According to the site itself, 93% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates for their job openings. If you’re not on LinkedIn, you could be missing out on hundreds of opportunities! When creating a LinkedIn profile, it’s important to market yourself in the right way to positively attract recruiters and employers. Let’s start from the top!
Profile Picture
Choose a recent, professional photo of yourself for your profile picture. If you have a headshot or another business professional photo, that’s great! If you don’t, getting a nice profile picture is much more simple than it seems. Next time you go to work, ask a family member or coworker to take a picture of you in front of a neutral background or perhaps right outside of the office.
Header
After you fill out your relevant job history, your most recent position will automatically be set as your header. It is perfectly okay to leave it like this, however, it is good to note that your header can be modified. By clicking the edit icon in the intro section, you can manually fill in what you would like as your “headline.” Choose what you feel best represents who you are as a professional. For example, instead of HR Manager, you could put: Experienced HR Leader and Business Partner.
About
This section may seem intimidating, but it’s not as scary as it looks! Think about writing your “About” section similar to how you would answer the interview question “Tell me about yourself,” just a simplified version. What do you want viewers to know about you, and what do you want them to get out of looking at your page? What is your why? Try to make it unique! Make sure to keep this section updated as your career grows and your goals change.
Experience
This should be the easiest part of creating your profile because you can copy your work history directly from your resume. Descriptions are important to add so that viewers can gather more information on your skills and specific experience. You want the descriptions to be easy for people to read so try not to make them too lengthy. 4-6 bullet points per job is perfect!
Skills
The skills section is often used by recruiters to find candidates with specific skills. For example, they may be looking for a candidate that has experience with Microsoft Excel. You may be overlooked if you have a valuable skill that is not listed, so thoroughly review your resume or current job description to fill out this section.
Expert Bonus Tip: LinkedIn has an “Open to Work” feature that allows recruiters and hiring managers to see if you are open to work, and if so, what job titles you’re looking for, in what location, etc. This is extremely useful if you are looking for a career change, as it will attract more recruiters to your page and help them see what you’re looking for! At the top of your page, select “Open to,” and fill out the questions as listed.