Important LinkedIn Profile Basics

Today I’ll share some of my favorite tips to nail your LinkedIn profile basics. Contact me for coaching services if you want to dive in more to your specific situation or need help creating or updating your profile. We can do it together! (:

Optimize your profile! You’ll want a profile that’s filled out and tells your story before you start to connect, post and engage intentionally. Once you do start increasing your activity (connecting/posting/engaging) and proactively showing up in your network’s newsfeeds, you’ll notice your profile views and number of connection request will increase – so you’ll want to make sure your profile has the information you want others to see and represents you well!

Must Have Profile Sections

• Headshot and Headline (My favorites! More on them below)
• Location (city, state can help you be found more opportunities vs. just having United States listed)
• About – write it in first person. Use “I” and speak to your audience so they can get an idea of your personality and voice.
• Experience – with accurate dates and descriptions. I see a lot of profiles that show multiple current positions because folks forget to end date a role before starting a new one! Descriptions are one of the first things recruiters and your contacts look for – we want to know what you did in your positions!
• Education – in general, high school is not needed if you have a completed college degree such as an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree. I have listed both my Bachelor’s and Master’s because they are different alma maters and having both listed has helped me form new connections from both alma maters. Some folks just put highest level education completed if they don’t feel their prior schooling is relevant to their future goals whether it’s where or the subject matter – it’s up to you!
• Certifications (and licenses) – if you have them. A lot can go in this section! Anything you complete by Google, Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, industry specific certs such as CPA, PHR, RN etc should go in this section!
• Volunteer Work
• Skills – and update this section and add more as you continuously learn!
• Customize your LinkedIn profile URL

Completed profiles are 40% more likely to receive connection requests and messages about relevant opportunities. LinkedIn is also more likely to show your profile in search results. Why? Because you are demonstrating that you took the time to fill out your profile in its’ entirety and be an engaged member of the LinkedIn community. And at the end of the day, LinkedIn is a search engine. The more information you give it, the better resource it is to you. The algorithm can make your experience more personalized based on your location, where you went to school, the job titles you’ve held, the skills on your profile, etc. Plus, if your profile is fully filled out, people can get a clearer idea of who you are and why they should connect with you. I often get connection requests with no photo, no headline, no experience descriptions, (and no connection request note!) – why would I want to accept that request? Don’t be that profile that others’ question when you are reaching out or sending a connection request. Especially if you are reaching out to a recruiter or hiring manager about a job that interests you, the profile your message is coming from is your first impression and virtual handshake.

Headshot

Although your headshot doesn’t need to be an actual professional headshot, avoid things such as bad lighting, sunglasses, hats (unless it’s specific to your industry/job), other people in the photo/family pictures, etc. The point of your photo is to be recognizable so if one of your connections sees you at a networking event (online or in person!) you look like your photo! I can’t tell you how many times at a networking event we were able to skip small talk because the person recognized me/my profile and we just dove right in to getting to know each other better and becoming friends! Your photo also welcomes people to your profile, so give some thought to if you are representing yourself well! I’ve always taken my LinkedIn headshots in front of a solid colored wall in my home, with iPhone’s portrait mode and self-timer.

Headline

Your headline is your tag line that shows right under your name on your profile. The headline is one of my favorites because when you connect with someone, leave a comment, etc your headshot and headline are the ONLY two things people see about you before deciding to click through to your profile and learn more. They are truly the first impression to your profile. Answer the questions who are you and why should people connect with you? Your headline doesn’t have to be your current title and employer name. It certainly can be, but you likely have more characters to use in your headline. You can use any combination of work, school, volunteer work, special skills, whatever is relevant to you at this time. I usually change mine a few times a year. Consider these examples!

If you’re a student:

• Human Resources Student at the University at Buffalo | SHRM Club President (or any type of on campus involvement/club positions/board positions) | Volunteer at FeedMore WNY
• Undergraduate Business Student at the University at Buffalo | Finance Intern at COMPANY NAME (if you have a job or internship, list that too!) | Customer Service at Target

If you’re a professional:

• Human Resources Generalist at COMPANY NAME (if there’s nothing else you’d like to add to your headline, consider expanding this to include more of your value proposition as shown below)
• Human Resources Generalist at COMPANY NAME specializing in recruiting, benefits and training.
• Human Resources Generalist skilled in creating a positive candidate and employee experience. (You don’t have to mention your company name in your headline! You can mention something you’re working on or focused on doing in your position. Especially if you’re a job seeker – focus your headline on the position you are looking for next and the strengths and skills you have for that ideal role!)

If you’re a professional and do have other community involvement you want to add:

• HR Generalist at COMPANY NAME | Board Member at BNHRA | Camp Counselor at Empower Camp | Let’s Connect! (I think it’s fun to include a “call to action” such as let’s connect – if that feels good and authentic to you.

Really the options are endless, and you can always change it. I hope this helped you think outside the box a little bit on what else you can add! Remember your profile can and should show case who you are as a well rounded person, and doesn’t just have to be focused on your job.

Location

Your connections, recruiters (and other professionals using premium accounts) are narrowing down their search results and filtering connections by location. If you just have United States for example, you’re making it harder to be found. Include a specific location such as Buffalo, New York, United States. Use the location (city/state) you are currently based in, or the location you are looking for work in/planning to relocate to.

About

Write your about section in first person! It’s okay to use “I”. Your about section introduces your network to your personality, voice and story. I see a lot of folks using this section for an objective statement or brief professional summary, and there is so much more space here to use and for you to personalize. This section can include more informal information that you wouldn’t have on your resume. Check out my blog post here for ideas on what you can include in your About section. You can also view my profile as an example. If you only have a professional bio written in third person, you can input it into ChatGPT and ask if to change it to first person and more informal tone! This will be a great starting point to then make any edits and additions.

Experience

Include bullets as you would on a resume. Start your bullets with strong starter words such as create, design, lead, etc! And remember to include impact and results in your bullets, not just a list of tasks. Long paragraphs in your experience section make it difficult for the reader’s eyes to focus in on any specific part and some important information may get lost in the middle of a big paragraph!

For example:

• BEFORE: Trained 10 new employees
• AFTER: Trained 10 new employees, which lead to XYZ. Increased customer experience ratings, no drop in customer service during peak times, whatever it may be! Demonstrate that you understand how you are making an impact and connecting your tasks/responsibilities to the larger company goals.

Customize Your Profile URL

You may notice your assigned profile URL is long and includes random letters and numbers. It only takes a few clicks to customize your URL. Especially if you plan to use your LinkedIn profile link on a resume, business card or email signature, customizing it is a must!

How to customize your LinkedIn profile URL – from the LinkedIn help page! If your first name last name is already taken, consider adding a middle initial or a number at the end.

Skills

Your skills section is towards the bottom of your profile. There are a couple reasons why having the skills section filled out entirely is important. First, especially if you are actively looking for a new job, LinkedIn tries to suggest open jobs to you that match your profile and skills. So if you have a bare profile/only a few skills listed, it won’t be able to provide the most relevant suggestions. Second, when recruiters search for candidates on LinkedIn, they search for skills! One of my clients recently had the skills talent acquisition and performance management on her resume, but hadn’t added them yet to the skills section on her profile. Take an audit of your skills section often and add in anything new as you learn and gain new skills! Remember, LinkedIn is a search engine.

Fun Extras

There are so many other sections that can be added to your profile such as volunteer work, licenses & certifications and featured to name a few. Featured is one of my favorites because you can “pin” posts that you want to stay highlighted on your profile so they don’t get buried by new posts as you share them! Featured is also a great place to add your portfolio PDF or link, or any other material you’d like people to see. You can also add your pronouns and your name pronunciation to your profile (from the mobile app.)

Now your profile is optimized and you’re ready to connect, post and engage intentionally! You’re ready to use your profile to attract opportunities to yourself. Check out my blog post here for a sneak peak on this framework and getting started. I hope this was helpful! Contact me for coaching services if you want to dive in more to your specific situation or need help creating or updating your profile. We can do it together! (: