How to Set up your Linkedin Profile for Success
Have you ever googled someone and their LinkedIn popped up and then suddenly you know what college they went and every job they ever had?
After reading that person’s Linkedin you might feel like dang that must be nice! but it all comes down to how you position yourself. It’s now about what you do but it’s about how you talk about it.
The Key to LinkedIn is all about personal branding and I have key ACTIONABLE steps that you can take to impress recruiting officers.
You need to ensure that your online presence conveys a message that you approve of and LinkedIn is one of the easiest ways you can do that.
In this article I’ll go over the ways you can set up your LinkedIn profile success.
How to Write your Blurb
Your blurb is the section where you can write a little bit about yourself. It is helpful to explain your purpose and give readers your “why?” Behind all the work that you've done. It should be brief but pack a punch. There are three crucial parts of your LinkedIn bio:
A line about your current work: Let people know right off the bat what your current title is and what project or role you are currently working on. This allows them to see that you're still working on your skills and that you are an active member, not someone with a dormant page.
What is your purpose: This is the juicy part! Include one to two lines about why you do the type of work you do! It doesn't have to be too specific, but it should be engaging and genuine. Here’s an example:
“I’m a junior at X university or (insert current job title). I am inspired by scholars who have paved the way in developing AI technology and I believe that AI can be the solution to personalized educational strategies. I am excited to pursue this further through academic research and further beta testing. I currently serve as the vice president of the Robotics Club and as a tutor for Education 225: Digital literacies. Visit my website to read more about my thoughts on how AI is inspiring change in education. “
As you can see, you need to say why you're drawn to the field you're in, but also where that is leading you.
Your Bio should be at least a paragraph long. It could be longer if you like, but you run the risk of people not reading all of it, so make sure your first paragraph has all the major pieces of information in it.
A call to action
A call to action is imperative for inciting more engagement and interaction through LinkedIn.
Always leave people with another way to get connected with you or your work! This can be by simply ask to email you if they'd like to chat about your field, links to your social media, your writing, or your website.
Here are three effective calls to action statements you can include in your bio:
Visit my website to learn more about (insert project)
Email me at myemail.com to learn more about my work
Follow my (social network of your choice) to see my work in action
The Key to Listing your Experience
Listing your experience is one of the most straightforward features of LinkedIn yet so many people get it wrong!
How you organize your information can be just as important as the content. If it doesn’t look visually appealing, no one will want to read it.
Ensure that you start with your most recent positions or titles!
The three major rules to listing your experience are:
Add roles based on the organization you did those roles in. For example, if you want to list the positions you’ve had at a certain company, you want to add that under the companies headline on your LinkedIn and not as a separate role.
By clicking the tiny plus icon on your profile you’re able to add a role and pick which organization you completed each role!
Keep your descriptions brief. Keep your points for each role brief because your linkedin is not your resume. It should be an appetizer, not the whole meal. Keep a short 1-3 sentences about what you accomplished for each role.
Keep grammar consistent: you don’t want to add periods to the end of some sentences and not others and you want to make sure that the start of every bullet point is capitalized. Just like your resume it should all flow and look professional like you didn’t haphazardly throw it all together.
Your banner matters
Yes. It’s 2020 and it’s cool now to have a LinkedIn header.
Every inch of your LinkedIn should be telling a part of your story. Having a random tree as your header image doesn't necessarily say “she is passionate about social media strategy” or whatever else.
While you don't want to overwhelm people when they visit your Linkedin, you want to take advantage of your banner to bring something else to the table.
Your header can be used as a business card of sorts. It can have your name, logo if you have one, your motto, and any recognizable organizations that you’ve worked with.
People are attracted to visuals and while there's a high chance someone won’t read through all your bullet points, there's almost no way they won't see/read your banner. This means that your banner needs to be captivating and have a message.
An example of a captivating Linkedin header
You won't want to put too much but some ideas of what should be on your banner cover are:
A life motto
An interesting quote that inspires you
The logos of all the companies you've worked for
Your brand tagline
A photo of your work in action
And the list goes on!
Remember if someone doesn’t even continue scrolling through your profile the first thing they’ll see is your header. I create my LinkedIn headers on Canva for free and it’s pretty easy and painless.
Here are 8 free Linkedin banner design ideas!
Get the resume template I used to snag my first “real world” Job ↓
Making your Profile Active
Just like with any other networking site people get bored with words and can easily skim through your profile before scrolling to the next.
If you want to make anyone who’s coming to your LinkedIn page actually stop and get to know you then you need to have PROOF that you're worth reading about.
Providing proof doesn't mean you have to be published in the New York Times and run a billion-dollar company (though it wouldn't hurt) it simply means adding visuals and outside sources to make you more real and interesting.
Some great and simple ways to provide proof is:
Add photos under your work experience
Link to articles you wrote or have been mentioned in
Create a portfolio that holds all your accomplishments
Get your friends and colleagues to endorse you or write a recommendation
By doing this your LinkedIn will look way more professional and will make you stand out from the crowd.
It also helps to post your accomplishments on a regular basis. Don't be afraid of the humblebrag!
You work hard and you can only establish yourself as an expert in your field if you actually let people know what you're doing.
So treat LinkedIn like your family facebook post and keep your colleagues and friends up to date with your accomplishments.
If you feel stuck on what to post, you could post:
Conferences you go to
When you master a new skill
When you publish something
When you receive an award
When you start a new job
When you successfully finish a new course
How to Use Keywords!
Linkedin is like any social platform and it uses SEO so people can search for people and also be found.
Search engine optimization means using the right words so that you can be found by the right audience.
You don't want just any and everyone stumbling across your LinkedIn you want the right people to find you such as potential employers, colleagues, or organizations that may want to work with you.
Think about how would you find someone in your industry? Use the LinkedIn search feature to see who comes up for the positions your interested in and what types of words do they use? because obviously Linkedin is ranking them high.
In order to attract the right people to your page, you need to speak the language of your industry and peers.
Now, this is easier said than done.
First start with your title,
For your title, you want to be explicit about whatever aspirations you have for yourself. Linkedin is not the place to be insecure, you have to show up as the person you aspire to be.
Your title is valuable space to speak what you want into the universe so the right people can find you. Especially if you're young or making a career change it can mean the job you have right now isn't the job you want forever.
In order to utilize the space in your title
Current title/positon + Industry of interest
E.g as a student you could be currently working at a random job to make extra cash but you are working towards doing working in education in the near future.
Undergraduate at X university | Global education Advocate
By doing this you’re explaining your current title but you’re also making very clear what your interest is and what industries would be interested in your profile.
Don’t be afraid to use fill up your position title! You have 100 characters to play with so take advantage
Linkedin needs to learn who would benefit from seeing your profile and you can give the algorithm a little nudge by using keywords that are relevant to your field and interest.
Building Your Personal Brand
Lastly, we want to talk about the presentation of your profile. Linkedin like all digital tools it is very visual and it important that you are maximizing these visual aspects to create a PERSONAL BRAND.
Start by thinking what do I want people to think when they take the first glance of my profile?
Do want people to think you are…
Bold
Organized
Serious
Friendly
Competent
Successful
The list goes on!
Start by thinking of what adjectives you’d like to be associated with and then we can start with tweaking your profile to match your personal message
The steps to nailing your personal brand are
Choose a unifying color for all your professional networks
Have professional headshot that makes you look like you’re in your element
Have a saying, phrase or keyword that can be found easily to identify you
Now let’s talk about your picture because it’s important
Your picture doesn’t have to be a boring headshot. Heck, I’d say it shouldn’t be!
It okay to distinguish yourself professionally.
This can mean taking your photo outdoors, in a classroom, in an office. It can also mean wearing something that feels more true to who you are (while still remaining professional of course) and it also means you don’t have to do the standard mugshot smile but you can pose in a way that makes you most relaxed
The biggest thing is it should look like YOU. It shouldn’t look like a stock photo. Now some general rules of thumb to follow are:
No distracting backgrounds
Stare directly at the camera
Your face should be easily identifiable
So as you can see there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to linked
Overall LinkedIn is a great tool to establish your self as an authority within your field and also to meet interesting people. If you don’t use it right it can be another failed attempt at networking but if you utilize it as a tool you’ll get to actually build connections with professionals through your personal brand before you ever exchange words.
COMMENT and Let me know any tips you’ve discovered while using LinkedIn.