Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
in 20 Minutes a Day
If you're like most people in career transition, you know that you "should" update your LinkedIn profile but keep finding reasons to put it off. The best way to avoid LinkedIn procrastination is just to set a few minutes a day to chip away it little by little.
Below are a few tips on polishing up your profile. If you have never set up your page or haven't touched your profile in a while, dedicate 20 minutes for at least one week and then reassess. At the point you feel like your page is looking strong, you can scale down to 10 to 15 minutes per day of reaching out to contacts, joining groups or sharing, liking or commenting on posts.
First, a few things about LinkedIn -- it is arguably a little stiff and formal and doesn't invite a lot of humor or authentic social connection by default. That said, it is powerful in its reach and its ability to put your best foot forward as a professional in your industry. Even if you feel it isn't for creative or other less-conventional fields, it still offers a great deal to recommend itself and can be tailored to reflect your personality and sensibilities.
If nothing else, if offers you the chance to see how other people in positions you covet progressed in their path to the present position. You can also see whom you might know who knows someone with whom you would like to connect. That in itself is a robust feature and can be used to great advantage if approached deftly.
The Basics:
- Contacts: Reach out to connect with at least two colleagues or clients per day. Send a personalized LinkedIn message with a friendly comment or an invitation to get coffee, if appropriate. Shoot for garnering 500 contacts total in order to attain All Star status.
- Recommendations: Ask a former boss, colleague, for recommendations, which have largely replaced written letters of reference. If appropriate, write a recommendation for these individuals first.
- Header: The space right under your name is usually used for a current job title and employer. If you are not employed list your profession, level and industry. For example; “Environmental Marketing Strategist” or "Copywriter / Proofreader / Editor.” Use the full 120 characters to create a strong first impression for the reader.
- Photo: LinkedIn data shows that having one makes you 7 times more likely to have your profile viewed. Photos lend a sense of approachability and warmth, giving people an immediate sense of who you are.
- Your Name: If you have advanced degrees or certifications, include the appropriate initials or certifications after your last name.
- Summary: Describe what motivates you, what you're skilled at, and what's you’re prepared to tackle. A nice trick here is to start brainstorm your strengths and talents. Write down what makes you unique, what qualities you bring to a team and what overall proposition you’re offering. Then craft a summary that reflects these assets in a narrative form. You can even list your skills like so:Project Management - Technical Writing - Software Development - Sales Management - Customer Service (etc.)
Listing your skills in this ways keeps them from elongating your profile yet still manages to cue the algorithms that are scanning your profile to match you with jobs (in case you plan to use LinkedIn for its job search functionality).
- Skills & Endorsements: At the bottom of your Summary, pick keywords or phrases under Endorsements that best match your skills and abilities, such as Proofreading or Accounting. If you're at a loss, get ideas from the LinkedIn Profiles of people in your industry. Delete outdated skills or ones you are no longer interested developing.
- Experience: List your paid positions and volunteer activities that reveal leadership skills. (Place non-leadership volunteer experience under the Volunteer Experience section.) Use 2 or 3 short paragraphs but bullet point key achievements, particularly if they include metrics.
- Endorse Others: Go to the Profiles of five contacts and endorse them for skills or knowledge.
Your LinkedIn Profile is a work in progress, just like you. You will change and get clearer about the competitive strengths that you want to bring forward to your next employer.
If you succeed, send us a mini-report on three improvements, and you'll receive a free 10-minute consultations of your LinkedIn Profile.
If social media still easily overwhelms you, or you just want an in-person introduction to writing your profile, LinkedIn Job Search I: Write a Compelling Profile, will give you a strong foundation so you can move forward on your own.
If you want to use LinkedIn to build new relationships for networking, LinkedIn Job Search II: Impact Decision Makers can help you maximize your strategy.