Gone are the days of setting up a simple and generic LinkedIn profile to tick a networking box. Today, a strong LinkedIn profile can provide a greater chance of being seen and sought after by employers or recruiters.
We have pulled together five handy hints to help you optimise your LinkedIn profile and position yourself for success.
1: Choose a professional profile picture:
It is important to choose a high-quality picture that is appropriate for LinkedIn. This means a picture that highlights you in professional clothing, facing the camera to highlight your face and not holding anything such as a drink in your hand. It is also crucial to choose a picture that features only yourself. You do not want to confuse potential employers by having multiple people in your profile picture.
2: Use a tagline underneath your name:
Write up a tagline that quickly and effectively summarises your capabilities, industry experience and holds meaning for your target audience. Also, incorporate keywords. For example, if you are looking for a job in the finance and accounting space, write your tagline as ‘Financial Accounting with FMCG and ASX Listed Experience.’
3: Write up a detailed summary:
In your summary section, you want to outline your industry experience, transferrable skills, and the organisational structures within which you have worked. This is your time to go into more detail about what you know and how you can use your expertise.
4: Outline your job descriptions and duties:
When listing your past roles make sure you add descriptions about the skills you acquired and tasks you performed while working there. This helps employers to understand your capabilities and experience. Do not include every job you have ever had. Outline the main and most important jobs that are relevant to the industry you are aiming to work in.
5: Update your LinkedIn settings:
Make sure you change your settings to ‘open to opportunities’ if you are in an active job search. This helps employers to find you easily when seeking out candidates.
