How To Create a Good LinkedIn Profile
If you want to be successful in your career or business you should be maintaining an online presence on LinkedIn and other social media networks. This platform is not only an effective way to connect business professionals in your niche industry but it also can be the top job-searching website for all career needs. The Professional LinkedIn profile is equivalent to the home page of your website. Optimizing and regularly updating your profile and LinkedIn business page will give you more visibility and sometimes it gives good career opportunities and business leads.
Why LinkedIn Profile is Important?
Many hiring experts said a LinkedIn profile is more than just your resume. Simply signing a LinkedIn account is not the right way to build connections and apply for jobs. According to the Harvard hiring expert, to set up a basic LinkedIn profile we must have a professional headline and about section that is also called “LinkedIn Profile Summary.”
You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation, the same as a LinkedIn profile also. So here we list out some of the most important checklists to ensure your profile is updated and the best version of your personal or business brand, and the products/service you offer.
Professional LinkedIn Profile Checklist 2023
- Headline
- Professional Profile Photo and Background
- Email and Phone Number
- Vanity URL
- Website or Social Media Profile links
- Personal Details
- Summary
- Work Experience
- Education
- Skills and Endorsements
- Certifications, course details
- Recommendations
- Project details
- Honors, Awards, & Publications
- Volunteering & Causes
- Join Groups
- Status Update
- Make it on the All-star profile
Headline
Your headline is the first thing that recruiter or someone who is going to give a connection request. So make it a memorable one and include expertise area, skill, talents, or keywords like work industry position. This headline area is consisting of a maximum of 120 characters and you may get some extra characters in the LinkedIn mobile app version.
Profile Photo and Background image
Upload a professional-looking headshot and high-quality photo on your profile. Studies show profiles with photos are 7x more likely to be viewed by others. Make your LinkedIn profile photo size 400×400 pixels and background image 1584 x 396.
Email & Phone Number
Add your active email address and phone number that is associated with your LinkedIn profile. So that recruiters/business professionals will contact you if they need any requirements from you. You can set who can see your email and phone number on your account that receives InMail and updates from LinkedIn.
Vanity URL
You can set your LinkedIn vanity URL as per your wish giving more professionalism when you include it on your resume, business card, or email signature. To find your LinkedIn profile URL, Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and Click View profile (www.linkedin.com/in/yourname).
To change your username go to your profile page, and click Edit public profile & URL on the right rail. Below that section click->Edit URL in the right rail, and find your public profile URL.
Website & Social Media Links
If you have a personal or business website and social media accounts, update that in the contact info section.
Personal Details
Add your date of birth, marital status, and current location details to look like a complete profile. It’s an optional choice for all LinkedIn users.
Summary
Consider this section as an answer to “introduce yourself.” The summary should consist of your expertise area and skills. You can also add your leadership quality, personality, values, long-term goals, and outside interests. Add keywords or some key search phrases that hiring persons majorly used. Start the summary paragraph by using “I”, “My” or “Me”. Finally, close with a clear call-to-action, so that recruiters or business professional knows the best way to contact you.
Work Experience
Include all your professional work history details with designation and years that should be the same as your resume. Use targeted keywords and include specific information about what you’ve done in your previous positions that led to measurable results. (Don’t lie about titles or duties; you’ll likely to caught by your office old colleagues and it will be embarrassing.)
Education
Include all your education details with the institution name, year of study, and marks (optional). This would be in reverse chronological order. If you are a recent graduate, include committees and groups that you were active in school and college.
Skills and Endorsements
List all the skills that you knew and areas of expertise that are most important to your profession. You can add up to 50 skills in LinkedIn Skills & Endorsements section that will help others to understand your strengths and match them for the right opportunities. You can also endorse the skills of your connections.
Recommendations
Ask for recommendations from your colleagues, managers, clients, or even professors who know your work and have good things to say about you.
Courses & Certifications
List all your certifications, course details, (if you have done any), and online test scores with a validity date and organizer details. This section is very useful for both college students and working professionals. It will increase the number of times people view your profile.
Also, Read: Social Media Marketing Certification Courses
Project details
This section is very useful for college students who can add their mini-projects, final-year projects, and internship projects (if any) to add in this section.
Honors, Awards, and Publications
Showcase your awards, honors, patent rights, and your publications with some description. It’s not a mandatory section so leave it blank if don’t have any.
Volunteering & Causes
This won’t directly impact your professional skills and experience. It’s just to know how you give your support to others apart from work. If you’re a volunteer in any non-profit organization, do mention it here. Many LinkedIn influencers and experts suggest to don’t adding religious and political activities.
Join Groups
There are lots of general and industry-related groups are in Linkedin, you can simply search and give requests to that group. This will help you strengthen profiles, gain knowledge, and get more connections with people who share common skills, and experiences in your industry. You can answer questions, share interesting article links, and engage in conversation with other like-minded professionals.
LinkedIn Status Update
Regularly update your status so that your profile will get visibility and engagement in your network. A status update could include a share an article, sharing any interesting, useful industry-based images and videos, publishing an article (LinkedIn Pulse) and creating polls, and more.
Make All-Star LinkedIn Profile
To get a LinkedIn all profile you need to complete all the below-listed sections.
- Profile Picture
- Work Experience
- Skills (Minimum 3)
- Summary
- Industry & Location
- Education
- 50+ Connections
Conclusion
Make your profile viewable to everyone and be active on LinkedIn. For job seekers, this is the best platform to connect with HRs and even the Director of the company directly and make your profile open to new opportunities. Hope this checklist will help you to create a perfect and professional LinkedIn profile easily.
