Linkedin profile tips

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A well-optimized LinkedIn profile is a necessity in today's job search. But what is acceptable to put on your LinkedIn profile and what is best left off it?

The biggest mistake job seekers make when creating and updating their LinkedIn profiles is not adding enough of the "right" information. But there are still a few things that don't belong on your profile, which will hurt your chances of standing out to recruiters and building your professional network.

First, let's discuss what shouldn't be on your LinkedIn profile before we talk about what should.

What Shouldn't Be On Your LinkedIn Profile

"Actively Seeking Opportunities"

Never, and we mean never, put "actively seeking opportunities" in your LinkedIn headline or anywhere on your LinkedIn profile. Your headline should include keywords that display your hard skills and expertise (and your current position, if applicable)âthat's it. If this phrase appears in your LinkedIn headline, not only does it look desperate, but you're losing valuable real estate to optimize your LinkedIn profile with keywords that help you get found by recruiters and hiring managers.

An Unprofessional (or Unfriendly) Profile Picture

Your LinkedIn profile needs a photo. Not having a photo at all is mistake number one. But mistake number two is having an unprofessional or unfriendly profile picture. The photo you choose to include on your LinkedIn profile should be one where you look professional and approachable. Others will be more willing to reach out and connect with you if you do.

Outdated Skills & Technologies

Recruiters will be more likely to skip your profile if the skills and technologies you have listed are no longer relevant or in demand in your industry. It doesn't matter your age; being relevant is all about how you market yourself. You are a business-of-one. Your reputation and success as a business-of-one are dependent on how relevant you're able to stay in the job market. So, don't include those outdated skills and technologies on your LinkedIn profile. Instead, focus on developing new skills and learning new technologies every day. After all, if you want to win, you've got to work it daily.

Politics & Religion

This one is kind of a no-brainer, but just in case you were wondering, no, politics and religion do not belong on your LinkedIn profile. Do you really gain anything by including them? No. Could including them negatively impact your job search or career? Yes. The solution? Keep those topics for a social media site that's not geared toward professional networking.

What Should Be On Your LinkedIn Profile

Lots of Keywords (Skills, Skills, and More Skills)

As mentioned above, your LinkedIn profile should include as many keywords (hard skills) as possible. You should put them in your LinkedIn headline, add them in the "Skills & Endorsements" section, and list them in the "About" section underneath your summary.

A Short but Informative "About" Section

You don't want to write a novel here. Just a short paragraph, ideally your personal branding statement. No one is going to read a summary of your entire career. So, keep it concise. Don't write in the third person, either. After your summary, remember to list your hard skills!

Quantifiable Accomplishments

Another big mistake professionals make on their LinkedIn profiles is not quantifying their work experience, skills, and accomplishments. Numbers stand out to recruiters and hiring managers and make it easier for them to understand your efficiency and effectiveness in a certain role. Back up your statements with quantifiable information and see how much better your profile looks.

Endorsements

Not having any skills endorsed on your LinkedIn profile isn't terrible, but you should definitely ask some of your colleagues to endorse your most valuable skills because that will only help your reputation as a professional. You can endorse a couple of theirs, and they can endorse a couple of yoursâthat way everybody wins.

It's not always easy deciding what you should and shouldn't include on your LinkedIn profile. We hope this list helps you update your LinkedIn profile in the future, especially if you'll be conducting a job search or making a career change.

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What Should & Shouldn’t Be On Your …

The job search process is always evolving.

It's not about going to the job boards, finding the job opening you like, and then applying for it. That method will only have you waiting by the phone for a call that's likely not going to happen. Today's job seekers need to take a more proactive and interactive approach called professional networkingâand LinkedIn is a resource to help you do that.

Creating a strong LinkedIn profile will help you get in front of the right contacts (recruiters, hiring managers, professionals in the field, etc.) who can lead you to your next job opportunity. However, in order for that to happen, you need a LinkedIn profile that communicates and displays the right information.

Take a look at the LinkedIn profile checklist below to learn how to optimize and use your LinkedIn profile effectively.

The Basics Of An Effective LinkedIn Profile

1. Make Sure You Have An Appropriate Headline

The headline is what shows up for your LinkedIn profile when it comes up in search results. It's also what shows up when others look at you through their contacts' connections. By default, your LinkedIn headline reads your current job title and employer, but if you want to grab the attention of others it should say more than that. Think about keywords and highlighting your greatest skill sets.

2. Display Professionalism In Your Profile Photo

A LinkedIn profile that includes a headshot photo is more likely to be clicked on than a profile without a photo. In selecting your profile photo, go with a headshot that makes you look professional and approachable.

3. Personalize Your LinkedIn URL

Whether you choose to include your LinkedIn profile on your resume or in your email signature, personalize the URL. It'll come off as more professional and memorable. Example: www.linkedin.com/yourname or www.linkedin.com/yourname-professionalkeyword.

The Important Details In An Effective LinkedIn Profile

1. Offer Your Value Statement In The "About" (Summary) Section

The "About" section on your LinkedIn profile should summarize what you have to offer and how that translates to value for the potential employer. This is where you'll include your personal branding statement. It should also contain a list of your key skill sets. Never write in the third person on your LinkedIn profile unless you want to come off as pretentious.

2. Make Your Work Experience Keyword-Rich

In your "Experience" section on your LinkedIn profile, use bullet points to highlight accomplishments and quantify your work experience. Think about relevant keywords to include naturally in your writing. The more keyword-rich your profile is, the more likely it'll show up in search results. It's also important to make sure the information you include in your "Experience" section on your LinkedIn profile matches the information in the "Work History" section on your resume, so you don't confuse recruiters and hiring managers.

3. Get Endorsed For The Right Skills And Expertise

Review the "Skills and Expertise" section to prioritize what's important. When you do that, your contacts are more likely to endorse you for the right skills, which in turn shows recruiters and hiring managers you have what they are looking for. What you want to avoid is including skills and expertise that don't relate to the jobs you're applying for or your profession. That will simply dilute your overall message, including your personal brand.

Additional Steps For Creating An Effective LinkedIn Profile

1. Don't Let Your Education Give Away Your Age

Your education, which can include specialized training and certifications received, adds value to your qualifications. When listing the information, take caution with dates. It's not necessary to indicate when you received your degree from collegeâthat can give away your age in some cases. Also don't include anything that may be too dated. You want to show you hold current, relevant skills that are valuable to the profession, not irrelevant expertise.

2. Join Relevant Groups

LinkedIn offers a diverse selection of Groups that you can (and should) joinâprofessional associations, industry groups, alumni groups, etc. If they're relevant to your profession or skills needed for the job, share their badge on your profile. It helps hiring managers and recruiters see that you're connected and active in networks that are important. You can also benefit by taking things a step further with LinkedIn Groups, like participating in discussions and sharing interesting articles to get your name out there. Many hiring managers and recruiters will look at discussions in relevant groups to pull out potential candidates for job openings they have available.

3. Make Your Profile Public

LinkedIn profiles that are made public allow others to view your information whether you're connected with them or not. This option is best when you're a job seeker.

Every professionalânot just job seekersâshould learn how to optimize their LinkedIn profile. Follow the steps above to build a strong LinkedIn profile today for job search and career success!

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How To Build A STRONG LinkedIn Profile

If you want to stand out from other job candidates, both your resume and LinkedIn profile need to have specific, tangible, quantifiable achievements.

We see so many resumes that are very "duty-oriented"âthe candidate lists what they've done but doesn't mention anything about what they've achieved.

Here are a few tips on how to write an achievement-based LinkedIn profile...

1. Highlight Your Main Skills In Your LinkedIn Summary ("About" Section)

Your resume and LinkedIn profile are your personal branding tools, and first impressions are important. Highlight your skills in your LinkedIn profile just as you would on your resume. People often say generic stuff like, "I worked in marketing," but that doesn't tell recruiters anything about what they've done.

What powerful words can you use to stand out? What specifically have you done that would be relevant to the jobs you're applying for? Think about these questions as you list your hard skills at the end of your "About" section.

2. Include Accomplishments & Quantify Your Results With Numbers

Recruiters want you to tell them why you're the right fit for the job, so don't be shy about emphasizing what your skills are and how they'd help the company.

Quantify your results as best you can. Use examples that include numbers. if you've saved time or moneyâby how much? List your accomplishments as bullet points. If something can't be quantified (like job responsibilities), it won't impress recruiters and employers. Therefore, don't waste space on your LinkedIn profile by including them.

3. Prove That You're A Self-Starter

What is it that you've initiated in your job? Did you start any new projects or come up with new ideas? Highlighting projects you've set out to achieve on your own is a great way to show that you're someone who takes initiative, without always being told what to do.

Of course, you should quantify as much information about these projects as possible. This will catch the eye of recruiters and act as a great conversation starter with your network.

Writing an achievement-based LinkedIn profile is a great way to highlight why you're a good fit for the job. You'll stand out to recruiters as a qualified job candidate, one who could achieve great things at the company.

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Why You Need Achievements On Your LinkedIn …

You're told you need to network. You're told that one out of four job seekers have found their favorite job through networking. You're told that âit's all about who you know." Networking, networking, networking. Great!

LinkedIn is a big part of networking these days. It's a great platform to manage and nurture your valuable connections. But are you networking on LinkedIn the WRONG way? Are your LinkedIn invitations not converting to connections? Are your LinkedIn requests getting ignored?

Here are three reasons why people might be ignoring your LinkedIn connection requests, and what to do insteadâ¦

You Don't Provide A Personalized Message In Your LinkedIn Invitation

If someone just walked up to you on the street and said, "Hey, you don't know me, but let's be friends!" and walked away, would you welcome them with open arms? Well, maybe you would, but to me that behavior ranks pretty high on the Creep Meter.

Well, when you just send out a generic LinkedIn invitation to a stranger without explaining yourself, that's basically what you're doing. Introduce yourself and let them know why you want to connect. It really makes a big difference.

TIP: Go to the person's LinkedIn profile and use the connection button there when you send out your invites. It will always let you write a personalized message.

You Don't Have A Professional Photo (Or Worse, You Don't Have A Photo At All)

This might sound shallow, but it's true. If you have a profile picture, people are more likely to take your LinkedIn request seriously. If you have a professionally done photo, your chances are even better.

People want to know who is trying to connect with them. Not only that but if you don't even have a LinkedIn photo, people might assume that you don't take your personal brand seriously.

Your Headline Is Awful

Does any of the following sound like your current LinkedIn headline?

You use "Looking for opportunities" or "Seeking new opportunities."
You don't use proper capitalization, punctuation, or grammar, and/or have spelling mistakes.
Your headline doesn't accurately showcase your brand.

Stop. Just stop. No one will take you seriously if you do any of the above. Check out this amazing post that shows you what you need to write in your LinkedIn headline.

Once you've improved your LinkedIn profile, you can take things to the next level and reach out to recruiters. Here's some advice on how.

By optimizing and updating your LinkedIn profile and personalizing your LinkedIn connection requests, you'll find that fewer people will ignore your invitations to connect, and you'll successfully build your professional network.

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3 Reasons Why People Ignore Your LinkedIn …

A common question I get from job seekers on LinkedIn is, "What is the best way for employers to notice your LinkedIn profile and how should it be set up?"

Well, the answer is pretty simple.

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile So It Matches Recruiters Search Criteria

Optimizing your LinkedIn profile so it matches the search criteria of recruiters is the most important first step for beginners. Here's why...

Recruiters search for candidates on LinkedIn by conducting keyword searches based on skill sets. They choose and use the skill set definitions you find in the "Skills" section of your LinkedIn profile.

Their initial searches are pretty basic. They put in a couple of the key skill sets the hiring manager said are must-haves for the job, add a location, and then LinkedIn's search technology goes through and finds all people who have the most amount of keywords in their profiles with those skill sets in that location and ranks them.

Now, LinkedIn's search algorithm takes in a few other things like how much traffic your profile gets (aka how many people are already visiting your profile) and how many followers or connections you have. There are other factors, but the overriding one is your skill set because it's your relevance to the job.

If you don't know how to optimize your LinkedIn profile to make sure the right skill sets are in the right place, and if you haven't figured out what the five or 10 key skill sets are that recruiters are constantly using to search for the type of position you want, then you are getting bypassed by recruiters because they aren't seeing your profile. It's not being included in their search results!

How Can You Tell If Your LinkedIn Profile Is Working?

You'll know when you've properly optimized your LinkedIn profile for keywords because you will see a lot more views on your profile. And the more views you get on your profile, the higher up you land in a recruiter's search results.

It's just like internet searching and SEO. That's how you get employers to find your LinkedIn profile.

The takeaway? Optimizing your profile with the right keywords is the secret to getting noticed by recruiters. If you want to be found, you've got to give them the right data in your profile!

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LinkedIn For Beginners: The #1 Thing Job …

These days, you're a simple Google search away from blowing recruiters away or making them rethink your candidacy for a job. So, it's important to stay on top of your online presence!

Plus, if you want to get noticed by employers or recruiters, you need to be proactive. Here are five things you can do TODAY to help you get noticed on LinkedIn:

1. Update Your Old Photo

How old is that photo on your LinkedIn profile? If it's old, it's time for an update. Upload a clean, professional photo of yourself. You don't need to hire someone to take a professional photo of you. Just make sure the lighting is good, your appearance is professional, and you don't have a distracting background.

2. Share Interesting Articles On Your LinkedIn Feed

Share articles that are relevant to your industry, that your connections might find valuable, or that you just think are interesting reads. By doing this, you're adding value to your connections and increasing your visibility within your network.

3. Check In With A Connection

Send a message to check in and/or share an article you think they might find valuable. Nurture your network now and they will be more likely to help you out later when you need them.

4. Recommend Or Endorse Someone

In order to get recommendations or endorsements, you need to give them out. Write a thoughtful recommendation for a connection you know and trust. Give out a few endorsements to people who have showcased their skills to you. The more you give to others, the higher the chance they'll repay the favor.

5. Update Your Accomplishments

Take a few minutes to go over your work history and make sure your numbers, keywords, and accomplishments are accurate. Do this now and you won't have to do a complete overhaul later. It's good to keep up with it!

If you want to get noticed on LinkedIn by recruiters, employers, or anyone else, it's critical to keep your profile and presence up to snuff. It's better to do it little by little rather than completely redo it when you need it most. Try using these tips today!

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5 Things To Do TODAY To Get …

If you've never been on LinkedIn before, it can be a little overwhelming. That's why we created a 5-step quick guide for getting started on LinkedIn.

Take a look at our 5-step quick guide below and find out how to optimize your LinkedIn profile for career success:

Step 1: Update Your Resume

The first step is to make sure your actual resume is updated. Once you've done that, then you can transfer the data to your LinkedIn profile.

You always want the information on your resume and LinkedIn profile to be the same. Recruiters and hiring managers like consistency!

Step 2: Change Your Privacy Settings

Your resume is doneâgreat! Now, it's time to start adding information to your LinkedIn profile.

Before you add anything, though, make sure you change your privacy settings so your profile activity isn't visible until you're done filling out your profile. You don't want your connections to see every single change you make to your profile!

Need help with this? Visit LinkedIn Help for more information.

Step 3: Add Your Information

Once you've adjusted your privacy settings, you can start adding content to your LinkedIn profile. In addition to adding the information from your resume, you can showcase visual accomplishments like PDFs, online articles, and images. Keep your personal brand in mind!

Warning: No information on your profile is suspect, but too much is overkill. Do your best to balance it out and include the must-haves.

Step 4: Optimize Your Profile

After you've added your information to your LinkedIn profile, you must go through and optimize it so it's easier for people (employers, recruiters, and connections) to find and read.

Recruiters and hiring managers conduct keyword searches based on skill sets. Your goal is to optimize your LinkedIn profile with specific keywords that relate to your skill sets so you show up in their results.

Once you've properly optimized your LinkedIn profile, you'll start to get a lot more views from recruiters and hiring managers.

Step 5: Make It A Part Of Your Routine

After optimizing your profile, you need to keep it fresh. The more you participate on LinkedIn, the more it rewards you. It puts you in searches, finds relevant people you can connect with, and so on. So, you should make sure that you're an active user on a regular basis.

"The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it," says J.T. O'Donnell, Work It DAILY's founder and CEO.

Make an effort to update your information monthly. You should also be active on a daily basis by sharing articles, participating in groups, and keeping up with your connections. This is the surest way to build your personal brand and stand out to recruiters on the platform.

By following these five steps, you'll be off to a great start on LinkedIn!

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5-Step Quick Guide For Getting Started On …

Do you have a LinkedIn account just for the sake of having a LinkedIn account? If so, you're not alone. Many people create a LinkedIn profile, fill out the basic information, and never touch their profile again. That's a BAD strategy!

The problem with this approach is that you don't take the time to learn how to navigate or leverage LinkedIn to your advantage.

LinkedIn can be a valuable resource for those looking for new career opportunities. There's an option in the platform's security settings that allows the user to let recruiters know they are open to new opportunities.

Even if you're happy in your career, you never want to close yourself off to new and exciting possibilities. In addition to career opportunities, LinkedIn is beneficial for networking and meeting new contacts to exchange ideas, which will help you build your personal brand and stay relevant in your industry.

Here are a few ways to make better use of your LinkedIn profile:

Use Content To Your Advantage

It's hard to get noticed on LinkedIn if you don't stand out, and one easy way to stand out is by using content to your advantage. Content is king!

Remain active on LinkedIn by consistently posting content about your industry and company. You can do this by creating your own content (if you're an authority on a subject) or by sharing relevant and engaging articles. Posting relevant information about your profession helps to reinforce who you are as a professional and shows that you are engaged in your career.

To get better organized with posting content, create a content calendar for your page that reminds you to post so you don't fall behind.

Another way to stand out is by creating graphics for your content to make it more visual. Free online tools like Canva can assist you with graphics and images for your posts.

Update Your Profile Regularly

As your career goes on, your job responsibilities will change, and you may even get promoted. It's important to put these changes on your LinkedIn profile because it shows a pattern of career growth. In addition, as your job responsibilities change, it may impact the skill sets and keywords that you want to feature in your headline and "About" section.

It's also important to highlight accomplishments when the opportunity presents itself. If you or your company win an award or recognition for work in the field, that information should be shared on your LinkedIn profile for personal branding purposes.

Build Your Professional Network

LinkedIn is a good way to stay in touch with former colleagues, mentors, and other significant professionals in your industry. Having a large network that you're in contact with is important because these connections could potentially vouch for you when you're looking for a new career opportunity, or even refer you for a job.

Networking via LinkedIn is also a good way to get past the applicant tracking system (ATS). You can track down and potentially connect with a recruiter on LinkedIn to get your information directly into their hands.

Recruiters use platforms like LinkedIn to find top talent. It's not uncommon for those who are successful in their careers to get job offers before even knowing that a job is available. That's why it's important to put your LinkedIn profile to use.

By remaining active, you can easily make your LinkedIn profile work to your advantage. It shouldn't sit idly by wasting away!

Need more help with your LinkedIn profile?

Sign up for our FREE Resume & LinkedIn Bootcamp today to learn how to update your resume and LinkedIn profile the way recruiters want!

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How To Make Better Use Of Your …

First regarding all, it's never also late to get began on LinkedIn. Second involving all, there are just four things you require to create your account in under 5 minutes.

This is what all those four things are...

4 Things A person Must Set Up Your own LinkedIn Profile In Below 10 Minutes

@j. t. odonnell Replying to @littledig77 How to set upward a LinkedIn profile inside under 10 minutes! #linkedin #linkedinhelp #linkedinhacks #linkedintips #howtouselinkedin #howto #workitdaily #jobtok #careertok â¬ initial sound - J. To. O'Donnell

1. Professional Headshot

Grab your current smartphone and some brilliant lighting and take a new picture of you through the shoulders program some sort of smile on your encounter. You need to look professional, however approachable.

2. Optimized Subject

Your subject is often the most important real property in your LinkedIn profile. Linkedin works like a research algorithm: people look regarding keywords about your ability sets, and if individuals are usually in your headline, anyone turn up at the best of the results. Therefore, pick five or 6 skill sets you make use of about the job and place them in your topic.

a few. "About" Section

Inside your "About" area, talk about the amount of many years you've been doing exactly what you're doing (approximately 3 sentences). Then, write a single or two more phrases that roll up the experience and quantify just what you've accomplished .

some. Work History

You must only listing 15 a lot of work background (or less if if you're still a young professional). Add one or a couple of bullet points for every of the jobs detailing what you got carried out while working there. Employers just want the details without having to gloss over through too much textual content.

Require more help setting upwards your LinkedIn profile?

I train a FREE Resume and LinkedIn Bootcamp . Within this hour-long course, you will learn how to enhance your resume and LinkedIn profile therefore you stand away to recruiters.

But the most crucial thing you need for you to know is do not wait . Linkedin is booming correct now and companies are usually looking for talent into it. It's never been simpler to have noticed on LinkedIn. Therefore go set way up your profile today!

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How To Set Up A LinkedIn Profile …

Your own LinkedIn profile has got the possible to make or crack your chances having a employing manager. Here's a large mistake people don't understand they are making upon their LinkedIn profiles, and exactly what you should do rather...

The particular Big Mistake? Trying As well Hard

@j. t. odonnell Check your LinkedIn account for THIS MISTAKE! #linkedin #linkedintips #profilepics #mistakesweremade #linkedinmistakes #jobsearch #jobtok #careertok â¬ initial sound - J. To. O'Donnell

LinkedIn is really a social media tool, but it can not like Instagram or even TikTok where you set up a splashy banner along with a fun picture of your self and write all this specific creative text to audio as interesting as feasible. Why is that? Nicely, LinkedIn is the quantity one most-adopted platform simply by recruiters and hiring supervisors . They use this to find people along with the right skill units and experience. With this kind of stage in the sport, they will not like all the fact that flashy, "look at me" content. It is about across while narcissistic and desperate.

Instead, you require to know how to be able to make a simple LinkedIn profile that is key phrase driven, that maximizes typically the use of LinkedIn's formula so that you acquire found. You also want to know how for you to get noticed by interesting in and posting articles in a certain method. I teach a TOTALLY FREE class about this on a regular foundation. But what I will need you to definitely understand is which will if you have not necessarily reviewed your LinkedIn report recently, you need to help go do that just because a lot of people are usually using some outdated methods and that is charging you opportunities.

Need to understand more help with your current LinkedIn profile?

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Why You Should Check Your LinkedIn Profile …

As a professional, your LinkedIn profile is an essential career tool. No matter if you're looking for a job or just trying to build your personal brand, it's important to completely fill out your LinkedIn profile so you can get the most out of the professional networking platform.

In 2023, there are a few things you should pay extra attention to on your LinkedIn profile. If you're looking for a job this year, make sure your LinkedIn profile includes the following three things:

1. An Optimized Headline

Don't let your LinkedIn headline default to your job title and your job title only. Optimize it by packing your LinkedIn headline with intentional keywords. Incorporate your top four to five hard skill sets that directly support the service you provide, and then separate each skill with a vertical line. This will make it very easy for recruiters and your connections to see where you add value.

Why does this strategy optimize your LinkedIn profile? Well, keywords increase your chances of showing up in search results. Because recruiters search for skill sets, those are technically your keywords. The more skill sets you have (and the better your LinkedIn profile is optimized), the higher you'll rank in relevant search results. If you're not incorporating the right keywords, you'll have a hard time standing out against the competition. You might not even show up in a search result at all.

It's also never a good idea to put "looking for new opportunities" or "currently unemployed" in your LinkedIn headline. Your headline is prime real estate. It's a valuable piece of your profile. Don't waste space including these phrases. It won't help your job search, and it'll only make you look desperate.

So, to optimize your LinkedIn profile, you can keep your job title in your LinkedIn headline, but make sure to include some of your top skill sets that support your job title too.

2. A Brief (But Compelling) "About" Section

Your "About" section, formerly known as the summary section, is not where you write an epic novel about your career story or where you talk about yourself in the third person. It's where you write a brief, yet compelling story about yourself in the first person. You also want to include your personal branding statement here.

After your personal branding statement, make a keyword-filled list of your top 10 skills and a list of any technologies/software you're proficient in at the bottom of your "About" section. These should be vertical lists because that will allow recruiters to use them as checklists. They'll clearly see what your skills are and have a good idea of whether you're qualified for a certain position or not.

Like in your resume, it's important to leverage white space in your "About" section. Paragraphs don't get read. Recruiters skim LinkedIn profiles, and if they see something they like, then they'll go back and read a little bit more. White space makes it easier to read your "About" section, so avoid big blocks of text at all costs.

To catch an employer's eye, follow this format in your "About" section. It should prompt them to review the rest of your LinkedIn profile, which brings us to your recommendations...

3. Recommendations

When you're looking for a job, what you're really doing is marketing yourself to an employer, and LinkedIn recommendations are a great way to sell yourself.

LinkedIn recommendations are essentially testimonials of your character and ability. They're a testament from a credible source saying that you're able to do what you claim you can. This is why they're essential to your LinkedIn profile.

If you don't have any recommendations on LinkedIn yet, don't worry. You can get recommendations using two different strategies: proactive recommendation seeking and passive recommendation seeking. The proactive strategy involves reaching out and asking someone to recommend you. The passive strategy involves recommending someone, at which point LinkedIn asks them to recommend you back (this way is actually a bit more effective).

Having recommendations on your LinkedIn profile makes you so much more attractive to recruiters and hiring managers. If other people are recommending you for the service you provide as a business-of-one, you must be an incredibly valuable employee, someone who could help a company reach its goals. Make that impression with lots of recommendations on your LinkedIn profile.

If you're looking for a job in 2023, you can't afford to have an incomplete LinkedIn profile. So, don't forget to add these three things to yours!

Need more help with your LinkedIn profile?

Sign up for our FREE Resume & LinkedIn Bootcamp today to learn how to update your resume and LinkedIn profile the way recruiters want!

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3 Things Your LinkedIn Profile MUST Have …

A key component of a successful job search means getting the word out that you're looking for new opportunities. But when you're still employed, it's wise to take a more discreet approach.

This is particularly true for LinkedIn, where there are many contacts and connections happening on a daily basis and any small peep out of your account about a job search will likely get spread to your co-workers and your boss.

That is something to avoid if you don't want to compromise your current job. You can be discreet and take precautions with the activities you conduct on LinkedIn by doing the following:

Change Your Privacy Settings

You don't need to broadcast to your network of contacts the new connections you make with recruiters and the job search groups you've joined. Place your mouse on your picture in the top right and choose Settings & Privacy. Under the Visibility section, go to Visibility of your LinkedIn activity and turn off the features that might notify the wrong people about your job search. Also, go to Visibility of your profile & network to turn off any additional features that could inform others that you're looking for a job.

There are a lot of subtle ways to signal to your network that you're looking for work without advertising it on your LinkedIn profile.

Be Aware Of The Message Your Profile Is Sending

Social media allows us to openly speak what we're thinking and feeling, but that doesn't mean you should advertise to everyone that you're looking for a new job or suddenly make an update that you're willing to relocate in your status or summary. Even if you think it's only going to your inner circle of friends, the word can easily spread on social networking sites. Things like "willing to relocate" are a dead giveaway.

These are details that should be left off your LinkedIn profile and saved for more personal conversations and job interviews.

Don't Show The Job Search Groups You've Joined

When you start joining different job search groups, it is heavily hinting at your job search activity. You can continue to take advantage of using such groups, but change the settings so that the group's logo does not get displayed on your profile.

Go to the group and click the More tab followed by Your Settings in the dropdown menu. From there you can click the Visibility Settings to uncheck "Display the group logo on your profile."

How To Utilize LinkedIn During The Job Search

Now that you know what NOT to do, here's what you can do to utilize LinkedIn for your job hunt...

1. Make your profile visible to employers and recruiters. Your profile needs to be made public in order for employers and recruiters to see your information. Under Visibility of your profile & network, you can check which content on your profile is made public.

2. Don't be anonymous. When you begin to view recruiter profiles and employer contact profiles, adjust your settings so that you don't come off as "Anonymous viewed your profile." By offering your full information, it prompts the other end to take a look at your profile.

3. Accept messages. While setting up your account, indicate that you're interested in career opportunities and that you will accept messages from other members. Disabling these features means employers and recruiters will have a harder time finding and contacting you.

4. Write a profile to appeal to your current and potential employers. Your LinkedIn profile doesn't have to say, "I'm looking for a job," in order for employers to take notice of you. By simply stating your key skill sets, the value you bring, and what you have to offer, employers will see the appeal and want to contact you.

Just as the general advice goes to not quit your job before you secure a new job, you want to take every precaution possible when using LinkedIn to not impact your current job.

Need more help with your job search?

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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