LinkedIn is known as the professional social media platform. It is basically the thing everyone has but does not really talk about.
I am ranked an “All-Star” on LinkedIn. I have also been asked by business professionals to show my profile and resume in classes on campus as an example of excellent profiles.
Since then, I have been asked to help so many people with their LinkedIn profiles. I am here to give you some of the best tips I have learned along the way to get you closer to owning or creating an “All-Star” LinkedIn Profile:
1. A Professional Headshot
Remember high school picture days? That is basically what you need for your profile picture on LinkedIn. If you took your Facebook profile picture and set it as your LinkedIn profile picture, you are making a big mistake. No matter how appropriate that picture may or may not be, it is not seen as professional. There are resources on campus available to all students to achieve a free headshot. Tech Support offers rentals of photography equipment available to students, even an iPhone has the ability to take decent photos.
For the best DIY headshot, you need a few things:
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Camera
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Uniform background
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A friend or photographer
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Smile!
First, be sure you are dressed business casual to professional, whatever fits your industry best. Then have a friend or photographer take a handful of pictures from approximately your shoulders, or up. If you are outdoors, be sure there is great lighting during the day. Pick a handful of your favorite shots, and show them to a fresh set of eyes. A parent/guardian, a professor, or mentor, someone older that will know if your photo is professional or not. Polish up the final selection with minor editing, like adjusting the brightness or a subtle filter, and post it! Your new professional headshot will speak volumes. This is easily the most important aspect of your profile.
2. Summary
Summaries should be short, sweet, and allow someone to get to know you. This is the one area where you can write a polished memoir that’s all about you; this is where your personality can shine. Think of your summary as your elevator pitch (a whole other topic), or the beginning of a paper. You have to hook the reader into wanting to continue looking through your profile. Also, upload a copy of your resume to this section. This way you never lose it, and potential employers are welcomed to look it over if they lost yours (high probability they lost it, to be honest). Finally, change your link to your name. It is a bunch of numbers by default, but you can change it. It’s common to use your name.
3. Education
Personally, I think it’s necessary to add in your high school education to your LinkedIn profile. I have connected with professionals that went to the same highschool as me and it is now a talking point between us. College or high school now, this advice remains the same for education. In the grade section, only fill this out if you have a GPA to be proud of (above a 3.25). Activities and Societies are an important section to list what you have done while attending school. These can include clubs, organizations, athletics, etc. Description should include expected graduation and any scholarships or rewards you’ve received, such as Dean’s list for each semester qualified.
4. Organizations
Organizations, especially academic organizations are great additions to your profile. These list your positions held under occupation, which should be updated to current position and remain upon graduation. In the additional notes, you can list out past positions as well and the time frame. Another great thing to do is add in any links to the club page, Facebook page, etc. This is quick for people to look at without having to put in a ton of effort to seek out the information on their own. Also, list things your organization does, like philanthropies, etc. Any project, a separate section you can add to your LinkedIn, your organization does can also list this separately as a project and you can add fellow organization members as contributing members.
5. Skills & Endorsements
These are soundbite words about you and your skills. If you know someone who is skilled at a certain task, even Microsoft Word, endorse them! Ask your friends to endorse you, it is okay to ask. Just do not endorse people unless you know they are skilled in the skill listed. Others may also write out an endorsement for you. This is huge to have, and you typically have to ask someone to endorse you. This is similar to a letter of recommendation, and a big bonus.
6. Extra: Business Cards
I went to a networking event that did not allow resumes, and that was all they stated. I felt like a deer in headlights without a clue of what to do. Then, I thought why not make my own business card? Best decision and $10 I ever spent. I went through Vistaprint.com, and ordered 250 business cards with a few upgrades and promo codes. I always shock business professionals when I tell them that I went out and ordered my own business cards. At networking events, I now handout my business cards instead of my resume and I stand out. I set myself apart from others and it has paid off big time.
Basically, I could go on forever with LinkedIn, business cards, and resume advice. Seriously, you could take a 16 week college course on LinkedIn alone. But these are the things I felt were the most important that people could learn from. I hope to see polished LinkedIn profiles!