Building a LinkedIn Profile: The Ultimate Guide

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In today's business world, not having a LinkedIn profile is almost bad manners. More and more job seekers and HR professionals are registering on this social network. But many people use LinkedIn in a counterproductive way: they don't fill out a profile, they don't join groups, they don't expand their network of contacts. We've written detailed instructions on how to create a flawless LinkedIn profile. Thank you in the comments.

What is LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social networking site for finding and establishing business contacts, launched in 2003 by Reid Hoffman. The site currently has over 380 million registered members representing 150 business industries. The resource is available in 24 languages, including Russian.

LinkedIn is an unusual social network. This is not Facebook or VKontakte. There are no cats, funny videos, "life" statuses and debates in the comments. This is a purely business space where you can post a vacancy, establish useful contacts with partners and clients, as well as just talk about your interests - business interests.

With your LinkedIn profile, you can make it beautiful or create it. We have already discussed how to promote your LinkedIn resume. Today we will talk about how to create a profile that allows you to present yourself as a super professional and earn respect in the business community.

Why fill out a profile

According to statistics, only 51% of LinkedIn members have a 100% complete profile. And in vain. After all, the less information, the lower the effectiveness of the profile.

Profile efficiency is an indicator showing whether there is enough information about you and your professional qualities to establish new business contacts. The corresponding icon is located on the right side of the profile and is measured as a percentage: from the initial to the "star" level.

The search algorithm on LinkedIn is such that the profiles with the highest performance indicator are displayed first. Therefore, it is recommended to fill in your page as accurately and in detail as possible. Otherwise, recruiters and potential partners simply won't notice you.

For maximum efficiency, you need to install a photo (about the intricacies of its choice - below) and indicate:

• field of activity and place of residence;
• current position (with description);
• two previous places of work;
• information about education;
• skills (at least three);
• interest groups (at least a couple).

You also need to have at least 50 connections with LinkedIn members. Read below how to properly form your network and receive recommendations.

Basic settings

Want to stand out among millions of users? Pay due attention to completing your profile.

Name

LinkedIn is a business network, nicknames and humorous nicknames like "sales star" or "development ninja" are not appropriate there. Enter your real name, surname and patronymic.

Professional headline

This is the most important element on your page. Its maximum length is 120 characters. Be brief but creative. The title should make it clear who you are and what you do.

A professional headline, as well as a job description, should be optimized for search engines. But you shouldn't stuff these fields with keywords like apples do for a duck: two or three relevant keywords are enough.

Use standard job and job titles: not copywriting guru, but copywriter. However, it is permissible to include your academic degrees in the title. For example, not a psychologist, but a candidate of psychological sciences. This not only tells you who you work for, but also indicates how successful you are in your field.

Secondly, use search to expand your network of contacts. Moreover, its extended version: so you can find people included not only in the first, but also in the second or third circle of acquaintances.

When the first contacts appear on your network, the system will automatically suggest you new friends. On the main page in the upper right corner there will be a block "People you may know". These recommendations are based on your profile information. Most likely, these will be your classmates and colleagues.

How else to expand your network?

• Meet through friends of friends. The second level contact is your friend's friend. If you need to strike up a conversation with such a person, go to his profile page and see if you have mutual friends. If there is, send a request for acquaintance or click on the "Ask to introduce" button.
• Take advantage of group opportunities. You can send private messages to members of the group you are a member of, even if there is no direct contact between you.
• If the participant's profile is open, you can send him a message - InMail. Perhaps you will start a dialogue, and then friendship.
• Check who viewed your profile. If these people are interesting to you, try to connect with them.
• Monitor the news feed. It also helps to develop your network and interact with potential partners.
• Link your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. Then you can post your updates on LinkedIn to Twitter.
• Do you want to attract the attention of any person? Mention it in your posts with the @ symbol.

Finally, link to your LinkedIn profile wherever you can: email, social media status, Twitter, and so on.

How to request and provide recommendations

Offline employment in nine out of ten cases occurs under patronage. Employers ask partners to advise an intelligent employee, and the latter, in turn, put in a good word for them.

The role of recommendations on LinkedIn is also very high. They should not be confused with Endorsements. The latter simply state the facts: "Yes, he can do it." Any person from your contact list can confirm this or that competence in just two clicks.

A recommendation is a detailed review of your past and present colleagues, partners and clients about you and your work. The more recommendations, the higher the level of confidence in the data specified in the profile. Recommendations are displayed in the corresponding section of the profile (menu "Privacy & Settings" → "Manage Recommendations") and are available only to registered LinkedIn users.

It is important to solicit and provide advice competently.

• Five to ten profile recommendations are enough to keep recruiters interested.
• Seek recommendations from the most influential people in your network.
• Try to get at least two reviews about your work in the company that you think is the most significant.
• When recommending someone, state how you know the person and provide specific examples that demonstrate their professional strengths.

Show mutual respect. If someone has confirmed your skill or gave you a good recommendation, don't forget to thank them for that.

How to protect your profile

To take full advantage of LinkedIn's capabilities, your profile must be public, that is, visible to potential customers and partners.

Public profilecreated automatically when you register on LinkedIn and published in the user directory. Google and other search engines periodically check the LinkedIn directory so that public profiles can be found online.

However, you can customize your privacy settings. For example, hide the display in the profile of websites, current position and other parameters from unregistered users.

Also in the "Privacy and settings" menu, you can adjust the profile to suit your purposes. For example, if you are looking for a new job and do not want your current bosses and colleagues to know about it, exclude them from the list of those who can see your activity feed.

There you can also specify who will see the list of your contacts, information about your rank, your photo, and so on.

To protect your account from hacking, you must:

• come up with a complex password (at least 8 characters, uppercase and lowercase letters plus numbers and other signs; the password should not include dictionary words and your name, as well as be used on other resources);
• enable two-step confirmation of login: "Privacy and Settings" → "Account" → "Manage Security Settings".

6 secrets to using your LinkedIn profile effectively

1. Create posts on LinkedIn. This is a great opportunity to showcase your professional knowledge and present yourself as a leader in your field.
2. The best time to post on LinkedIn is Tuesday and Thursday, between 7 am and 9 am local time.
3. Introduce self-censorship. Don't post on LinkedIn what you wouldn't say out loud on.
4. LinkedIn can be integrated with. Then your business cards, resume and notes will be in one place.
5. Users who regularly update their LinkedIn profiles receive collaborative offers more often.
6. Install the LinkedIn button on your blog or on your website so that your followers and followers can share your posts on their LinkedIn profile.