How much time do you spend deciding whether a picture is quality enough to upload to your Instagram? Retyping a tweet so that those 140 characters are absolutely perfect to reflect your thoughts? Picking the perfect filter/ geo-tag combo before posting a Snapchat to your story?
We all, myself included, spend an exorbitant amount of time making sure that our online representations of ourselves are up to par on social media, but the one social media where upkeep usually falls through the cracks is the most important one of all.
LinkedIn, probably better known as the social media for parents, is one of the best tools us millennials have when it comes to entering the work force. A solid, maintained profile can be the one thing that puts you above another applicant to employers.
No matter what you are majoring in, in this day and age having a professional space online can open more opportunities for you than you may think.After having a LinkedIn for 1 year I’ve gotten 3 job offers, so I promise, this thing works.
Whether you are creating a profile from scratch or are hoping to do an overhaul or your existing one, here are some tips to get you to that “All-Star Profile Strength” level.
1) Get headshots for your profile picture.
I’m not saying hire a photographer and do a whole photoshoot, but if you have a friend with a nice camera ask if they could take a few pics of you in front of a white wall, wearing a blazer. Cropped pictures of you at a party are not ideal. My 11 year old sister took mine, if she can do it anyone can.
2) Get endorsed.
Even if all of your endorsements come from your friends, your mom, or your friends’ moms, it still adds bonus points to have your skills verified.
3) Upload your resume.
LinkedIn is already essentially a digital resume, but it takes only 1 minute to upload your professional PDF resume to your profile. Any little bit extra you can add makes it look like you take it seriously.
4) UPDATE.
Make Deans List? Add it to your Awards and Accomplishments section. Start writing some freelance articles for a local website or paper? Add to experience. Update as often as you can, not only will it make you look more accomplished, but an active profile will show up more in other people’s networks.
5) Order your work experience properly.
If you are looking to attract employers in a certain field, such as Marketing & Communications, put all your related experience towards the top of your experience list, and also update your professional headline so you will stand out to those looking to hire. In the short-attention span world of social media it is important to get out the important aspects first in case the reader doesn’t have time to read the whole profile.
And if you are in any arts related or production field, showcasing your work on an online portfolio, even something as simple as a free WordPress site, can make all the difference when it comes to job applications.
Hopefully this helps, and happy networking!