One of the biggest questions I have for young adults is ‘why don’t you use LinkedIn more?’
You can develop your personal brand, build a network of connections, open a world of opportunities and kickstart your job search all on one platform so why wouldn’t you give it a go? I can honestly say I’ve gained so much out of investing time in my LinkedIn profile and making an effort to engage with like-minded professionals.
If you don’t know where to start, all you need to do is set up your LinkedIn profile and follow these tips for boosting it!
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1. Use keywords
If you want recruiters to find you (particularly at a time like this) then you’ll need to optimise your profile with keywords. Don’t overload every single section with your main keywords but make sure they’re present in your Summary, Experience and Skills as it improves your searchability. You’ll need to do some research into what keywords you should prioritise as well!
2. Focus on your achievements
This is going to sound confusing but write what you’d want to read on your LinkedIn profile. For example, if a recruiter or prospective employer is viewing your profile, they’re going to be more interested in your achievements and what changes you made at your previous company rather than your mundane day to day duties. Anyone can schedule tweets but you want to tell them who can increase social media leads by 500% in two months!
3. Show off your portfolio
The Featured section is new to LinkedIn and a great way of showing off your portfolio and what you’re good at. You can link posts, articles and websites as well as upload documents and presentations for everyone to see at the top of your profile. If you’re a creative, this is the perfect place to showcase your work!
4. Ask for recommendations
Asking for a LinkedIn recommendation can be so awkward but they’re so useful for cementing what you’ve said about yourself on your profile. Recruiters, potential employers and prospective clients can find this information really valuable and a short quote from your ex-director or biggest client can go a long way!
5. Inject some personality
Something I’ve noticed over the years is that the majority of people’s profiles look very vanilla, almost like a robot’s written it. Don’t make that mistake because it shows little personality and if you’re looking for a job, you could easily be cast aside. Inject some personality into your Summary and Experience sections so people can get to know you.
6. Post informative or relatable content
One of the most effective ways of boosting profile views is by posting regularly on LinkedIn. Ideally, this needs to be informative or relatable content which your connections and other LinkedIn professionals can engage with. The more impressions, likes and shares, the more connection requests and profile views you’ll get! And don’t forget, just like with any other social media platform, you need to invest time in engaging with others’ content to really get noticed.
LinkedIn really can work wonders for your job search and career if it’s used in the right way (and is suitable in your industry) and hopefully these tips will be able to help with that!
About the Author
Katy aims to help young women find their feet by providing an honest take on newly adulting life and the struggles that come with it over on her blog, katystephenson.com.
LinkedIn is by far, one of my most favorite Social Media Platforms. I do like to engage with others, but I like your point of injecting more personality when posting. A great idea and something that I will definitely work on. Great Post! 🙂
Very helpful tips especially for young professionals trying to boost their online presence and expand their networks! I’ll be reviewing my own LinkedIn profile against this checklist!