Photo
Although we recommend not including a photo on your CV, employers expect this on LinkedIn. Do remember, though, that LinkedIn is a professional network, not a social network, so choose your photo wisely.
A smart headshot, taken in your working clothes in your working environment, is the best option. Save the party photos and holiday snaps for your other social media accounts.
Headline
This is the first impression you’ll make on a recruiter, so you need to make it count. The obvious place to start is with your job title, assuming you’re looking for a similar role. Think also about including something you specialise in, your unique selling point or your industry.
It’s not wise to put anything advertising the fact that you’re seeking work. For some reason employers seem to prefer recruiting someone who already has a job – plus as a first impression this is hardly the most engaging thing you can write to persuade recruiters to click through to your full profile.
Summary
Much like the professional profile section of your CV, this section needs to give a potential employer a high-level overview of what you can offer. Primarily you need to highlight your key skills, your industry and where your main areas of expertise lie.
Try to show some passion for your work and that you’re aware of key industry trends or issues.
Most importantly, avoid the falling into the cliché trap – hardworking, enthusiastic, motivated and other such generic words are so overused they’re virtually meaningless.
Skills and expertise
For this section, pull out any keywords from your CV and use your common sense to list any transferable and desirable skills. When you think you’re done, find a few adverts for the kind of jobs you’ll be applying for – read them in detail to identify any further skills you may have missed.
Don’t worry about stating the obvious – a Project Manager should certainly list Project Management as a skill! Your profile is searchable so you need to ensure it comes up in as many searches as possible.
Experience
People generally write CVs in the third person, as employers consider it more professional. But, because LinkedIn is a less formal tool, you can write in the first person.
There is a limit of 2,000 characters per job, but remember that it’s harder to read large paragraphs of text on screen than it is on paper. Break the description of your role down into very short paragraphs, and leave blank lines between paragraphs to make it a bit easier on the eye.
Don’t forget to also include achievements for each job, rather than just a dry list of responsibilities.
Education, courses and certifications
These sections are pretty self-explanatory – just ensure that you keep them relevant to the type of roles you’re applying for and don’t include too much detail on your education once you have some strong experience under your belt.
Other sections
Although the sections above are the key fields you’ll need to populate on your profile, do aim to complete as many of the others as you can. These include languages, publications, awards, patents, projects, volunteer experience and organisations.
They won’t all be relevant to everyone, but they do give a recruiter a more rounded perspective on your skills and what you can bring to their company.
Privacy
Clearly, it is extremely important to protect your personal information online. Be aware of oversharing not only your own personal details, but also information that may be considered confidential by your current employer.
LinkedIn has many ways to control your online privacy, so make sure you go through all the options to make sure you’re happy with the level of security you have. If in doubt, don’t include it on your profile in the first place.
URL
When you create your LinkedIn profile, the site will automatically generate a URL for you. This can change, however, to something more memorable and less clunky.
You’ll need to keep the first part, with the LinkedIn address. But you can change the end to your name, your job title, your industry, your speciality or anything else you think is appropriate. For example, I specialise in writing CVs, so I’ve changed my URL to cvjen.
Networking
Remember that one of the primary functions of your LinkedIn profile is to build a professional network. Try to link with as many current and former colleagues as you can, to maximise the potential of the tool.
You can also link with people from your chosen industry, or in your target companies. Aim to send a personal connection request rather than using the standard wording provided, in this case.
Recommendations and endorsements
Once you’ve started building your network, you can ask for recommendations and endorsements. These add credibility to your LinkedIn profile in much the same way as a reference. Don’t forget to give them in return though!
Master your LinkedIn profile
LinkedIn is a great way of boosting your job search, developing an online presence in your industry and building a wider network. A strong and well-written LinkedIn profile could open doors, so it’s worth investing the time in getting it just right.
About the author: Jen David has been a CV Consultant since 2010 and currently works for CV Knowhow, the UK’s leading career and CV writing consultancy. She has written CVs for thousands of job seekers from all industries and at all stages in their career, from students to senior executives. Jen aims to add value to CVs, enabling her customers to increase their chances of securing an interview and progress in their chosen career.
