Where to start with your LinkedIn profile.

LinkedIn is a powerful searching tool either you use it to find something/somebody, either to be found, because for example we are willing to be recognizable by new customers or employers.

Having clear ideas about who we are and where we mean to go is a must. Having said that we ought to do something. But "Do Something" may be a misleading advice, because our instinct, in this frantic world, would go for quantity: "the more the merrier".

You reckon you have to show as much as you can, so you go straight to the Experience section, collecting all you have done in your career, so your scouts would have a lot to read about you.

If so, you could rephrase the above slow as "the more the easier", because flooding your (potential) audience with data, is nothing but a mechanical exercise. There must be something you do better, but if you do not stress it, you would hardly give the impression you care about your career.

If you already started writing this stream of (just) experiences, because you deem they are all equally important, you may also lead to a further rework of the above: "the more the slowler", because you would force readers to go through details from the beginning. And they might get bored quickly, without finding a link between you and them.

People who might read about you, do not have the whole day, even HRs. Therefore you need to introduce yourself first. That is why you Headline and Summary are available on LinkedIn profiles.

They are very effective if used properly: the give the first (and most important) impression with high web indexing by search engines (much higher than other sections, including experiencing). Even Big Data need some economy, that is why they mainly look at Headlines and Summaries. And that is why you should start focus on them.

If you are looking for suggestions, I personally try to be simple: I believe there is always time to be sofisticated.

I also try to be original and this comes from Marketing, which keeps demanding differentiation: do not try to be the best, just tell what distinguish you from the mass and why.

For instance, many go for Team Leadership. Personally I would rather say I work by objectives than being a leader. Employers who already have a leaders might be looking for experienced operative staff. If you say it straight they would also appreciate the fairness.

Then Experiences (i.e. your resume) should reflect Headline and Summary, and from time to time, you may also update you profile as well as refine it, from Experiences up to Headline: it would give the impression about what you focus the most, and it is an inexpensive way to show you are active on LinkedIn. Experts might say, this is the first step to Personal Branding.

In conclusion, writing a LinkedIn profile is not a matter of quantity, but quality. Working on it is not an easy task, but it givea a good reason to focus and keep your ideas clear.

It takes energy, but if you do not start investing in yourself, you may not expect somebody else would it.