So it is extremely important to pay attention to how your LinkedIn is being presented and that it represents the best possible version of you. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into the various tips that will set your LinkedIn profile on the go.

So, let’s get into the tips,

#1 Have a photo that sends a good vibe

Aside from your name, your LinkedIn profile picture is the first thing that recruiters will see first when they check you out on Linkedin. You should use a recent photo of high quality, and not a shady photo. Don’t use a photo that is several years back. Make sure it is bright, clear, and professional. 

For the guy, wear a collared shirt and add a suit jacket if you have one and if you can wear a tie as part of your LinkedIn profile. For the ladies, I’ll suggest a blazer or a nice fitted top that is appropriate for the office. 

Try to have a LinkedIn-specific photo, instead of using a picture from a family wedding or a birthday party. The reason for this is you want to give the sense that you are serious about what you’re doing and your career. 

So using any photo from any situation in any setting can cause some people to potentially question how serious you are. That is why if you want to put your best self forward in your job search and In your career then that also applies to your LinkedIn profile photo.

#2 Use an appropriate headline

I have seen different opinions as to what people should put as their headline, some say you should have multiple description words that are high value and high impact. But to be honest, that is not the best.

You should put your Job title as your headline. If you are a senior financial analyst, then put that as your headline. If you’re a finance manager, put that as your headline. The reason for this is so that recruiters and hiring managers can find you easily. 

If there is a job opportunity and they need someone with your job title, it will be easy for them to find and consider you. But if you put up all these vague descriptions and complicated words then they will not be able to find you. 

#3 Have a “what can I do for you”- oriented profile summary 

A lot of people do not even write a profile summary in their LinkedIn profile but that’s bad. When you have a profile summary it helps you to get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers for buzzwords that they may be looking for. 

You should set up your profile summary to the short and sweet and at the same time you also don’t want to be talking about yourself alone. Instead, talk about problems you’ve helped to solve. 

An example could be “I help organizations to perform budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis over their revenue and expense budget to ensure profitability targets are met at minimum costs.”

That’s an example of a profile summary sentence. You can have 3 or 4 of those to set up a full paragraph. And that will be your little intro for anyone that lands in your LinkedIn profile. 

#4 Make your work experience short and sweet

You don’t want to lay out all your work experience, your duties, and everything on your LinkedIn profile because that’s what your resume is for. You should learn to separate your resume from your LinkedIn profile. 

Your Linkedin profile should just have the following,

• Your job title 
• Company name
• Dates(months and years)
• One bullet that explains your experience (optional)

The reason you don’t want to lay out all your hoods in your LinkedIn profile is that you want to pique the interest of the recruiters or the hiring manager. 

If they see that based on the titles you’ve held and the companies you’ve worked for, you’ll be good for the company, there is a greater likelihood that since they do not know everything about you by just looking up on your LinkedIn profile, they will reach out to you and ask for your resume, that is how you can then become a greater magnet for a job opportunity.

#5 Show off your recommendations

A lot of people feel reluctant to ask for recommendations from their old bosses and managers. But get over that fear and ask for recommendations. That’s one way to get your LinkedIn profile to stand out from others.

And you want to make sure that these recommendations are coming from people that you have worked for. Getting a recommendation from your peer is fine but it’s not as effective as getting that from someone who is considered as a reference.

#6 Put out your contact details 

This is something that a lot of people forget to do, but always try to put up some form of contact information whether it’s an email, or if you are comfortable putting up your phone number then you can.

Put it somewhere that is easily visible on your LinkedIn profile. This is so that any recruiter or hiring manager that wants to speak to you about an opportunity will not find it difficult to do so. 

So now you have the 6 major tips that can help you set up a good Linkedin profile. If you find value from this article, please do well to share it with someone today.