5 Tips for Improving Your LinkedIn Profile

Linkedin is the Facebook in the professional industry and it is a gold mine for all students including international. According to LinkedIn itself, they have about 277 million users and 187 million monthly unique visitors since February 2014. As you can see, they have a lot of active members, which means there is a lot of sharing. Why does this matter? Because you are a brand and this means you can do the same and bring more attention to you (the brand). So here are some ways you can improve your LinkedIn profile so that you can be found and share it with confidence.

1. Add an appropriate photo. Did you know that, according to Linkedin, just by simply adding a photo people are seven times more likely to view your profile than if you don’t have one? Just make sure your photo is a recent and professional picture. It should not be a pixelated, party photo or “selfie.” A simple clear headshot should work just fine.

2. Create your vanity URL. Customizing your public profile URL will make it easier for you to share our profile. Your custom URL can have between 5 – 30 letters or numbers. Do not use spaces, symbols, or special characters

3. Make your profile public. This sounds like a no-brainer but most people are not aware of their profile setting. Your public profile appears when people search for you using a public search engine like Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. so make sure you make your public profile visible to everyone.

4. Work on your headline. Speaking about search engines, did you know that your headline is highly searchable? Yes! When most HRs are doing their job, they stumble upon certain people because of this headline. List something that is search friendly like “Social Media Consultant specializing in Content Creations and Analyzing” vs. “Founder of XYZ Marketing.”

5. Make your summary stand out. This shouldn’t be a summary of your job duties but a place where you can state why you excel at a job and back it up with facts like numbers and accomplishments. Use keywords to describe your past titles, your skills and names of companies, applications, industries, country, etc.

What other tips do you have to improve your LinkedIn Profile?