90% of People Need to Stop Scrolling LinkedIn Until They Do This
Would you go on a date without taking a shower? Or go to an interview without bringing your resume? Or ask your boss for a raise without believing you had done great work? If you answered NO to any of these (and I hope you answered NO to all of them by the way), then you should check yourself on how you’re showing up on LinkedIn.
We all know LinkedIn is THE place for virtual networking, job searching, and much more. Every time I sign on and look at profiles, I’m confused by how many people are on here and they frankly aren’t ready. I’d guess 90% of the profiles I look are not putting their best foot forward. LinkedIn is your own virtual career billboard so why would you bring anything less than an impressive display to your profile before you’re active on the site?
It is SO easy to make subtle changes to your profile that will make you stand out for the right reasons. And with the world rather upside down right now, this is the perfect time to up your LinkedIn game.
If you want to impress people when they land on your profile, there are four things you can do to make a great virtual first impression:
Have a great headshot. Be yourself but make it professional. Consider the background behind your head - keep it simple. Be aware of your facial expression not being overly enthusiastic or overly serious.
Insert a background picture behind your headshot to tell more of a story about yourself. Click the pencil icon that allows you to edit your profile. From there click the pencil icon that sits on the wide image space. Most people have the default blue filler image from LinkedIn. It’s best to personalize this with an image of one of your professional passions. You can pull an image off Google. Browse through your network to get inspiration for this. Canva.com is a great tool to use to create the background image within the LinkedIn template. Be sure to view your profile on desktop and mobile so you choose an image that works well for both.
Use a strong headline. Your headline appears below your name in your profile. What you write there greatly affects how you show up in search results. Instead of saying, for example, ‘Marketing Coordinator,’ you could say, ‘Marketing Coordinator. Consumer-Focused, Brand-Builder, Digital Marketing Expert.’ You have 120 spaces for your headline so use them to your advantage. You are more than just your current job title.
Write an impactful ‘About’ section. This is the first section below your headline. Many people neglect to write anything there, which is a huge missed opportunity to tell your story and plug in keywords. This section should give a strong overview of your expertise and experience (years, industries, functional areas) as well as what you’re looking for. Here’s an example for a job seeker in her 20s:
- Former Division 1 collegiate athlete with 4 years of experience in basketball marketing and ticket sales. Expertise in project management, marketing planning, and social media buying in the sports and entertainment industries. Seeking a challenging marketing position in a major league headquarters location or team office.-
Those three sentences pack a big punch. Yes, you can include additional info in your ‘About’ section but there’s no need to overdo it - remember you’ll have your work experience detailed lower down in the your LinkedIn profile. The ‘About’ section is a hook, like the other three things above, to get a recruiter, hiring manager, or someone else you want to network with to want to learn more about you.
Keep in mind, those are just four quick ways to improve your profile, there are many more. Get more ideas on how to up your Linkedin game from some of my other recent blog posts:
What Makes Someone Stop and Actually Review Your LinkedIn Profile
How to Optimize Your LinkedIn so Recruiters Find You
And If you want more career advice, check out my book or online course (it’s on sale for $12.99 by the way! Reg. $49.99.)