Anatomy of a Good LinkedIn Profile

How do you build a strong LinkedIn profile? Well, it’s really not that difficult. You probably already have most of the important content documented in your resume. You just have to spend some time making it work for LinkedIn. Here’s what you need:

1) A good profile picture:

You want to make sure you have a really good professional headshot for LinkedIn. It’s not just another social media platform where you post a random picture with your pet, kids, or significant other. This is a picture of just you. It should be a headshot, not full body. Make sure it’s somewhat recent (taken in the last five years) and that it reflects what you want to convey about your personal brand. If you are more of a formal person, wear a suit and tie in the picture. If you’re more casual, wear a blazer over a t-shirt. Just make sure the quality of the photo is good.

2) A Strong Headline:

This is what a lot of people get wrong in their LinkedIn profiles. People just post their job title and company as their “headline.” That’s not what the headline is for. The headline is your personal value proposition. Make sure it fully communicates your personal brand. It’s a good opportunity to highlight special skills, experiences, accolades, accomplishments, or just something unique about you. It’s also important for LinkedIn’s search algorithm, so make sure you have the right keywords to attract potential recruiters. You only have 111 characters, so you need to make them count.

A few good examples:

• Jo Ann Herold: Chief Marketing Officer @ The Honey Baked Ham Co * Proven Brand & Transformation Leader With Rapid Growth Track Record * B2C & B2B * Purpose Zealot * Board Member
• Kira Mondrus: CMO | Global Marketing | Strategy | Demand Generation | Brand Building | Customer Retention | Go-to-Market
• Jennifer Davis: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Learfield IMG College | Former Amazon Web Services | Author (Well Made Decisions, publication August 2021)
• Jacqui Chew: Creative Problem-solver / Coalition-builder / Storyteller / TEDx Licensee / CMO
• Jessica Garrett: VP Marketing @ Alpha Comm | Brand builder | Speaker | Revenue creator | Food lover
• Angela Culver: Group Vice President, Marketing & Measurement @Oracle | Customer-Obsessed | Advisor | Data-Driven | Branding | Marketing Operations

3) Tell your story:

The “About” section gives you the chance to tell your story. Don’t just put something generic or a boilerplate bio. Really take advantage of the opportunity to communicate who you are and what you are all about. Give the reader the chance to really get to know you. I recommend writing it in the first person, just like you would tell your story in a job interview. Also, don’t be afraid to throw a few personal items in. How many kids you have, hobbies, pets, etc.

4) Showcase your content:

The next section on a LinkedIn profile is called “Featured.” This is where you can post work samples, such as a video of you presenting at a conference, an article you wrote or were quoted in, podcast interviews, or samples of projects you have worked on. It’s basically your online portfolio. Fill it with the best stuff you have. You should also add additional content under each job in the experience section.

5) Tell Why You Made Job Changes:

One thing hiring managers and recruiters always wonder is why a candidate has moved from job to job. In the “Experience” section on LinkedIn, you have the opportunity to explain why. Again, this section should not just be bullets from your resume. Tell the story of your career progression through each position. Maybe you left one job to do something more entrepreneurial or got an opportunity to move into a more senior level. You can also explain any gaps in your experience if you took time off to go back to graduate school, have kids, etc. Really use the text in the “Experience” section to go deeper than you did in the “About” section.

6) Get Recommendations:

When I’m interviewing job candidates, I always read the LinkedIn recommendations. It’s a great way to do a quick reference check. But don’t just go for quantity — it’s the quality of the recommendations that really matters. Try to get more senior-level people to write them. Ideally, these should be people you’ve worked directly for, and it’s generally a good practice to have a recommendation for each job that you’ve had. If you are at an executive level, it’s also good to have recommendations from your direct reports or peers.

7) List your accomplishments:

LinkedIn gives you real estate at the bottom of your profile to list out your “Accomplishments.” These could be awards, published articles, patents, organizations, languages, and more. It’s not the most important section of a LinkedIn profile, but it does give you a chance to showcase a lot of things that make you unique.

If you focus on the seven points listed above, you’ll have a LinkedIn profile that builds your personal brand and helps you stand out from the crowd.

Read more about how an effective LinkedIn profile can help your personal brand in How Not to Suck at Marketing.