LinkedIn profile tips... to make you stand out!

At Sage we have an awesome recruitment team where each team member specialises in recruiting for a certain area of the business. We advertise on our own website, job boards, attend recruitment fairs, host open days etc, however many of our candidates are found using social platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Recently we have been sharing what #lifeatsage is like on Instagram too!

With many employers now using social recruitment as a key tool, I find it surprising how some job seekers are not embracing the same new way of recruiting……

Whether you’re a passive candidate (not really looking for a new role but would consider speaking confidentially about a great opportunity) or an active candidate (where you really want to seek you’re next career step)…. there are certain things you can do to make you stand out as a candidate on social platforms.

On Twitter, make it clear what you love, what you’re passionate about and show a bit about you! Just remember that potential new employers may have a look to see what you post so you may want to keep it relevant (and clean!) if you’re actively looking - however don’t forget it’s great to show you’re personality and share your interests!

LinkedIn is all about your professional brand - your professional brand is your profile. A LinkedIn profile isn’t just any old CV, it’s a place to showcase your best assets and successes. But with 400+ million users on LinkedIn, there’s stiff competition!

A great LinkedIn profile can help you have more success in your job, whether it’s being seen by a potential employer, client, partner or investor. Here’s some LinkedIn profile tips that may help…

A detailed profile is a strong profile so put in the time to make it awesome!

In simple terms, the more complete your profile is, the better the odds that recruiters will find you in the first place. So, completeness is important and it’s also important after a recruiter has found you and decided to click on your profile: they want to know what your skills are, where you’ve worked, and what people think of you. So, take the time to fill out every single section of your profile. Plus, good news - LinkedIn will actually measure the “completeness” of your profile as you work and offer suggestions on how to make it stronger!

There’s no need to tell all!

If you’re updating your LinkedIn profile, your contacts don’t need to be informed of every little change. When you’re in edit mode, head to the right of your profile and under Notify Your Network – select ‘No, do not publish an update to my network about profile changes.’

Change your headline

Under your name on your profile, make sure the headline is relevant for your current role plus it doesn’t have to be your job title and company. You can change this to whatever you feel is relevant or your value proposition, for example, I have ‘Recruiting top talent at Sage!’

Add the industry you work in on your profile

This helps people find your profile based on your field of work.

Add a summary

Remember to include key words so you will be found in searches plus tell us what you do and your core skill area. Don’t forget to be personal and inject your personality. Let people know your values and passions - you want people to want to know you. A summary of 40 words or more makes you more likely to turn up in a future employers search!

Be visual

Make your profile stand out by adding rich media (videos, presentations etc).

Customize your profile URL

By default, your LinkedIn profile URL will consist of random characters. However, you can have a customised profile URL on the Edit Profile screen, at the bottom of the gray window that shows your basic information, you’ll see a Public Profile URL. Click “Edit” next to the URL, and specify what you’d like your address to be. 

Add information about your role

Be precise and don’t be afraid to add detail! Make sure your role information actually describes what you do and your role vision rather than just transactional duties. Recruiters spend countless hours scouring LinkedIn in search of the rockstar performers so shout about your achievements – don’t be shy! Also, I suggest being selective, don’t feel you have to include every job you have ever had - you can ignore the jobs you had early in your career if they don’t offer insight on how you add value today.

Add your top skills so your contacts can endorse you

It’s important to showcase what skills you have as it increases your profile views. Did you know you can reorder your skills and place more important ones at the top? The secret to making them work for you is keeping your skills updated. As you move roles, develop new skills, or take on new responsibilities, remove outdated skills from your profile and add the ones you really want to be known for - this will keep your skills area relevant!

Have a relevant profile picture

While you can have fun and go crazy with your Facebook and Instagram picture, it can be good to tone things down a little and think about how you want to portray yourself to your potential clients/employers/colleagues.

Add Projects, Volunteer Experiences, or Languages

Do you speak Spanish? Have a CIPD qualification? Volunteer at a weekend? Adding these extra features is a great way to showcase your unique skills and experiences and stand out.

Let the number grow

I would ignore LinkedIn’s advice to only accept connection requests from people you know, as often you can learn lots from people with similar values, in a similar role and in your industry. Having a larger network helps you get found as LinkedIn’s search algorithm favours those who are in your network. That means when people are looking for what you have to offer, the results of their searches are displayed with 1st level connections first, then 2nd level connections and so on. A very strong network with professionals who can help you to grow your career and to reach your goals is more valuable for you and your network. I absolutely love reading the content shared by like-minded connections!

Be a groupie!

LinkedIn Groups are an awesome resource plus they can do wonders for your job search. By joining groups relevant to your profession or industry, you’ll show that you’re engaged in your field. But more importantly, you’ll instantly be connected to people and part of relevant discussions in your field – basically online networking.

According to LinkedIn…  

A complete profile appears 40 times more on a Linkedin search than incomplete one......  what are you waiting for?!