LinkedIn 101: How to Optimise Your Profile

LinkedIn 101: LinkedIn 101: How to Optimise Your Profile

Time to step up your LinkedIn game and attract more recruiters to your page.

It is no secret that LinkedIn is now one of the primary means employers use to look for new hires. With over 93 per cent of companies around the world using LinkedIn to make hiring decisions, it is critical that jobseekers have and maintain an account on the site to put themselves on the radar and apply to specific jobs.

However, simply creating a LinkedIn profile is not quite enough to make yourself stand out from millions of other users. You have to take things a step further to make your profile more attractive and searchable for recruiters.

Here are some basic and additional tips that will help give your profile that coveted “wow” factor:

The Basics

Pick professional profile pictures

Always remember that LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking platform, so make sure to choose your profile photo wisely! A professional-looking headshot is always a safe bet.

Include relevant information

Just like what you would do with your resume, curate your achievements, qualifications and work experience that are relevant to the industry you wish to pursue your career in. For instance, if you are interested in digital marketing, you should highlight skills such as search engine optimisation (SEO) and SEM. There is a specific section in your LinkedIn profile where you can list down your other skills as well.

On the other hand, if you are looking to join a specific field, like the retail industry, it would be good if you could emphasise your work experience as a sales promoter, for example.

Grow your connections

Once your profile is all set up and updated, the next step for you is to expand your connections. LinkedIn will prompt you to connect with people who you might know through the email account you use to sign in to LinkedIn or through mutual connections. Take advantage of this function and explore the possible contacts you can connect with.

When sending an invitation to connect with someone, give it a nice touch by dropping the person a personalised message. Also, if you have pending connection requests, remember to respond promptly and send them a thank-you message for reaching out.

Level Up Your LinkedIn Game

Get recommendations and endorsements

If you have previous professional work experience, you can get your former manager or supervisor to write you a recommendation for your LinkedIn profile. Alternatively, you can get your peers or lecturers to write you one if your work experience is limited to school-related activities, such as school projects or student organisation activities.

You can further boost your profile by getting your former co-workers or peers to endorse the skills that you have added to your page. Do not forget to return the favour by endorsing theirs, too!

Use the professional headline function

The professional headline is located right underneath your profile picture. This function presents the perfect opportunity for you to demonstrate your personal brand by putting in keywords that best define you.

Examples: • If you are a computer science graduate with work experience:

“Tech whiz – Former programming & web developer intern – E-commerce industry”

• If you are a student or graduate without professional work experience, you can include information about your degree and field of study. You can also specify the line of work and industry you aspire to be in:

“English language graduate – Aspiring writer – Media industry”

It is important to keep your headline succinct so that viewers can simply take one glance at your profile to get an idea of who you are professionally and whether you would be a useful connection to have, both for recruiting and networking purposes.

Personalise your summary section

Similar to the headline function, you should include keywords in your professional summary that align with your personal brand. However, the difference between the two functions is that there is more room for you to sprinkle some personality in this section. Make this section sound interesting while remaining authentic.

Here is an example of a summary for an engineering graduate:

“I am an electrical and electronic engineering graduate with an interest in making the world a better and safer place through automation and robotics. I am keen on an engineering role in the robotics industry where I am able to apply the knowledge and skills I have learned in university and my internship experience.

Aside from my interest in tech and robots, I enjoy competitive running and have won several medals in multiple marathons across Singapore and Malaysia. The tenacity and mental endurance I possess when I run are traits that I believe I can bring to the workplace. I enjoy the thrill of being challenged and

I look forward to the challenges that my future employer will present to me. If you would like to learn more about how my skills can bring value to your company (or hear about the 68 marathons I have participated in), please send an email my way.”

Participate actively

Search for relevant groups such as organisations or interest groups that align with the causes you care about (e.g. animal rights groups or alumni groups) to get updated on the latest news and trends.

However, you should make it a point to chime in on discussions if your opinion or the information you provide can be of use to other users too. You never know – a group member who happens to be a recruiter may find your thoughts to be insightful and may want to connect with you on LinkedIn for a chat.

Also, you can interact with your connections by commenting on their statuses or simply start a discussion by posting a status. These activities will pop up on your connections’ newsfeed and will keep you on their minds. Remember to keep topics strictly professional and civil, though!