By Sue Ellson

How many sections can you complete on a LinkedIn profile? Would you believe 18 – and that doesn’t include your name, photo, headline or settings?

If you haven’t attracted 100+ aligned profile views in the past 90 days and 50+ appearances in search results in the past seven days – all of which can be checked on your dashboard – your LinkedIn profile needs updating.

If you’re clear about your purpose on LinkedIn, you can optimise your profile with keywords and attract relevant opportunities via LinkedIn, Google and Bing.

 

So, where do you start? Here are 10 sections that might need a refresh.

 

1.     Photo and URL – profiles with a photo are 14 times more likely to be viewed – so make sure it’s relevant, recent (taken within the past three years) and conveys your energy and enthusiasm. Edit your public profile URL to just your name at https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings

 

2.     Headline – the space underneath your name is the maximum value location for primary keywords. As social networking guru Neil Schaffer says, “Your profile headline is the single most important piece of real estate you have, and you need to brand it as such.”

Start with your label – e.g. senior management accountant (how you would introduce yourself at a networking event) – and list your primary keywords in priority order. This might include CA, Financial Statements & Strategy, Budgeting, Reporting, Taxation, Business Analysis, Compliance, Auditing, etc.

 

3.     About – only the first three lines in this section are visible, without people viewing your profile having to select ‘see more’, so make sure you include your main message or call to action early on. Depending on your preference, you can write your narrative summary in first, third or ‘no’ person format.

 

4.     Experience – include your achievements in the past tense and your tasks in the present tense (even for previous roles) from the beginning of your career until now. Including a brief description of the enterprise can also be helpful.

 

5.     Education – list Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand as your school, as well as in the ‘Licenses and Certifications’ and ‘Organizations’ sections.

 

6.     Skills – list your skills, sort them in priority order and then allocate them in the About, Experience, Education, Licenses and Certifications and Projects sections.

 

7.     Top banner background – this can be a solid colour or feature your business logo.

 

8.     Media – PDFs, links and images can be added throughout your profile. It will also showcase your digital competency and make your profile more visually appealing.

 

9.     Recommendations – ensure that you have at least six recommendations that you have both given and received.

 

10.     Other sections – ‘Languages’ is probably the easiest section to complete (yes, mention English and if you studied a language in school, mention it with ‘elementary proficiency’) but try to complete as many other sections as possible.

 

What to leave out:

 

·       Years of experience – say ‘extensive experience’ and list the main areas.

·       Commercially sensitive information – consider indications and percentages.

·       Your birthday, which is part of your identity.

·       Anything you don’t want to see in court or that is overly personal.

·       ‘Open to Work’ green photo frame or ‘Seeking Opportunities’ in the headline, as you don’t want to appear desperate, and keywords provide better value.

 

Other items to check and update:

 

·       Add your phone number in the settings to reset your password if you lose access to your email address and turn on two-step verification to prevent someone else accessing your account. If possible, verify your LinkedIn profile with your work email address, rather than scanning your passport via Persona.

·       Add all your email addresses to your account (unless you work for the government) but make the primary email address the most relevant one (this will stop you creating a duplicate account).

·       Download your data every six months.

·       Explain acronyms or jargon and include some of your personality in your wording throughout your profile.

·       Explain lengthy date gaps, adding in some detail to summarise what you were doing between date X and date Y. If you are currently between jobs, list your current job as doing career research for ‘job title’ with ‘various’ as your employer so that you are not seen as ‘currently unemployed’.

Once you have updated your LinkedIn profile, you can develop a strategy for content engagement (reactions and comments) and content creation (posts, articles, events, newsletters).

This will maintain your professional online presence and keep your brand alive, but please remember that you need to abide by the LinkedIn User Agreement and Professional community policies.

 

Sue Ellson is a LinkedIn specialist, author, educator, practitioner and consultant. She provides teaching, training, speaking and consulting services to individuals, small, medium and large businesses, corporates, schools, universities, associations and government in Australia and overseas. Ellson is also the author of five non-fiction books on the topics of LinkedIn, careers, business, hyper local marketing and gigsters.