5 ways to improve your LinkedIn profile

1. Profile Photo

According to LinkedIn, having a picture makes your profile 14 times more likely to be viewed. Of course, not all photos are equal:

• Clarity – avoid low-res images as they appear blurry and unprofessional. The file can be up to 8MB.

• Size – 400 x 400 pixels with your face should take up 60% of the image.

• Recent image – the photo must look like you (no disappointing Tinder dates) and be taken within the last 3 years.

• HOT TIP: Our pet peeve? You guessed it, absolutely no sunglasses!

Remember that this is the first impression of your personal brand, so make sure you are dressed and groomed appropriately for the jobs you are applying.

2. Headline

By default, your LinkedIn profile headline will be your current employment position, i.e. Senior Event Manager. This is a good way to let recruiters and hiring managers immediately know of your experience and skill level, not to mention helping you appear in relevant job searches.

However, there is also the opportunity to customise this field, by adding further information to highlight your expertise and stand out from the crowd. You can list further skills, industries you specialise in, awards you have won, or even words or phrases that uniquely describe you.

3. Summary & Experience

Your LinkedIn profile should be more than a cut and dried account of your professional history, take the time to inject some personality, use a more conversational tone, and share your vision for your next role.

Think of the summary as your elevator pitch, packing a punch but ideally no longer than 3-5 short paragraphs. It should convey your purpose, your passion and your personality. A handy tip is to use bullet points- this is visually appealing and more likely to draw the readers eye.

Your Experience section should be a list of the key positions you’ve held (in descending order), with a brief description of each. Try to use assorted media such as, videos, images, presentations, and content that you’ve created, to bring this segment to life and to demonstrate your previous work.

4. Personalised URL

Not only does a personalised URL (linkedin.com/in/yourfullname) look more professional and read better in a resume, it enables you to promote your personal brand in other ways.

By including your personalised link on your other social media streams; blog, email signature, online résumé, Facebook etc, you will optimise your personal web search ranking, and ensure you’re at the top of the page.