong to or committees you serve on. You may also choose to list the volunteer work you do and causes you support. Use discretion when choosing to include any religious or political affiliations. 16.     Personal Details Your birth date and marital status are the least important details. You may choose not to include this information on your profile. 17.     Status Update Regularly update your status so your network can see what you are up to. A status update could include a link to an article, information about a presentation you are attending, or it might be a question you would like feedback from your contacts. LinkedIn users can see your activity. Its sometimes an indication of whether or not your use LinkedIn. Learn more here: 10 LinkedIn Status Updates for Job Seekers 18.     Groups Join college alumni groups, professional associations, and any industry related groups. Participate by answering questions, sharing links to interesting articles and engaging in conversation with other like-minded professionals. 19.     Make it Complete Don’t leave information blank or overlook details which may help set you apart such as: Languages, Honors Awards, Patents, Courses, Test Scores, Certifications, Volunteering Causes, Organizations, and Interests. To achieve All-Star profile status, youll need these: A profile photo Your industry and location A current position (with a description) 2 past positions Your skills (at least 3) Your education At least 50 connections 20.     Make It Public By default, LinkedIn sets your profile to be viewable to the public. For active job seekers this is the best option. BONUS: If you are openly seeking a new job, turn on open to new opportunities so that recruiters using LinkedIns recruiting tools can see this. Learn how this works by reading:  How LinkedIns Open Candidate Can Save You Time You can download this list here: Checklist for an Awesome LinkedIn Profile 2018 [UPDATED] Improve Your Visibility If youve ever asked How can I  get in front of more hiring managers? youre not alone.    This is a common challenge for job seekers. Use the tips above to convert your LinkedIn profile into one that is interesting, keyword-rich and shows your abilities. Most importantly, being active on LinkedIn will help you stand out! This is your chance! Show off your super, awesome, amazing LinkedIn profile!