5 reasons why you shouldn't ignore your LinkedIn profile Experience section

So your LinkedIn profile Summary is personalized with first-person point of view and shows accomplishments to pack a powerful punch. You tell a story that includes who you are, why you do what you do, and how well you do it. Your Summary kicks ass.

Having a stunning Summary is great, but when your Experience section consists only of bare essentials, such as your titles, company names, and years of employment; your LinkedIn profile lacks the punch that propels you to the top of the list. It is incomplete

I often see this when I'm writing my clients' profile. They say they didn't think the Experience section is really important. They couldn't be more wrong.

Many Recruiters see your Experience section as the most important part of your profile. They're looking for your years of experience, the companies for which you worked, and accomplishments with quantified results. In addition, you must include keywords for search engine optimization (SEO).

So here are five reasons why you shouldn't ignore your LinkedIn Experience section.

1. Start utilizing SEO by expanding your title. Did you know that the titles of your positions are weighed heavily in terms of keywords? This is a simple fix. Instead of simply listing your title and where you work, e.g., CEO at ABC Company; add some of your areas of expertise.

Better, CEO at ABC Company ~ New Business Development | Global Strategic Relationships | Marketing and Sales

If you are currently looking for work and have decided to list an end date for your previous position, simply leave out the company name.

Note: you are limited to 100 words.

2. Your experience section needs to tell a better story. A quick fix of copying the content of your résumé to your profile is the first step in building your Experience section; however, you're not done yet. You still have to modify your profile to make it more personal, a networking document. This means your point of view should be first person and, of course, include quantified results.

Take, for example, an accomplishment statement from a résumé: Volunteered to training 5 office staff on new database software. All team members were more productive, increasing the team's output by 75%.

Better: I extended my training expertise by volunteering to train 5 office staff on our new database software. All members of the team were more productive as a result of my patient training style, increasing the team's output by 75%.

3. Your position doesn't tell it all. You're a director, CEO, or CFO, so you think that says it all. Wrong! Executive Résumé Writer, Laura Smith-Proulx believes the more relevant information, the better; particularly when you're trying to differentiate yourself from other executives. She writes:

The key to a strategic message in your CFO résumé is to  do MORE with the details – taking the hard facts of budgets managed, teams directed, or cost savings achieved to fold in personal brand messages.

At the very least, your leadership as a director of an organization plays an essential role in its success. What is the scope of your authority? How have you helped the organization grow? Have you contributed to the community or charities? Have you turned around failing companies and made them more profitable? Remember, you're representing the organization. Or perhaps you're passively looking for another job.

4. The power of LinkedIn is greater than you think. LinkedIn's search engine is extremely powerful. If you have the proper, and numerous, skills (keywords), your chances of being found by recruiters are great. Don't forget to emphasize the quantified accomplishments!

Businesses are looking to connect or employ people with expertise; and although you have what they need, without the skills listed your message isn't crystal clear.

A recruiter would like to read how you developed a fund-raising process that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars, but your Experience section is nothing more than company names, titles, and years of employment. Lost opportunity.

Suppose you find yourself out of a job and suddenly need to connect with others who can help you in a big way. Rushing to create an Experience section that warrants the assistance you need is a bit late and will lengthen your job search.

5. Finally, more isn't always better. There are two ways you can look at your position descriptions; you can stick with the accomplishments, or you can mimic your résumé. I'm in the opinion that your accomplishments alone would impress recruiters more than all your duties and a few accomplishments.

You're probably proud of those duties and don't want to let them go. Here's the thing, accomplishments speak much louder than duties. Unless you can turn those duties into accomplishments with quantified results (or perhaps qualify them), I suggest you ditch them.

These are five reasons why you require an Experience section that is strong and worthy of your greatness. Your Summary is a great start; now you need to follow it with an Experience section to support it.

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Bob McIntosh, CPRW, is a career trainer who leads more than 17 job search workshops at an urban career center, as well as critiques LinkedIn profiles and conducts mock interviews. Job seekers and staff look to him for advice on the job search. In addition, Bob has gained a reputation as a LinkedIn authority in the community. Bob’s greatest pleasure is helping people find rewarding careers in a competitive job market. For enjoyment, he blogs at Things Career Related.