7 tips for creating a LinkedIn profile that stands out from the crowd

LinkedIn now boasts 562 million members (and counting) worldwide – so how can you stand out from the crowd?! We’ve compiled our top tips for curating a profile to represent you and your skillset most effectively.

1. Ensure your profile is always up-to-date. Especially if you are looking for a new role, this really is imperative! It can convey the wrong message to recruiters and hiring managers if your profile is outdated; either signalling that you’re not looking for something new or that you’re not on top of your game.
    
2. Keep it professional/relevant to your industry. Highlight your passion for your sector – potentially in terms of your cover photo, the companies you follow or in descriptions of previous relevant roles. It is also not necessary to include every job you have ever done, relevance of roles is key. Further to this, be wary of what you like/share as unlike other social media sites, LinkedIn is known for letting your connections know that you have liked something. (And obviously a professional photo goes without saying!)
    
3. Ask for recommendations. This is one that is sometimes less known about but something that immediately boosts your profile. You can ask anyone you have worked with (through the specific section on LinkedIn) to write a recommendation for you and it will then be verified with their name/company and a link to their profile. Invaluable!
    
4. Take full advantage of the skills section/use of keywords. When someone is searching for potential candidates on LinkedIn, amongst many other search specifications, they can sort by particular skills to fine tune their search. If you have left this blank or without much thought, they are far less likely to come across you on their search.
    
5. Make your profile summary seriously slick. People are unlikely to have more than about 1 minute to look through your profile, if your summary isn’t engaging and is poorly written, they will skip onto the next person. First impressions count!
    
6. Don’t leave sections blank if you can help it. LinkedIn has many shiny, extra sections such as: Languages spoken, Volunteering experience, Honours & Awards and a place to add content you have created. So if you speak a few languages, shout about it here! It will also help people to find you via these parameters.
    
7. Find and join relevant groups. There are plenty of industry specific groups but also ones created by individual companies – if you have a few companies at the top of your list to work for, ask to join groups created by them! Groups are also an excellent way to keep up to date with industry news/insight.
    

These are some of the key elements that our team will be searching for when looking for the next star candidate, so make sure you have an ‘all star’ profile! If you’re ready to start the search for your next opportunity, here is a link to our latest roles. Or contact the team today to find out more about how they can support you.