Published Wed, Sep 25 201911:07 AM EDT Updated Wed, Sep 25 20191:12 PM EDT
Dustin McKissen, Contributor @DMCKISSEN
If you want to have a successful career, maintaining an online presence on听LinkedIn听is crucial.
Not only is it an effective way to network with other professionals in your field, but it can get you noticed by others and potentially听.
In fact, I landed a great job at a major company because I regularly updated my profile and published career-related content almost daily. (That job ultimately inspired me to start my own company.)
Believe it or not, that was six years ago 鈥� and today, LinkedIn has only become increasingly important.
The LinkedIn profile summary
Simply signing up for an account, quickly filling in the blanks and then letting your profile remain dormant won鈥檛 do you any good.
Of the many elements that make up a strong profile, two of the most important ones are your professional headline and 鈥淎bout鈥� section,听听听at听.
Together, they make up what鈥檚 known as your 鈥淟inkedIn profile summary,鈥� and it鈥檚 one of the first things people see when they visit your page. Your professional headline is especially important because it鈥檚 the text that gets displayed in search results for both Google and LinkedIn.
Below is an听听of a strong LinkedIn profile summary, according to the career experts at Harvard:
***
NAME:
Jessica Yan
PROFESSIONAL HEADLINE:
Research Scientist | Ph.D. Candidate | Data Analytics, Biotech, Pharma
鈥淎BOUT鈥� SECTION:
I鈥檓 a research scientist working to better understand how neural activity motivates and shapes human behavior. My expertise includes project design and management, data analysis and interpretation, and the development and implementation of research tools. I enjoy generating new ideas and devising feasible solutions to broadly relevant problems. My colleagues would describe me as a driven, resourceful individual who maintains a positive, proactive attitude when faced with adversity. Currently, I鈥檓 seeking opportunities that will allow me to develop and promote technologies that benefit human health. Specific fields of interest include data analytics, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.
***
Here鈥檚 what makes it a strong profile summary:
- Can be skimmed in 30 seconds or less
- Professional headline is below 120 characters, lists career focus and components of work
- Includes industry-related keywords, core skills, strengths, talents and interests
- Well written in a professional style, no spelling and grammatical mistakes
- Answers questions that provides deeper insight about the individual: What makes her unique? Where is her career headed? How would others describe her? What are her values and personal traits?
LinkedIn profile checklist
While your profile summary holds major emphasis, you鈥檒l need to spend time on savvying up the rest of it. Here鈥檚 a quick checklist of the basics to help you get started:
- Upload your photo. Ideally, this should be done in professional attire. Profiles with photos are 14 times more likely to be viewed,听.
- Customize your public profile URL.听The address should look something like:听. This will make it easier for you to include it on business cards, resumes and email signatures.
- Enhance your profile with additional sections.听Displaying further information (e.g., accomplishments, skills, volunteer experience, certifications, expertise) can also increase the amount of times people view your profile,听. This, in turn, can help you build your network and connect to new opportunities.
- Elaborate on your work history in the 鈥淓xperience鈥� section.听Use targeted keywords and听听about what you鈥檝e done in your previous positions that led to measurable results. (Don鈥檛 lie about titles or duties; you鈥檒l likely get called out by old colleagues 鈥� and it will be embarrassing.)
- Education: Include, in reverse chronological order, any programs or schools you went to.
- Customize your 鈥淪kills & Endorsements鈥� section.听Ensuring a relevant list of skills on your profile allows others in your network to endorse you. (Skills with the most endorsements will be listed first). This will also help others understand your strengths and match you with the right opportunities.
- Include recommendations.听These should come from former supervisors, coworkers, clients, vendors, professors or fellow students. (Basically, anyone who will have good things to say about you and your work.)
Be an active member and build your network
Remember, the more active you are, the better. So as you move on to new jobs or master new skills, make it a point to update your profile.
Being active also means engaging with your community. You can do this by:
- Sharing updates and interesting content.听This can include anything from new accomplishments and industry announcements to a blog post you鈥檝e written or an article that people in your network may want to read.
- Inviting past and current coworkers, classmates, friends and family to connect.听I鈥檓 often asked whether I request or accept connections from people I鈥檝e never met. For me, it鈥檚 a yes 鈥� but听only听if I鈥檓 genuinely interested in developing a professional relationship with the person and their field of work is somehow related.
- Engaging with your connections鈥� 鈥淩ecent Activity.鈥澨�LinkedIn allows you to see what folks in your network are posting, liking and commenting on. If they shared a blog post that you enjoyed reading, for example, why not give it a like or reply with a nice comment?
- Join groups.听This will help you strengthen connections with people who share common skills, experiences, industry affiliations and goals.
Dustin McKissen听is the founder of听, a strategic communications firm in St. Charles, Missouri. He was also named one of LinkedIn鈥檚 鈥淭op Voices in Management and Corporate Culture.鈥� Follow him on LinkedIn听