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July 30, 2021
Newsletter ArticleWith nearly half a billion users worldwide LinkedIn is one of the oldest social media platforms available, and its features are becoming more relevant to college students and young professionals each day. LinkedIn serves as an excellent tool for researching companies and learning more about the type of people who work there. The networking connections available through the site are nearly limitless and most content that is posted is relevant and meaningful.
Having a LinkedIn profile has become a necessity for individuals who want to promote their personal brand as a professional. However, building a profile will take more effort than what is used for most social media platforms. As you build (or update) your profile keep your intended audience in mind and tailor your profile content to this audience.
Headshot
This should be a professional headshot that only includes you in the frame. It’s reported that profiles with professional headshots get 14 times more views! This is not the platform to post engagement, summer cookout or vacation pictures. A banner style photo can be uploaded in addition to your headshot. This banner is not mandatory, so if you struggle with finding the right photo it’s best to leave it empty.
Intro
This section includes information about your current position title as well as where you went to school and your current location. Words within the headline are searchable by other users so use relevant terminology.
About
This section appears below your headshot and intro. Think of it as your personal statement and utilize first person speech. You can include background information about yourself, professional highlights, future aspirations or even your StrengthsFinder (or other assessments) themes. Utilize this section to convey your personality!
Experience
Use bullet statements and list experiences as you would on a resume. In fact, you can even copy and paste directly from your resume to build this section and then edit as appropriate for your intended audience. The platform will do the work for you when it comes to listing experiences chronologically.
Education
Be specific about your years of attendance, graduation year and degrees received or anticipated. Also include activities and possibly coursework if it is relevant or unique. Even if you’ve graduated college, including collegiate activities can be a great networking tool. The education section can be a networking goldmine so include as much pertinent information as possible.
Licenses & Certifications
Any credentials you have earned like an applicators license or registered parliamentarian accreditation can go here.
Volunteer Experience
Like on your resume, quality over quantity is the key to this section. Choose the experiences that you served in a leadership role for and that you feel most passionate about.
Skills & Endorsements
It can be tricky to find the correct term to convey your skills so utilize the scroll function to view suggestions generated from typing in key words. A robust profile should include at least eight skills that are relevant to your field of study or career focus. Regarding endorsements- you generally must give to receive, so be complimentary to your connections. It is also appropriate to ask mentors and supervisors to provide an endorsement for you, just like how you would ask them to serve as a reference.
Accomplishments
This is an opportunity to list relevant awards, publications, certifications and even languages spoken. Only include information that is relevant to your audience and strike a balance between too much and not enough.
Interests
This will include the companies, groups and schools that you follow. Who and what you follow will send a non-verbal message to your connections. Additionally, interactions (likes, shares and comments) with these companies and groups will show up in your activity feed. It’s encouraged to follow industry leaders, news feeds relevant to you and your intended audience and professionally relevant groups.
The key to finding success with LinkedIn is to be purposeful. Take the time to think through what you’re including and what it tells your audience about you.
