Your LinkedIn Profile Matters
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Blog
Just think how happy you will be knowing that your LinkedIn page is working for you.
There is no question that LinkedIn is one of the first places a prospective employer will look once they see you have applied for a role in their business. How can you be sure your profile is helping, not hurting, your chances of landing your dream job?
If you aren’t sure that tending to your LinkedIn page is worth the effort, just look at business titans like Richard Branson and Guy Kawasaki, for example. They continue to post on their profile on a daily basis. If Branson and Kawasaki can find the time in their busy day to update their profile, can’t you?
The answer is yes, you most certainly can and should. Here are five simple tips to help your LinkedIn profile.
What is your profile pic saying about you?
Select a photo that resembles your current appearance. After all, the main purpose of your professional profile picture is so people will recognise you. Using bad quality, cropped or skewed photos can have an adverse impact on your image. And for fresh-faced budding magnates, avoid pics of you with your mates at the pub, or the pouty selfies. Judgmental as it may be, people form an opinion about you based on your photo. It’s human nature.
What Have You Been Up To
It pays to give your bio summary some careful thought. It should sum up who you are and what your business offers, sprinkled with a bit of your personality. LinkedIn provides ample space for a summary and is the perfect platform to highlight your professional prowess.
Be creative and energetic in your self-description…but don’t brag. Or worse, blag. It’s a great, big digital world out there. Filling your profile with porky-pies (lies) will catch up to you eventually.
Politically Correct
Once you have established your online identity, make sure are not negatively impacting your reputation by personally attacking people with different beliefs than yourself. Keep your cool when it comes to flashpoint topics like religion and politics, especially on LinkedIn. It’s remarkable to see people sabotage themselves with diatribes that insult someone who doesn't share the same beliefs. The recipient of your onslaught of expletives could be the person you are interviewing with next week or is the final decision maker!
Promote Yourself
When building and improving your LinkedIn profiles, always get in the mindset of a potential employer.
- From your profile, is it clear what you have to offer?
- Have you provided value to your business in previous roles?
- Did you take the time to expand on your experience?
- Have you included referrals?
Visuals in the form of short videos, infographics, and client testimonials all pack a powerful punch. Just remember, if your profile is incomplete or shows minimal effort, an assumption could be made of how you conduct your business.
If you need guidance, there are plenty of LinkedIn people who are willing to help. Just think how happy and content you will be in the knowledge that your LinkedIn page is working for you, not against you.