Your LinkedIn profile is the arbiter of your personal brand. In our digital-first world, most first impressions are formed online, and your LinkedIn profile will show up at or near the top of Google results on your name.
So whether someone who is checking you out chooses Google or goes directly to LinkedIn, it’s your LinkedIn profile that will form their impression of you. Building the most authentic, compelling, and differentiated LinkedIn profile will have a huge impact on how you’re perceived by others.
Despite the fact that we all use LinkedIn to check out potential colleagues, business partners, clients, job candidates, salespeople, and other professionals we’re curious about, many people make three big mistakes when it comes to their own profile:
- They don’t take it as seriously as they should.
- They only update it when a major career event happens (like a promotion or new job).
- They don’t take advantage of new features that could help them wow the people who are checking them out.
Whether you’re regularly making changes to your profile or you haven’t taken a look at it since you got your current job, make these important changes so you can make the most powerful and branded impression on those who are researching you.
1. Fortify Your Headline
Your headline is the most important part of your profile when it comes to showing up high in search results. It’s more important than all the other profile elements. Most people use their current job title and company as their headline. That’s a missed opportunity. The best formula to follow is this:
Job Title + Keywords + Zing
Keywords are all the words you would like to be associated with, and Zing is something that makes you interesting. It could be how you do what you do, why you do what you do, or something intriguing about you. You have 220 characters. Use as many as you need to make your headline impactful.
2. Redo Your About
Your LinkedIn About will be the most-read version of your bio, so invest time in making it captivating. The most important part of your About is the start. When people visit your profile, they only see the first couple of lines of your About. If those 20-30 words aren’t compelling, people who want to know about you might not click “see more” to get the full story. Focus on the kick-off, then follow these rules:
- Write in the first person. It helps you create a connection with the reader.
- Include about 30% personal information like your passions, life purpose, values, and non-work activities. This makes you likable.
- Use as many of the 2,600 characters as you need to tell your story while eliminating fluff. Make sure each sentence bolsters your narrative.
3. Prioritize Skills
Your skills now show up at the bottom of your About section, so they will likely influence people’s perception of you. LinkedIn displays your top skills in chronological order based on the number of endorsements you received. That order may not reflect how you want to be known. The great news is that when you’re editing your About, you can re-order your skills using LinkedIn’s drag and drop feature.
4. Focus On Featured
The Featured section is powerful because it
- Shows up near the top of your profile (just below your About/Skills)
- Is a fairly large piece of personal branding real estate
- Allows you to showcase multimedia content – images and videos that highlight your thought leadership
If you are using Featured already, make sure you keep it up-to-date. You can add more items and re-order them to prioritize how you want to be known.
5. Get Fresh Recommendations
Most of your profile is you talking about you. Recommendations provide an opportunity to amp up your credibility by getting others to share their impression of you. This enhances your credibility. And most profiles I see have at least a few recommendations. The problem is that most of them are really old. Add new ones at least annually
The quality of your LinkedIn profile will impact your career success. Use it as a meaningful way to deliver a first impression and connect with others. Your profile should sit at the intersection of likability and credibility. Keep it current while at the same time aspirational – pitching you for what’s next.
Forbes
