3 Things that will make or break your LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn profile is your CV/résumé online and so much more. So if you get it wrong, you’re in real trouble. There are 3 areas of your profile that people see first, and they can be the difference between a killer profile and a profile that stinks. These are:
- Your image
- Your headline
- Your summary
They make or break your profile, but why?
Your image
Rightly or wrongly, people do judge a book by its cover, so it’s really important to choose the right image for your profile. It will also help potential employers, by showing them what you would look like in their workplace. This means it is essential that you dress for the job you want, not the job you have. If you’re in the military, and looking to transition back into the civilian workplace, then change your profile image from military uniform to a suit and tie for the gentlemen, and a smart shirt and jacket for the ladies.Now, take a look at your image and think about what that image says about you.
- No image means we’ll wonder what you have to hide or if you have the IT skills to even upload a photo.
- Casual photo will make us wonder if you know what’s appropriate for the workplace.
- Avatars just make us wonder!
Next, think about the place that you want to work at and choose an image that reflects this. If you’re not sure, then just choose an image that says: professional, confident, approachable. Take a look at the “All Influencers” page in LinkedIn’s Pulse magazine for inspiration.
Your headline
When you created your account, LinkedIn used your job title and place of work as your headline. That’s ok, but it only tells people what your current job is, it doesn’t really let people know how you contribute to the organisation you work for. You get 120 characters for your headline, so instead of saying what your job is, try telling people what it is you do, how you can help them and what problems you solve. It sounds a lot easier to do than it is, but remember. this is what appears under your name in discussions etc, so you need to get it right.Take a look at your current headline. Can you answer the following questions:
- What is your profession?
- What is your speciality within that profession?
- What do you do well?
- What do you contribute the the organisation you currently work for?
Next, check:
- What keywords have you included that will help you get found?
- Is your headline readable? Use symbols such as ★ ♦ ~ to help.
In terms of how you appear in search results, your image and your headline are what people see first and so these determine whether people visit your profile page, or not.
Your summary
Without a summary, the first thing people read after your thumbnail section is your experience, so you just become a sum of the jobs that you’ve had. On your résumé, you’ll use a couple of sentences to highlight how you could fill the role that you are applying for, however, on LinkedIn, your summary should be your elevator pitch, telling people:
- Who you are. This shouldn’t be clichés about how accomplished you are. It should be facts to show what those accomplishments actually are.
- What you can do – include lots of action words.
- What you can do for future employers. Most aren’t interested in your goals, they just want to know how you could help them with their business/organisation.
- Why people should connect/contact/employ you. What’s in it for them?
Your summary should not only tell your story, it should sell it.
Action points
Take a look at these 3 sections of your profile. And ask yourself:
- How do you appear in search results.
- If you were a potential employer, would you want to click on your profile?
- What does your image say about you?
- Does your headline say what are or what you do?
- Can potential employers tell what it is you do and how you could fit into their organisation?
Finally
These 3 sections are what people will see first, and when you get them right, your readers will keep reading. Get them wrong, and your profile reads amateur, not professional. This is fatal on the social media designed for professionals!