These days social media and online recruiting have become the new norm, and having a good online presence is extremely important to make a good first impression. To get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, use these tips to ensure that potential employers can easily access your profile and understand your most valuable skills.
1. Polish your intro
Your intro is the first thing that a recruiter sees on your LinkedIn page, make sure your profile picture is a recent photo of you without anyone else in the picture and in professional attire (Friday night selfies typically aren’t the best photo options). Your summary should be short and include a description that shows off your achievements and skills. Employers want to see what you would bring to a work environment.
2. Add skills
Adding skills on your page is the easiest way for potential employers to understand your background, add skills that are relevant to the field you want to go into. If at all possible, try to get your co-workers, bosses, and anyone that knows your work to endorse these skills. This looks better to recruiters and shows that other people can vouch that you are a talented worker.
3. Make connections
When you first make a LinkedIn profile, connect with as many people as you can think of. Having more connections means more opportunities to network. Be sure to send each person an individualized message when you connect with them so they know who you are, and if you just met someone, mention where you met and a topic you talked about to make it more personable.
4. Follow companies
Follow companies that you are interested in; companies like it when you show interest in their business. Do research about who works at the company and see if you have any mutual connections with people who work there. Getting a job is all about networking, and LinkedIn is a great tool for that!
5. Change your URL
This one may seem insignificant, changing your URL makes it easier for people to find your LinkedIn profile. On your profile page, click on ‘Edit Public Profile and URL’, after you get to the next page, you can edit your personal URL in the top right of the page. Make your URL something simple, for example, www.linkedin.com/in/janedoe01.
6. Update your profile
This one is very important and yet many people skip this step. Update your profile to show an accurate depiction of your work experience. Once you change jobs you should update your profile to reflect that. This will make getting endorsements and connections much easier when you are still in direct contact with the people you work with.
The most important things to remember are that the people you know want to help you, so make use of them and network. Present your skills and talents in appropriate ways and your professional online presence will get better.
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