Improving Your LinkedIn Profile

Everyone has a LinkedIn profile, right? As an employer, it’s kind of a necessity – a great way to get an overview of the potential candidates previous experience and achievements.

When I first started blogging as an influencer, I had no idea how significant the task would become for developing and maintaining my brand. I feel so lucky to have a dedicated following intrigued to hear my weekly tips and can’t tell you how much I appreciate your thoughts and feedback.

As a power profile, I thought this week I would focus on what you could do to make YOUR profile powerful.

I’ve blogged before about the many mistakes people make on their LinkedIn profiles – mistakes you can’t afford to be making in today’s job market.

Having a good LinkedIn profile really could be the difference between bagging your dream job or not – it’s the first thing I look at whenever I’m recruiting a new member of staff and I’d say that’s true for most other employers too.

Here are a few of my top tips for creating your power profile;

Is it complete?

Are there any gaps in your profile? Is it misleading? Have you recorded all of your work experience? Have you written a short personal profile?

Letting these things slip is a huge mistake! You’ll lose a potential employers interest, it's unprofessional, un-engaging and looks like you can’t really be bothered and you’re not dedicated enough to your profession.

Are you being a thought leader?

I couldn’t recommend LinkedIn’s blogosphere enough. As I mentioned above, it helped to develop my brand so much. The best thing about blogging is, anybody can do it! You don’t need to be a professional copywriter to post a blog, it doesn’t matter if your sentences aren’t fluid and melodic… if you have something to say – say it.

Become a thought leader in your industry and you will directly improve your personal brand. 

What does your picture say about you?

I’m sure we’ve all come across a few dodgy profile pictures. The trick is to keep it professional. Although LinkedIn has great community and social aspects, it is a professional site – it’s not a place for posting party pictures and silly status updates.

This all goes back to branding. Remember that LinkedIn is a professional platform. We don’t want to see a picture of you at a recent music festival.

Are you personalising your requests?

I look at all my connection requests but the ones accompanied with the generic ‘I’d like to add you to my professional network’ message are the least likely to get my attention.

I think it’s really important to personalise your requests if you want to make a good first impression. So when you want to connect with somebody, take the time to write a short, personalised message – it will make you seem more personable and the recipient will be more inclined to accept. Everybody likes reading a personalised message, nobody likes to read something which is noticeably generic.

Adopting these four habits will mean you’re one step closer to becoming a power profile. Use it to your advantage, make it stand out and be proud of your profile. Who knows, your perfect employer could be lurking at just the right time…