LinkedIn is a pretty big deal in this day and age. Connecting professionals with one another across the globe, it has revolutionized the way we seek employment opportunities.
With “nearly 660+ million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide,” the pressure is on when creating a profile that entices others. Your profile is your online (and public) résumé. Getting noticed is important if your goal is to find amazing job opportunities. Here are 5 significant tips that will help you create the perfect LinkedIn page.
- Don’t be afraid to hype yourself up.
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While the account sign-up is quite easy, making a strong and impressive profile summary might be a little bit of a challenge. After all, this is one of the first elements that a viewer will see. You’ve got to make a great first impression, right?
If you are not familiar with the platform’s features, regular users only see a 300-word snippet of your about section, whereas recruiters have full view of it.
Remember the “About Me” paragraphs on MySpace back in the day? You can think of the profile summary as a more professional version, like you’re letting the LinkedIn world know what’s up. This is your chance to hype yourself up in 2,000 words or less, so make the most of it!
I know it’s a struggle to talk about yourself without feeling all weird and awkward about it. Trust me, I get it. However, seeing awesome examples will definitely help give you some ideas on how to put yourself out there.
- List occupational triumphs to accentuate your skills.
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Sometimes writing paragraphs just feels like a burden. Making a list of important attributes is totally okay. This will help you organize your points without having to worry about the flow from one point to another. You can even do a hybrid of paragraphs and lists.
LinkedIn’s Talent Blog provides an example of how the hybrid can be properly done. In this sample summary, Gijo starts with a statement that is then supported by a series of bullets for elaboration. He’s straight to the point but also detailed. As stated, “Gijo stands out because he organizes his points to read like a true introspection [or self-analysis] and career synthesis, not jargon.”
Here’s a brief sample of how I would use this way of organization to focus on my own experience in student housing:
Developing and maintaining positive relationships is important to me in creating a solid community. I aim to make people always feel welcome and comfortable.
I can plan and host any type of events for large groups.
– I use common interests to draw attention from as many people as possible.
– I incorporate a variety of themes, ranging from retail therapy to résumé improvements.
– I speak with attendees to get more ideas for future occasions.
I possess an enthusiastic attitude.
– I carry out duties with eagerness no matter how major or minor.
– I look on the bright side of situations, especially if it’s a learning moment.
– I want clients to never hesitate approaching me for assistance.
- Choose your target audience and spark that connection.
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When writing your summary, think of what group you’re trying to reach out to. It’s crucial to know your audience. Then, you’re able to adjust your tone and content.
“LinkedIn uses your summary for search results,” Jobscan points out.
Key words are going to matter. LinkedIn has instruments meant to help recruiters find “the right people to improve their teams.” Enumerating your hard and soft skills is beneficial since recruiters can customize their searches. In your summary, be sure to go more in depth about those skills.
Let’s say I’m interested in taking up a marketing-related role. I would write in my summary that my creative skills include being efficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, while my communication skills consist of being an effective influencer and a strong writer. The most emphasis would be on those skills that make me best fit for the job to catch the eye of recruiters in search of someone for a marketing position.
- Use your personal experiences when providing examples.
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Personalize your content with real-life experiences. It’s like a story but also showcasing the skill applications. Don’t go off tangent as it may seem like you’re rambling. To make it easier, put the focus on just one example of how you utilized a certain skill.
In an interview with Refinery29, the freelance lifecoach Brynn Johnson advised: “It’s best to write casually and in the way that you would talk in a regular conversation.”
It’s also a good idea to think about which experiences would be appropriate to include in your profile summary. Johnson recommends either writing down or “recording yourself about what you do, how you help people, and the most rewarding things you do at work.”
According to CNBC, an outstanding summary should “[answer] questions that provide deeper insight about the individual.” These questions include: “What makes [this person] unique? Where is [their] career headed? How would others describe [them]? What are [their] values and personal traits?”
Referring back to my time in the student housing industry from #2, here’s what I would add under planning and hosting events while incorporating marketing:
As resident director, it’s my responsbility to create partnerships with organizations and businesses around the area as well as putting together cool events for the residents in the apartment complex. I’ve been given the chance to team up with PINK representatives on campus for an in-store event. This was an opportunity for me to promote the apartments, so my coworkers and I made goody bags filled with merch to hand out to attendees. In addition, I designed digital flyers to send to residents to let them know about the store’s discounts and deals. We successfully executed the event as a lot of our residents came and other attendees still looking for an apartment for the next year got more information about our apartments.
- Present the big picture that you have at the moment or ultimately.
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As you describe what you do for a living, be sure to relate it to the big picture. What do you see yourself accomplishing? There’s no goal too small or too big. After all, it’s YOUR big picture that you’re presenting.
Maybe you’re still a bit unsure about what you want to achieve — and that’s no problem at all. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to start brainstorming what you see yourself doing or where you see your career heading.
According to Forbes, a strong summary is relevant, unique, and enganging. Recruiters on the look out for candidates that will be “relevant to their goals.” To grab their attention, you got to make yourself stand out amongst the 660+ million professionals on LinkedIn. Your content will help those recruiters get to know who you are and what you stand for.
The content is pivotal. Forbes suggests to include accomplishments by “[writing] a sentence for what you have achieved in your career.”
For instance, I started out as a leasing agent before getting promoted to resident director. That’s the biggest achievement of my career to date. The sentence I would put in my summary is, “In less than a year, I moved up to resident director from leasing agent.”
In 2020, exchanging Snapchat codes is not longer cool — instead, connect on LinkedIn! I’m not interested in increasing my snap-score when I know it’s more instrumental to have more connections. I’m all for working towards an ah-mazing career.