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LinkedIn is one of the fastest-growing professional networking sites in the world with over 720 million active users as of 2020. While it’s often used to search for job opportunities, having a well-optimized LinkedIn profile can help grow your professional network, build connections, unlock new opportunities and increase your personal brand visibility. Optimize your Linkedin profile through keywords and structuring content appropriately, this help to rank higher on the search and increase visibility to be found online. The process to optimize your LinkedIn profile will require reviewing all the content from your professional experience and setting it up to ensure that it reaches more connections and helps to land opportunities based on your goals.
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Why is it important to have an optimized LinkedIn profile?
It is crucial to ensure that your LinkedIn profile is well put together, with all the information about you filled in. This way, when people search on LinkedIn, your profile shows up more often. It also helps people trust you more if they want to connect with you or follow what you do. Some of the major benefits of setting up an optimized LinkedIn account are:
• Job opportunities – A well structured LinkedIn profile, opens up a world of opportunities and acts as an online resume. Optimizing your profile will ensure that recruiters find you for positions before the job is posted online. The recent ‘open to work’ feature will tag your profile and ensure that it is visible over search to help find more appropriate positions. It would also help to upload a structured creative resume which can be easily downloaded by recruiters.
The recent ‘open to work’ feature on LinkedIn tags profiles to. ensure that it is visible over search to help find more appropriate positions.
- Networking – Over 2020, LinkedIn saw 48% growth in conversations between connections leading to increased networking opportunities. It provides a recommended list of profiles based on similar interests to connect with and build relationships remotely. There is a large scope for mentorship, bouncing off ideas and great professional conversations among members.
- Industry News – LinkedIn helps to stay abreast of industry trends, changes and news from connections and separate newsletters and publications. It always takes it a step further with discussions from experienced professionals and commentators who dissect news and share insights. Optimizing your profile will help the platform suggest content according to your preferences to ensure that you don’t miss out.
- Demonstrate & Showcase Skills – By sharing relevant content, engaging on posts and adding value to other community members, you can demonstrate your subject matter knowledge and expertise. Your LinkedIn profile can also serve as a point of reference and social proof with the ability to receive endorsements and recommendations from people who have worked with you.
How do you optimize your LinkedIn profile?
Tap into the following hacks to help you get started profile optimization:
1. Choosing your profile & background picture
First impressions are important and your picture is the first aspect which will be noticed on your profile. LinkedIn research has shown that profiles with a great picture receive 21x more views and 36x more messages. Ensure that you choose a recent high-resolution picture and that your face takes up at least 60% of the picture. It is important to stay away from flashy colors and junky jewelry, and distracting colors in the background. Similarly, go with solid colors with minimalistic designs for your background image to make sure that the focus is on your profile picture.
2. Write a great headline
While the headline is usually just the work designation, it could be another way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Ensure to plug in keywords with your headline and illustrate the value you create. For example, If you’re an HR professional, your headline could include the value being created like ‘Building Teams’ along with the traditional designation like ‘HR Manager’. Seek inspiration for great headlines from successful professionals before writing your headline.
3. Focus on the profile summary
Use this section of your profile to show off your personality and create a story about who you are, what you do, and how you got here. Try to stay away from generic sentences and use this opportunity to connect with the users who land up on your profile. It might be helpful to follow a format to ensure minimal clutter of words.
4. Add your skillset
A long list of skills doesn’t really make a difference, it’s important to add skills relevant to the jobs that you are applying for. Try to include a combination of soft skills like ‘communication’ along with core skills like ‘SEO’. Adding this will give your connections a chance to endorse you and boost your profile on search making it visible to recruiters and hiring managers.
Try to include a combination of soft skills like ‘communication’ along with core skills like ‘SEO’ to show expertise through your LinkedIn profile.
5. Connect & grow your network
Reach out to people you may know and send them a connection request to grow your network. You could also use this as an opportunity to network with new people by simply asking for mentorship or finding common ground to establish a connection. The larger your network is, the more likely you are to be found on search and it will boost your profile visibility.
6. Complete skill tests
Instead of simply listing down skills on your profile, you could take a skill assessment test on LinkedIn and earn a verified badge if you attain a score in the top 30%. Research has shown that candidates who complete skill assessments are 30% more likely to get hired as it solidifies the recruiter’s trust in their technical abilities.
7. Ask for recommendations
Reach out to people you have worked for or partnered with in the past to leave you a recommendation on your profile. This shows a first hand experience vouching for your skills, character and success with different projects. Try to showcase different skills from various phases of your life and request a recommendation from a boss, client or co-worker.
8. Engage with your network
It’s important to create content, start discussions and begin adding value to your network. It could be written content through blogs or articles, commentary to industry news, engaging with content posted by others within your network, etc. A recent study has shown that posts with ‘how to’ and ‘lists’ receive the most engagement on LinkedIn. Start conversations and remotely networking through events, groups, comments and one on one communication to grow a thriving community.
A recent study has shown that posts with ‘how to’ and ‘lists’ receive the most engagement on LinkedIn. These types of posts will help to nurture and engage your network.
9. Set up a mobile-friendly profile
Almost 58% of LinkedIn users access the platform through mobile. It’s important to know that the profile summary preview will only load 140 characters and headline preview shows upto 42 characters. Make sure to put some thought into the content and add the facts that will create an impact and a good first impression. Test this out by yourself to see how other people view it and adjust your content accordingly.
Optimizing your LinkedIn profile can be even harder for students and recent graduates who don’t have enough experience within the workplace. Qureos can help you connect with liked-minded learners from all over the world, acquire practical hands on skills through industry professional-led sessions and gain work experience by collaborating with corporates while building your portfolio.
contactYou can also build your portfolio by completing portfolio projects and stand out to recruiters with relevant experience as you showcase the right skills and tools. Here are a few projects for you to check out;
Marketing Project: Build a Brand Awareness Campaign
Customer Experience Project: Elevating Customer Experiences
Management Project: Excellence Through Agile Project Management
If you would like to learn more about Qureos, reach out to us or check out our social networks.
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