How to make your Linkedin Profile Stand Out

How to make your Linkedin Profile Stand Out

People judge you by how you look and how you talk. The outward image is very important and might be the reason you are getting rejected or accepted. A LinkedIn Profile is like that suit or dress that will either get suitors flocking to have a glimpse of you or close their eyes in disgust. You need to clearly tell and show the world who you are. Below is a template you can use to help populate your CV/Linkedin Profile.

Profile Picture and LinkedIn Banner

Get a professional-looking photo. Avoid selfies, especially ones that clearly look like selfies (the ones your hand is seen taking a selfie) You don’t have to dress officially for the photo—just be you. Be in your element. Are you an engineer, doctor, lawyer, etc? Take a picture in your natural environment–it is okay for an engineer to have a profile picture wearing a safety helmet.?

For the LinkedIn banner, you can either create a banner on Canva with the background having beautiful graphics of what you do or just an image that is relevant to your industry. Make the headline in your banner catchy and screaming for attention. The Linkedin Banner and profile picture is the first thing people look at when they view your profile so make sure it catches their attention.

LinkedIn Headline

I usually call this section the Elevator Pitch. What words/sentences best describe you and what you do clearly—put that as your headline. Are you a Journalist? What kind of journalist for example are you? You can choose to go the keywords way and list keywords/titles that best describe you. For example, Multimedia Journalist | Storyteller | Communication Strategist, or you can pen down a sentence that best describes you— I help brands tell winning stories through interactive storytelling. Pick a style that best suits you.

About section

Remember the elevator pitch I just mentioned above? Pen that down in the about section but with more details. According to Princeton Edu, an elevator pitch is a brief (think 30 seconds!) way of introducing yourself, getting across a key point or two, and making a connection with someone. It’s called an elevator pitch because it takes roughly the amount of time you’d spend riding an elevator with someone. If you happen to bump into someone you’ve been dying to meet in an elevator, how will you introduce yourself, get your point across, and ask to stay connected—all before that person gets off the elevator!

Start with a catchy introductory sentence that best describes you. For example, What makes a good story if not a great storyteller? Link that with supporting sentences to back up your main point. Share notable achievements in your field and what you are passionate about. What kind of skills do you possess? List them.

Experience Section

This is where most people get it wrong. Experience does not always mean permanent employment. Even if you worked in a company for a week, a month—that is experience. Whether it was freelancing or projects you worked on while in school, that is still experience. Internships/attachments/apprenticeships are also considered experience. Do not downplay the work you did because it was not formal.?

If you are a company/startup founder that is also experience. Make sure you have created a company page on LinkedIn if you are a founder so that people can click on your company and find out more information on the same.

Talk about the key roles and responsibilities you had. Be loud about your achievements, if they can be measured qualitatively and quantitatively, the better. For example, as a social media manager, I pitched, developed, and produced video content on Tiktok and IG Reels resulting in a 200% increase in follower growth in 3 months. This is better than just saying I created videos.

If you have links/media/certificates/honors to some of the work/projects you have done,you can include them.

Education Section

This section is not only for schools you attended but also for online courses you have. You can also include workshops and trainings you have attended. Talk about what you learned/skills you got. Mention the activities and societies you were part of while in school.?

You do not have to mention your grades but if you had honors why not?

If you did an online course, do not just tell us the title of the course. Tell us more. For example, I did a course on Visualization For Data Journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Here is how to put it down: “While telling stories with data has been part of the news practice since its earliest days, it is in the midst of a renaissance. Graphics desks which used to be deemed as “the art department,” a subfield outside the work of newsrooms, are becoming a core part of newsrooms’ operation. Those people (they often have various titles: data journalists, news artists, graphic reporters, developers, etc.) who design news graphics are expected to be full-fledged journalists and work closely with reporters and editors.

Through this course, I learned how to think about the visual presentation of data, how and why it works, and how to do it the right way. I learned how to make graphs like The New York Times, Vox, Pew, and FiveThirtyEight. I also learned how to make and share–embed beautiful charts in publications, blog posts, and websites.”

If you received certificates for a course you did/training you attended etc, you can scan and upload them in the media section.

Other Important Sections

• What Licenses & certifications do you have? List them.
• Have you volunteered somewhere before? Tell us about it in the Volunteering experience section. What did you learn? What skills did you gain? Any notable achievements during your volunteering fellowship?
• List the Key skills that you have —both technical and soft skills.
• Have you written anything that has been published? Tell us about it and provide a link to your work.
• What languages do you speak?
• Which professional bodies/associations are you part of?
• What are some of your interests? Are you passionate about specific social causes?

Finally, a good LinkedIn profile with no activity is as good as dead. Interact with other people's posts. Write about what you are passionate about. Journals your experiences and career journey on LinkedIn. Send out connection requests to relevant people within your industry and do not forget to constantly update your profile to reflect a promotion, an achievement, training you have attended, etc. Have fun LinkedIning!