How to Make a Better LinkedIn Profile

Everyone is on LinkedIn now. It’s a place where people and companies can build their brand. After Microsoft bought LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in 2016, LinkedIn released a new native video feature, a trending stories section, and a more robust analytics tool to help brands engage larger audiences for a longer amount of time. With over 500 million users and growing, your LinkedIn Profile is now one of the most important aspects of your professional online presence. 

But how do you raise your profile and grab the attention of recruiters? First let us look at the facts and statistics:

• Australia has around 9 million registered LinkedIn members. 2 people join LinkedIn every second
• Peak hours – The peak hours for LinkedIn are between Monday and Thursday, with the best times for posting between 7-8am, and 5-6pm.
• A study found that 122 million people received an interview through LinkedIn, with 35.5 million having been hired by a person they connected with on the site. One good LinkedIn stat for recruiters is that employees sourced through the site are 40% less likely to leave the company within the first 6 months.
• 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates
• 40% of monthly active users use LinkedIn daily. However, LinkedIn is used sparingly, so you only have a few minutes to make an impact. Users only spend about 17 minutes on LinkedIn per month.

Now that you have the facts and know where you want to be to manage your professional reputation, here are some tips to increase your visibility online and showcase your background to prospective employers and stand out from the crowd:

1. Write an Engaging Profile Introduction
   The golden rule is to be authentic. Use this section to succinctly showcase your key skills in relation to your passions and career goals. The more you can set yourself apart from competitors through your exceptionality, the better.
2. Choose a Great Photo
   Add a professional photo (a headshot). If you have a decent camera then google some other professional profile photos or check out others on LinkedIn, and select a style that suits your professional personality. You can also consider engaging a professional.
3. Customize Your URL
   Customizing your URL will make it much easier to publicize your profile, and you can add the link on your resume and with employer and connections. If your name is available, use it. 
4. Use Your Resume to Write the Experience section
   Basically your experience section of your LinkedIn profile is your online resume. That’s exactly what section recruiters are looking for when they’re searching LinkedIn for potential candidates. It’s essential that your resume matches your profile because prospective employers will check.
5. Use Target Job Descriptions to Your Advantage
   Check out what jobs are being advertised on LinkedIn that interest you and make sure the key words and phrases are scattered throughout your summary and experience.
6. Show your Achievements
   Numbers go a long way to impress a reader – highlight projects you’ve worked on and provide the stats to show the results. “Project completed 5% under the original budget” or “Negotiated 5% savings on 50 million contract etc.”
7. Promote Yourself
   If you really want to establish yourself as a SME within your industry and field and raise your profile on LinkedIn, but don’t want to come across as big noting yourself, consider these: Share posts from the company you work for and why you’re proud to work for them, “Proud to work for an organisation that….” and look to tag your company in the post. Look for other SME’s, and follow and comment on their posts. Follow individuals, companies and organisations that have large followings and share with your own comments and thoughts on the subject. Become an Author, or add your own blog. Use existing hashtags.
8. Ask Your Connections to Recommend You
   Spend some thought on who in your network has expressed positive feedback on working with you, and reach out to ask them for a written LinkedIn recommendation. Don’t be afraid to guide them with what you’d like them to focus on, based on what strengths you want to particularly promote or a job you want to target. To a potential employer, recommendations from people you have worked with carry a lot of weight and is like a reference in advance. Offering to reciprocate will ensure your connection will be happy to oblige. Similarly, update your skills by modelling others in your field and target job descriptions, and reach out to your connections to endorse you.