Five quick LinkedIn profile foundations

LinkedIn has one of the lowest counts of fake-news articles vs other social platforms, meaning Google tends to position LinkedIn personal and company profiles higher in search rankings - go to Google and search your name, and see what comes up.

The mission of LinkedIn is to: connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. 

With over 700m people now part of the LinkedIn community, your personal LinkedIn profile is a core part of your professional brand online.

Most personal LinkedIn profiles are structured in a CV-style way. Recruiters, like us as customers, now do their research before they 'try and buy' from you.

Here are five LinkedIn profile foundations to spring clean, declutter and give your profile a 2023 kickstart:

Is your profile photo still yours?

Around 70% of the world's population is visually led.

Is your profile photo still a true reflection of you - do you now have glasses; or a different hairstyle; has your dress or style changed? If we met face-to-face, would I be able to spot you using your photo?

Consider using the same photo in multiple places online: your website or other social accounts. Make it easy for others to recognise you.

The backdrop of your photo should be considered, too - one from the weekend should be saved for Facebook... Ideally, pick a front-facing photo with shoulders and the top of your head visible, with a neutral (non-busy) background.

Keep the focus on you.

Grab the attention using your Headline

Your Headline is the short sentence that goes underneath your name on your profile and others' feeds when you post content. Use it to grab attention.

220 characters are available, so be specific. Imagine you're standing in front of your idol, and you have 5 seconds to get their attention, what would you want them to know (be professional!)?

Short and to the point. It should summarise your profile, your service(s), your content, what you're about; your passion; do you have a mission or goal you're seeking to achieve; are you hiring or looking for a new role.

Some headlines can go overboard - save that for the next foundation.

Take a look here for some ideas.

Your story

This is the part of your profile where you share your story (the bit in an interview when they ask, "So, Matt... tell me about yourself" or "what gets you out of bed in the morning?"). Time to create fish hooks...

Consider adding details associated with your profile Headline. Share what makes you YOU; what do you offer that others may not?

Language and tone are key here - write it in your way - so if bullets work for you, go with it. Don't wordsmith this part so that when you respond to messages or emails or greet face-to-face, it's a different version of you. If you say "don't" instead of "do not" go with it.

Do you have a hobby, favourite past-time, or charity interest that you support?

Consider adding call-to-actions - a website and key contact details - alongside core regulatory wording that your employer may require.

Your (Professional) Experience

This is where you add in your current and previous employment - traditional CV.

Make sure you spell the name of the firm correctly! If your employer does not have a company LinkedIn profile, consider having a conversation with your marketing team or setting up one - it's much better to have logos against the employer to break up the profile.

LinkedIn shows up to three roles held per employer; a "see all" button is shown for others to read more.

Consider how far back in your employment history you go - assess your roles and be selective to position your profile correctly. (I took off my pub pot-washing job from my profile this week, 12 years on - it should have been sooner as it's now not materially relevant for the role or profession I'm in.)

Add commentary about the role(s): the core purpose, what you specifically did/do in the role, delivered, achievements, awards, recognition, team building, and the skills you attained (or are seeking to).

Consider what your job description(s) says, there could be relevant text to use.

While sharing responsibilities and tasks is useful, could you share what you brought to the role and achieved?

It can be useful to explain what the business does so others can assess the relevance - especially if it's a small business.

Education & Certificates

For the purpose of this article, I have grouped a few things into this:

Education

Add your university, professional, college, and school qualifications here.

Include those you've achieved and are on the way to. Whilst qualifications are excellent to achieve, are they all relevant to your Headline and Profile? Consider what is most relevant.

LinkedIn shows the three most recent qualifications you have attained by a single awarding body.

Licensing & Certificates

This is for industry-specific awards, certificates, recognitions and licenses you have achieved. Consider those days to several week long courses you've been on - did you receive something from it?

In readying this section, you might notice a gap and an opportunity to refresh your skills.

YouTube offer free courses and video tutorials on various subjects. You, too, could research starting an academic or professional qualification.

If there are gaps in some of your knowledge, it is well worth considering LinkedIn Learning, an online package with dedicated modules for set topics, some offering virtual certificates & courses to add in this section which employers may recognise.

That's a wrap

There are over 15 different sections to a LinkedIn personal profile, but building and selecting what's most relevant to YOU is key.

LinkedIn is adding more features to the profile as we go - having recently brought pronouns to profiles and a way for you to add a video overlay to your profile image.

If there are sections not shared above that you would value advice or tips, add them in the comments below.

Small adjustments can take your profile in the right direction. Your profile is best when it reflects you rather than someone else in the mirror.

To get more tips, advice, and how-to's for positioning your personal brand on LinkedIn, hit the "subscribe" button and view other articles here.