LinkedIn - A quick guide for building a killer profile

If you do not already have a LinkedIn profile, create one now. With over 530 million members, LinkedIn has managed to build a half-a-billion-member community within 15 years and has been characterized as the ‘fastest growing recruitment company in the world’. In fact, 3% of recruiters worldwide are currently using LinkedIn for direct headhunting and this percentage is expected to further increase.

Read along to find out some useful tips and tricks that will help you build a killer LinkedIn profile.

Build A Strong Foundation

These days, recruiters will most probably look you up on LinkedIn to get some more information about you. Hence, it is important to build a strong foundation on LinkedIn to make sure that you can be found by the right people at the right time. There are two things you should keep in mind: the impression you want to leave and how you present your profile.

Leaving A Good Impression

What we mean by impression is mainly the content you comment on, like or share. Keep in mind that LinkedIn should not be used as a social platform, but you can let recruiters know what you are interested in by looking for interesting content. To leave a good first impression, make sure that you also keep your headshot professional and that your headline summary stands out.

Invest in Developing Your Profile

To build a strong presence on LinkedIn, complete your profile, make sure it is well-organized, fill-out the “summary” field with 5-6 of your biggest achievements, embed rich media, and include links to where you can be found online. Keep in mind that you can add more relevant experiences on LinkedIn than you might on your CV. Make use of this possibility.

Build Your Network

When you connect with someone on LinkedIn, a personalized invitation is sent. Firstly, make sure to invite as many as possible of your university friends and professional contacts from work, previous internships and recruitment events. Building a large network on LinkedIn is certainly a great idea. However, keep in mind that this network should be ‘intelligent’. This means that you should connect with people when it makes sense to do so from a personal or professional perspective. A relevant network might open up some interesting career opportunities in the future.

Promote and Connect Others

LinkedIn is not only giving you an opportunity to promote yourself but also to promote your extended network. Most people mainly focus on updating their own profile, which makes them overlook an important aspect of networking. Bringing people together is a highly valuable skill. Endorse and congratulate your connections publicly. It is not only good for their profile, but it also indicates something positive about your personality. Writing a short recommendation for your fellow teammates in a group project or colleagues at work is also a great way to upgrade their profiles and you will certainly get this back.

The bottom-line is that you should invest time in yourself and in others on LinkedIn to effectively build your professional network! Always, keep in mind that updating your profile should be an ongoing activity.