You have a personal brand, a career story and an ambition. Whether you're just starting out in your career, or simply pivoting to something new, your LinkedIn profile can help you get recognised and open doors to new opportunities.
In the current COVID-19 pandemic the job market is going to be a challenge, so now’s the time to get your LinkedIn profile updated to support you in your job hunt. You’ll want to showcase who you are, the incredible work you do and the impact you have had or want to have in your career.
So to make yourself stand out and be at the top of the search list, check out these following 10 steps that will be sure to help in getting your LinkedIn profile in tip-top condition.
1 Add a profile photo and banner image
Simply put, you need to have one. Without a photo, statistically more employers will avoid you, you will receive fewer contact requests and fewer reviews. Your photo needs to:
Be a headshot of you. Avoid photos including other people unless they are connected to your company or industry. Award ceremonies, team events are ok but you need to stand out.
Smile! But don’t pout please, it’s not Bumble, Hinge or Tinder.
Represent you as an individual. It doesn’t need to be a professional photo, you can use a smartphone. Avoid anything that is more suited to Instagram such as nights out, or beach shots! Avoid suits and ties for startups.
Add a banner background image, and use this to demonstrate your personal brand, especially if you are a graphic designer or a marketeer.
2 Craft a stand out headline
A short one-liner that appears under your name within your profile. It is the first thing that people will see alongside your photo. This needs to be compelling, customized and really represent you. There are three things to include:
Industry keywords that the professional world will understand eg Digital Marketer, Data Scientist, Account Executive
What you do
Skills that are unique to you
Some examples would be
“Driving customer retention through excellent customer service”
“Delivering exponential customer growth with SEO talent”
Get some inspiration by looking up people who have the role that you have, or senior leaders in the companies that you would like to work for. Or, ask your friends, family or co-workers how they would describe you in one sentence!
3 Update your industry and location
Employers search by location and industry, so it is essential to keep this up to date so people can find you. Recruiters search on the back end of LinkedIn by location.
4 Create your ‘ABOUT’ summary
This is your elevator pitch. It needs to be true, concise, written in the first person, about you and very compelling. Include:
Who you are
What you do
The impact you have had so far
The impact you want to have going forwards
It can feel both awkward and hard work to start this, so here are some examples from LinkedIn.
Include startup-friendly words such as ‘Startup’, ‘Series A’, ‘First Hire’, ‘B2B’, ‘SAAS’, ‘B2C’, ‘FinTech’, or ‘EdTech’. Recruiters search on the back end of LinkedIn for these words. The more they appear across your profile such as in the Headline, Work experience, and skills list, the higher up you will come in the ranking.
5 Add work experience
This is your moment to shine, so keep this up to date, to increase views and your chance of new opportunities
Add your last/ current role
Use concise short paragraphs in a story format and bullet point key results, impact or skills
Lead with the result/ impact that you had and then describe how you did it eg created triple-digit growth by launching online monthly workshops
If the company is not well known then include a one-line summary, you can take this from their vision, mission statement or strapline
Include startup-friendly words such as ‘Startup’, ‘Series A’, ‘First Hire’, ‘B2B’, ‘SAAS’, ‘B2C’, ‘FinTech’, or ‘EdTech’. Recruiters search on the back end of LinkedIn for these words. The more they appear across your profile such as in the Headline, About, Work experience, and skills list, the higher up you will come in the ranking.
6 Add visual content (eg, online portfolio, articles, social media, websites, video)
Visual content such as videos, photos, presentations, online portfolios for writers and graphic designers help to bring your story to life and connect potential hirers to what you do, you and how you do it. You can include these either in the ‘about’, ‘featured’ sections or against individual jobs.
7 Add your key skills
What skills do you want to be known for? Adding skills to your profile highlights abilities, strengths, and expertise which builds credibility with potential hiring managers. Linkedin then enables your first connections to endorse you for your chosen skills. These skills endorsements help to build trust in your professional experience and increases your chances of being found in search of potential employers.
You have 50 skills so use this section. Recruiters search for skills on the back end of LinkedIn. Here you can add words such as ‘startups’ & ‘entrepreneurship’. There will be a lot of skills that are specific to your role so make sure to include as many variations as possible.
8 Ask your network for recommendations
Having your skills and character endorsed by others builds your credibility, so ask people that you have worked or volunteered with to give you a written Linkedin recommendation. Always ask beforehand via phone, or email if they are happy to write you a recommendation, it is both polite and ensures that they are aware of it before it arrives in their LinkedIn inbox. Always follow up with a thank you!
Head to your recommendations section, click on ‘ask for a recommendation’, find the person and send them a personalised message. Linkedin provides a standardised message, but always customise this as it makes people feel more important/ special. If you’re asking someone senior, then ask if you could draft something for them to edit, senior people are always busy, they will want to help you, but may not get around to it unless you make it easy for them!
9 Add volunteering experience
Adding volunteer experience increases views, it creates a rounded picture of you as a professional and your passions outside of work. Check out our article on the Importance of adding interests and hobbies to your CV
10 Let people know you’re job hunting
There are two ways to let potential employers know you’re looking for a new role:
More Private - Click the ‘Me’ icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage. Select ‘Settings & Privacy’ from the dropdown. Click the ‘Privacy’ tab at the top of the page. Under the ‘Job seeking preferences’ section, click ‘Change’ next to ‘Let recruiters know you're open to opportunities’. This is not visible to your current employer or anyone in your network. This is a good opportunity if you don’t want your current employer or network to know you’re on the hunt.
Let the world know - Head to your profile and after your surname add ‘Seeking new opportunities’, you can also add more info about what you’re looking for into the headline.
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TableCrowd Talent is a startup focused recruitment agency based in London. If you’re looking for a new startup job click here, or to read about our other job hunting tips click here.
