Making the most of your LinkedIn profile

All social media sites have their place and LinkedIn’s is right at the top of the professional networking tree.

You often hear stories of people being ‘found’ by prospective employers and being offered their dream job, all because of their LinkedIn profile.

So how can you make sure you stand out from the crowd?

Well, it’s all about getting noticed, so keep reading to find out how you can maximise your profile.

7 ways to boost your LinkedIn profile

There are 7 elements within your LinkedIn profile which must be maximised to make the most of your listing.

1. Headline

As with all sales and marketing, your headline is the very important.

You need to sum up, as succinctly as possible:

• Who you are
• Who you  can help
• How you can help them

This will tell the reader everything they need to know in an instant and allow them to decide whether they want to read on or not.

2. Be real

It’s too tempting to be boring, business like and wooden in your profile.

Granted, people are going to want to know about you from a business perspective, but they also what to get to know the real you.

In your summary, show something about yourself – your goals, what you love doing, what makes you get out of bed in the morning. By offering a personal insight into who you are enables a connection at a personal level.

3. Spelling

This one always crops up in lists like this, mainly because it’s so important.

It doesn’t take long to proofread something, so make sure you go through your profile and spell check it. A typo or grammar gaff could cause you to be overlooked.

4. Call to action

One thing often overlooked in LinkedIn profiles is a call to action.

It’s something you automatically place within your copywriting, so why not add one here too?

After your profile has told them how great you are and what you can do for them, direct them to your website for more information or give them a phone number/email address so they can easily get in touch with you.

5. Proof

OK, so your profile shows you can talk the talk, but so you have any concrete proof to back everything up?

Make sure you detail your education background, any awards you have won as well as recommendations from past clients. All this evidence will help convince the reader that you’re the person they need.

6. SEO

Yes, you can search engine optimise your profile.

Make sure your keywords appear in your:

• Headline
• Current work experience
• Past work experience
• Summary
• Specialities

7. Be different

This one will make you stand out from the crowd. Try and be original when putting together your profile. Don’t stick to the normal description that will make you blend in. Think about what you can say that will make you different. Don’t just follow the crowd, try to put yourself across in a unique and memorable way.

Over to you

Have you had successes with your LinkedIn profile?

Did it land you your dream job?

Leave a comment below and let your experience help others.