LinkedIn is one of the largest social media platforms for business networking and job seeking. When you’re building your LinkedIn profile, you need to consider how to promote your personal brand. How will you create a good first impression? How will you portray your personality? How can you showcase your skills and qualifications to their full potential? Once you know this, you’re already halfway there…
Here are 5 tips!
Know the audience you’re aiming to attract
If you’re a job seeker, tailor your profile to attract recruiters or employers within the industry you’re looking to work within. Think about the language, the appropriate keywords and the skills and experience you feel will be most interesting and relevant to read.
What are the correct keywords to include? Take a look at job descriptions for the role you have in mind. For example, a marketing role may include keywords such as social media, engagement, copywriting or SEO. Select the words that will apply to you and fit them into your summary/skills and experience section. These will be the words recruiters and employers are looking for.
Add a profile and cover image that reflects you
Your photo is an integral part of your profile. It will contribute to your first impression and is essentially your personal logo. Studies have found that your profile is 40% more likely to be viewed by adding an image, however, selecting a suitable photo is the most important aspect.
Your image should be high quality, up-to-date, fresh and professional. Smile…it is important you portray a friendly and approachable character.
Seek out recommendations
Receiving recommendations helps strengthen your network, boost profile credibility and can even be seen as a form of employment references. From a recruiter’s point of view, a recommendation can provide a valuable insight into a candidates abilities. They are something you should consider throughout your career. Each time you complete work of significance, ask for a recommendation from those who you positively benefited. Recommend them too. Reciprocity on LinkedIn is always appreciated.
Boost your profile
Showcase your work! Do you have a portfolio of work? Add this to your LinkedIn profile to back up your excellent skills and experience. By adding media to your profile, it helps you stand out from the crowd. Think of media on your profile as another way of telling your story from a different perspective. It allows you to explain yourself and your accomplishments in a way that can be much more effective than just words.
Like, post and share content
By liking, sharing and posting content, it will create interactions between yourself and other users, demonstrating your eagerness to network and attract engagement to your profile. Search for recruiters and employers who interest you and take a look at their content, can you engage with their posts? This is one of the most effective ways for your profile to be recognised.