Factor in the following when creating and maintaining your LinkedIn profile:
- Ensure that your display picture is recent and semi-formal. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words and your photograph plays an important role in creating an impression with prospective employers. Resist the urge to put up your graduation day photo if you have been working for more than a decade.
- Avoid using your current job designation as the ‘headliner’ for your profile; use this section to highlight your credentials, what your aspirations are and what inspires you.
- Having a large network of ‘connections’ is not enough. It is important to share articles that are relevant to your field. Equally important is updating your profile when you switch jobs, receive a promotion, or acquire a new degree or certification.
- The summary section should have a bulleted list of your work experience, with sub-heads explaining your job role. Employers and HR agencies spend the most time reviewing this section to gauge if an individual is suitable for the role they have in mind. Include profession-specific keywords and avoid lengthy paragraphs.
- The recommendations and skill endorsement sections are ideal spaces for word of mouth marketing to potential employers. This is because endorsers’ identity is visible to your profile visitors and their credentials and credibility can be verified. The more colleagues and supervisors (previous and current) who write about your competencies, the more valuable your LinkedIn can be.
By Muntazir Haider. The writer is a senior business consultant, corporate trainer and an entrepreneur. muntazir@ thebrandconsultants.net
