The Best LinkedIn Profiles and How to Make Yours Exceptional

In the new world of work, your first impression is more likely to be formed online than in person. Managing your digital brand is no longer a nice to have, it's an absolute must if you want to make a powerful and authentic first impression.

How strong is your digital brand?

To understand where your digital brand stands right now, assess it with the Online ID Calculator. It will help you understand how you measure up in the five measures of online ID - Volume, Relevance, Purity, Diversity and Validation -and allow you to establish a baseline.

When people want to check you out in a professional capacity, some start at LinkedIn, others start with Google. And even if they start at Google, they’ll likely end up at your LinkedIn profile. That’s because your profile will show up at the top of a Google search on your name.

That’s great news!

It means: If you want to manage your professional digital brand, LinkedIn is the place to start.

As a result of this new phenomenon where people use the web to learn about other people – which I call she-surfing or he-surfing – a huge part of my work these days is helping people amp up their LinkedIn profile. Your LinkedIn profile forms the foundation of your digital brand.

Are you happy with your LinkedIn profile? Is it working for you? Take this quiz to find out - and pay close attention to your responses to questions 1-12.

Now, with the results of the LinkedIn quiz in hand, use these tips and examples as inspiration to make your profile relevant and compelling.

Inevitably when I’m delivering a LinkedIn workshop, several participants will ask me: 

Do you have examples of stellar profiles we can look at? 

Although I come across very few profiles where every element is exemplary, I’ve seen many examples of LinkedIn profiles that are truly authentic, inviting, compelling and unique. When someone is she-surfing or he-surfing on LinkedIn, the four most important components of your profile for establishing that wildly important first impression are your Headline, Headshot, Background and Summary.

These elements help the searchers decide whether or not they want to get to know you. That’s because these four components together give you the opportunity to tell your story. They also happen to be the elements that many people get wrong when they’re crafting their profile. The other parts of your profile, like Experience and Education, are relatively easy to write because they’re based on facts, and we’re used to writing this kind of content for our resume.

In this post, I will help you master your profile by sharing inspiring examples – the ‘best of’ – in each of these four critical components.

Let’s start with your Headline.

Your headline in LinkedIn plays a really important role in delivering your first impression. Much like the headline of an advertisement, it’s job is to grab attention and entice readers to want to know more. If your headline is little more than your job title, it won’t go very far in engaging the reader. Worse yet, it makes you a commodity – interchangeable with anyone else who shares that job title. And if you go the lazy route and don’t create your own headline, LinkedIn will default to your current job title. Yikes! Nothing could be more boring or less differentiated than that. 

To brand your headline and make it stand out, use the CareerBlast proven formula:

Job title/company + Keywords + Zing!

Job Title and Company

Your job title and company show relevance and your commitment to your current organization.

Keywords

The keywords are so important. They help you get found in a LinkedIn search because they impact how search results are displayed. Choose them well to make sure you’re visible to your ideal target audience - the people who need to know you.

Zing

My favorite component, Zing, is something that makes you interesting and makes others want to get to know you. It communicates how you do what you do or the value you create when you do it. Zing helps make your headline unique.

And here’s the challenge: You have only 120 characters for all that! So it may take some iterations to get it right; but it’s worth the effort. 

Here are some powerful examples of headlines that act like magnets - drawing people into the rest of the profile.

• Joao Rocco is able to get all his keywords in and still leave a little room for his philosophy – “branding through people” 
• Although Nawal Fakhoury’s headline isn’t keyword rich, it screams her personal brand of encouragement and positivity. Ask anyone who knows her. 
• Dwayne Conrod, on the other hand, does an exceptional job of getting all his keywords in – and he adds something personal so you feel like you know a little more about him.

Now it’s your turn. Use the formula to create a headline that’s attractive and authentic.

Let’s turn our attention to your headshot...one that will turn heads.

People want to connect with people. Your headshot shows you're human and makes you real in the nebulous and sometimes scary world of the web. Yet some people continue to leave their headshot blank, or they upload the latest pic from their iPhone without a lot of thought. I have to admit that I’ve seen numerous headshots that actually make me want to avoid the person behind the picture rather than create a connection with them. So as not to embarrass anyone (you know who you are!) I have chosen not to share 'headshot don'ts'. 

The best headshots are usually taken by a professional photographer. So schedule a shoot – it’s worth the investment.

Here are the Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to headshots:

What not to do:

• Avoid selfies – They’re great for Instagram or SnapChat – not LinkedIn
• Don’t use images where you’ve cropped others out of the frame; it’s weird to see part of your arm other someone else’s hair.
• Don’t use a logo in place of your face. As proud as you are of your company, using the logo takes the humanity out of your profile. Your profile is about YOU. Save the logo for your company page.
• Don’t use images with multiple people. I love that you’re a collaborator or that you adore your kids, but this is LinkedIn, not Facebook.
• Don’t leave it blank – this makes you less real and more dubious in the virtual world.
• Avoid backgrounds that detract from your face – or worse, backgrounds that send the wrong message (I once saw a headshot where the background was an open bedroom closet with clothes hanging all over the place and sweaters half falling off the shelf - yikes!).

What to do:

• Invest in a professional headshot. It’s not that expensive, especially when you consider that LinkedIn’s audience is approaching a billion. Remember, your headshot is part of your first impression.
• Look into the camera. Then you’ll be looking right at those who are checking you out. 
• Smile. You don't want people to think you are humorless or angry.
• Choose a simple background or one that helps you express your personal brand.
• Choose clothes that help you express your brand and are at the same time appropriate for the people you seek to impress.
• Use ‘photox’ – that’s my term for doing a little Photoshop editing. I am not suggesting that you become the virtual version of a Joan Rivers. But minor enhancements - like reducing the shine on your forehead or removing a hair that’s sticking up will help put the polish on the pic.

Take a look at these headshots I think really capture the essence of their subject.

• You’d expect the CEO of LinkedIn to have a stellar headshot, and Jeff Weiner certainly does. 
• Headshots have a special significance for Lubna Khalid because she founded a cosmetics company.
• Virtual health and fitness coach Jack Nguyen definitely looks like a person who takes his own advice.

My all time favorite LinkedIn headshot is of my friend and bestselling author Gretchen Rubin, who looks right into the camera with confidence and charisma. I use hers all the time in my presentations as an example of how to do it right! 

The current format for displaying headshots in your profile does not give you a lot of real estate for connecting with others so crop your image so about 60-80% of the frame is your face. This will help you engage more deeply with viewers of your profile.

Now, let’s focus on what sits behind that gorgeous mug of yours, your background.

At first glance, most LinkedIn profiles look similar because they follow the same format and organization.

That was until late 2014. 

That’s when LinkedIn added the custom background feature. It gives you the opportunity to make your profile stand out and put it in a category of one. Your background takes up a lot of the screen real estate when someone is viewing your profile. 

It’s a powerful feature because it can be used to both bolster your personal brand and help your profile stand out. Despite how exciting this new feature is, most profiles I see have the standard blue background that LinkedIn provides. It looks like this:

And that’s great news for you – because changing your background image will create instant differentiation for your profile. 

You can make your background part of a cohesive brand identity – that’s what my friend and designer, Vartus, helped me do for my profile. Check it out here…and feel free to link with me. I’m always happy to connect with people here on LinkedIn - especially those who are interested in crafting compelling profiles!

Here are some of my favorite LinkedIn backgrounds:

• Melissa Janis did a great job of tying her background into the first two sentences of her summary (see more about creating a stellar summary below). Her light-bulb illustrations complement her entire profile to create an online identity that is both cohesive and compelling.
• Elyse Dubin is a top-selling Real Estate Broker in New York City, so she uses a spectacular view of a Manhattan sunset to showcase her turf. 
• Ana Brant is the epitome of class and style, and she works in the luxury field. She did a great job of conveying that with her background image of pearls.
• Deb Dib’s custom background explains her brand promise in bright and vibrant color. It’s an infographic about her offering. Just viewing that image tells you exactly what she does and the value she creates when she does it. 
• Anne Pryor showcases one of her passions – art – so she uses her own artwork and changes it regularly, making visits to her profile like visiting MoMA.

Just using color and texture can make a major statement and separate your profile from myriad others.

• Peter Wiehe uses his firm’s brand colors to show his loyalty while helping his profile stand out. 
• Executive Coach Grace Thomas also uses her company’s brand color and imagery, with text, to share her philosophy and offerings. 

That rectangular picture that sits behind your profile sets the tone for all of the messages you’re trying to communicate. There’s nothing generic about you, and your background image should reflect that.

My company (with Ora Shtull) CareerBlast created a series of complimentary backgrounds in six colors that we’re happy for you to use. Here’s a link to the backgrounds and a fun video that will help you identify the best color for you to use.

With those three key elements – Headline, Headshot and Background - behind you, let’s focus on the most important part of your profile – your Summary. 

Your LinkedIn Summary is the place where you tell your story. Don’t confuse it with the Experience section. In the Experience section, you share facts about what you do and all the amazing things you have done in your career. In your Summary, your accomplishments and accolades are just part of the story. The complete narrative needs to be bigger. It should include your values, passions and strengths – making you human not a robot.

The first few lines of your Summary are the most important part of your entire profile. They’re the only part of your Summary viewers see when they first look at your profile. See my CareerBlast Partner, Ora Shtull's Summary.

This means those (approximately 45 ) words need to be so attractive and interesting that they propel action: Clicking on the “show more” link so they can learn all about you. 

When I look at all the Summaries I think are exemplary, the first few lines fall into six categories – all that begin with the letter P.

Here are examples of those critical first two lines in each of the six categories. This will give you a feel for how it works. I share examples of some of the most authentic, differentiated and compelling summaries I have read (and I have read A LOT of Summaries!).

1.  Purpose

Tristan Gorrindo writes,

“I believe that ‘education is powerful medicine.’ As the Director of Education for the American Psychiatric Association, I am committed to advancing the field of Psychiatry by creating innovative education, engaging millennial learners, advocating for mental health education in governmental policy, and helping current psychiatrist provide value-based care through professional development."

2.  Promise

Daniel Smith starts his summary off with a promise:

“I can grow your business by driving deeper understanding through data analytics. I am a data explorer. I figure out and present data. I have spent tens of thousands of hours extracting insights from data. Thorough BI designer who goes the extra mile by designing and building sustainable solutions that require minimal maintenance."

3.  Punctuated list

Nawal Fakhoury's effervescent personality bursts from her profile.

“Passion Catalyst; Motivational Agent; Seasoned executor with an entrepreneurial spirit; Firm believer in delivering platinum courtesy every single day. I spend my days making sure our talent has the skills, support and sparkle they need to be the best in the industry - all through smart design, immersive experiences, and unforgettable facilitation."

4.  Point in time

My friend and colleague Jean Oplinger did an amazing job of connecting her childhood dream with her career reality.

“When I was little I wanted to be the next Barbara Walters. I liked that she had real, straight and compassionate conversations with interesting people. Today, as an Executive and Personal Branding Coach, I get to have those conversations. I am inspired by honesty, that deep ‘thunk’ when you know you have found something true. This search takes grace and courage—but it’s worth every life-giving effort."

This is also the style I chose for my LinkedIn Summary. 

5.  Passion

Senior Learning Executive at McGraw Hill Education, Melissa Janis uses the first two sentences of her Summary to explain her intriguing background image – a series of lightbulbs, one of which is blooming with colorful ideas.

“I love switching on light bulbs with people – facilitating those ‘aha moments’ that change mindsets and open up new possibilities. My passion is all about helping people, teams and organizations figure out where they are, where they want to be, and then helping them get there.”

6.  Provocative phrase

Larry Thomas creates intrigue with the start of his Summary.

"The achievement I'm most proud of didn’t start with a business plan. It started in a dumpster. Twenty years ago, I adopted an abandoned, crumbling brick row-home with a group of friends at Habitat for Humanity in Philadelphia. It was a blighted neighborhood, seemingly beyond hope."

Work on your first few lines. They’re like the wall a swimmer has to push against at first. Getting them right gives you the momentum you need to craft the rest of your Summary.

That's it! When you enhance those four elements, you take your profile from average to awesome and you establish a powerful first impression with those who are checking you out. Once you've updated your profile with the advice I shared here, please send me a link so I can check it out!

And if you know of LinkedIn profiles that are truly stellar, please let me know. I am always interested in checking out great examples.

About William Arruda

William Arruda's Public Website William Arruda's LinkedIn Profile William Arruda's Forbes Column CareerBlast.TV

Here are some additional articles and resources to help you enhance the digital version of the brand called YOU:

• How to Write the Perfect LinkedIn Summary
• Nine Myths about LinkedIn that Will Impede Your Success
• Ten Things the Best LinkedIn Profiles Have in Common

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