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How to create an effective LinkedIn profile

ALL workers should have a LinkedIn profile, no matter their industry, occupation or experience, to have the best chance of securing work.

LinkedIn statistics show more than 11 million Australians have a LinkedIn profile, equal to about half of all people over the age of 15, or 82 per cent of those participating in the labour force.

Here’s how to build the most effective LinkedIn profile.

LIST CORE INFORMATION

Start with the basics – your current job title and employer, previous roles if relevant to your career path and goals, and any qualifications obtained.

Include a brief introductory statement about yourself, which may outline further detail about skills and experience.

Glow Up Careers founder Yvonne Kelly says it is important that the LinkedIn profile closely matches the resume.

She says if there are big differences between the two, recruiters and hirers are suspicious of what may or may not be true.

“The big three when someone lands on your profile page are photo, headline and the first two lines of the ‘About’ section,” she says.

PUT A FACE TO YOUR NAME

Even though photos are rarely attached to resumes, the social networking nature of LinkedIn means a recent image can help personalise the profile and assure others they are making connections with the right person. But in terms of recruitment, LinkedIn careers expert Shiva Kumar says profiles with a photo can receive up to 21 times more views and nine times more connection requests than those without a picture.

“Keep in mind, first impressions last, so make sure your profile picture is professional,” he says.

Avoid uploading an image of yourself in a social situation or with a group. The easiest way to get an image is to dress in work attire, stand against a plain wall and enlist a friend to take an image of your head and shoulders with a smartphone.

LIST YOUR SKILLS

LinkedIn data shows members who list five or more skills on their profile receive up to 17 times more profile views than those who do not.

Its Future of Skills Report reveals soft skills, such as teamwork and communication, are just as important as hard skills, such as qualifications and licences, so also add interpersonal skills, industry knowledge and tools and technologies.

A profile feature enabling users to take a skills quiz can help identify competencies.

MAKE CONNECTIONS

The people you connect with should be quality contacts whom you know and trust, rather than a larger number of connections whom you have never met or worked with.

Send a connection invite to current and past colleagues, industry and business associates, and social contacts, or use the ‘People you may know’ feature to find suggestions based on your education and employment.

Kelly recommends including a short message when sending a request. “People are much more likely to accept your request if you write a nice note to them,” she says.

Kelly also encourages workers to reach out to senior executives they want to connect with, meet and perhaps seek mentoring from. Follow companies and industry leaders to stay up-todate with information.

CONSTANTLY UPDATE

Aside from updating employers, roles, skills and qualifications, regularly sign in and participate.

Make new connections, add more details to your profile, join groups, post updates, write columns or interact with other users.

Kumar encourages users to sustain relationships even when they are not looking for opportunities.

“This could be commenting on a status update, sharing articles, blogs and helpful recommendations with your network,” he says.

“Congratulating your connections on personal and professional milestones such as promotions, job updates, birthdays and work anniversaries, can be an easy way to reconnect with longtime connections, and strengthen existing relationships.”

Kelly says new features are being added to the site regularly, such as its “featured” profile section where videos can be uploaded.