5 Ways to Stand Out on LinkedIn
Having a LinkedIn profile can make you stand out as being professional and progressive, helping you move forward in your career! I recently conducted a webinar training on LinkedIn for a group of career professionals. In preparation for the training, I talked to a few recruiters to get their tips and tricks for maximizing your LinkedIn presence and I’m excited to share those with you.
Make Your Profile Complete and Neat:
Make sure that your profile is complete. For your summary and experience, provide enough detail so that someone can understand the work you can do. Do not leave any sections blank. Vanessa, Talent Acquisition Specialist for Hemmera stated that she’s looking for candidates to have an organized and tidy profile which can be easily done by the use of icons and space. Aim for the “All-Star” status which is not hard to obtain as long as you have completed the major sections of your profile. However, keep in mind that “Less can be more” so don’t feel you have to maximize your character limit for each section.
Use Keywords:
If someone is going to look for someone with your skills and experience on LinkedIn, they will use a select number of keywords along with a location and industry target. Think about the keywords that you want to be found for. Then make sure those keywords are sprinkled in your profile. If you are struggling to figure out what keywords to use, scroll down to your Skills & Endorsements section. This should represent what keywords represent your skill set. If it does not, then consider changing which skills you are asking connections to endorse you for. It’s easy to change the order and priority of your endorsements.
Write in a Friendly, Professional” Tone:
Maz from Aughdem Recruitment shared that he has seen a movement from LinkedIn being “proper and serious” to being more friendly and professional. You can write your entire profile and experience in the first person voice. Share your motivations, story, and your why! Let your personality come out. People want to hire people they like.
And to follow up on this, also ensure that all your communications via LinkedIn are also approachable and warm. If someone asks you to connect, accept and then send them a welcome message and try to get to know them better. Also if you are sending new connection requests, don’t send the standard connection requests. Always customize and look for a way that you can connect to that person by first looking at their profile.
Invest in a Good Profile Picture:
This advice came from all the recruiters and HR personnel that I talked to. Think of LinkedIn as your professional web presence. If you had a professional website, would you post a poorly cropped or pixelated picture of yourself? Probably not. You can invest in a professional profile head shot. If that’s out of the budget, you can DIY it quite easily. Just put on some professional clothes, find a background with good lighting and have someone snap a picture on your phone. And don’t forget to smile!
Keep Your Actions Professional:
Every time that you take an action on LinkedIn, it’s broadcast publicly to your connections. Make sure that anything you publish is related to your professional background and future job target. Remember, you like or comment on a post, that will show up to your network. With a greater number of religious, political, or sexist posts coming up on LinkedIn recently, avoid interacting with these posts as it can damage your professional reputation and dilute your brand message.
And lastly, here’s a bonus tip from Lucas from TEKsystems. If a recruiter reaches out to you on LinkedIn, why not take a few minutes to chat with them, even if you aren’t looking for your next opportunity. Recruiters have a great sense of what is going on in the industry and if you can build up a relationship with them now, it could help you down the road when you are ready for a new job!
Kristin Vandegriend loves crafting exceptional resumes! Her company, Career Story, has helped many job seekers find work. When she is not writing resumes, she is hiking, watching Survivor, or attempting to improve her culinary skills. You can reach her at kristin@careerstory.ca