10 Steps for a Great LinkedIn Profile

Once you have completed your resume and BEFORE you distribute it, you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile. This is crucial because, according to an April, 2011 Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey, 95% of employers and virtually every recruiter will look you up on LinkedIn before calling you. So your LinkedIn Profile needs to be in synch with your brand messaging on the resume.

Here we will review the key factors in developing and optimizing your LinkedIn Profile.

Before You Start

Before you do anything, you will want to adjust your settings so you are not alerting the world and your boss that you changed your profile. In the top right of your LinkedIn home, you’ll see your name. Click on the drop down arrow beside your name, and select the link that says “Settings.” Or, click on this Settings link, and login to your LinkedIn account.

Go carefully through the “PRIVACY CONTROLS” settings, particularly the “activity broadcasts” option, where you can indicate that you do not want people to know that you have made changes. Go through each of the settings in this section, and choose appropriately for your situation and goals.

1. Selecting Keywords

Before you start writing anything for your profile, first determine the 2-3 keywords that you want associated with your name. These are the search terms that people will use to find people like you, and you will want to make sure you have used these terms effectively to ensure you show up in the first or second page of LinkedIn search results.

If you are an accountant, then accountant is a good word to start with, but adding Tax Planning Accountant can help differentiate you from all the other accounting role possibilities. Other keywords might be Tax Preparation, IRS Audit, and so on, as appropriate to your skills and experience.

Key tip: Go to LinkedIn, and search for people like you to see what others have used and what seems to be most effective.

2. The Headline

Next to your name appears your “Professional Headline” which you can edit. You have 120 characters to tell the world who you are and why they should contact you. If you do nothing here, which is what most people do, then it will just give the title of your most recent job. That is not the way you want to be shown.

Which is a better Headline?

Accountant at Financial First

OR

Senior Tax Adviser for small businesses with over 10 years of success in tax planning, tax preparation and IRS audits

3. The Photo

Your goal is to get a 100% complete profile and you will need a photo to do that. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can use an avatar, but most people use photos. Just make sure it is a professional photo and not a picture of you at the beach.

4. Recommendations

Your profile is not considered complete unless you have at least 3 recommendations, so after you have completed entering information into your profile, go to the LinkedIn Learning Center to learn how to develop recommendations for your work.

5. Websites

LinkedIn gives you three different ways to link to different web pages to show off your work. If you don’t have a blog or website, then this is a great opportunity for you to point to white papers, conference presentations or other sites that showcase your work. If you have these websites, make sure you use a good searchable and relevant title, so instead of saying “My Website” use actual names such as “My Presentation on Tax Planning Strategies for the Annual Tax Professional Society Conference”.

If you don’t have a website, a great tip to expand your online presence and support your brand is to go to ezine.com, write an article related to your field, and then point to it from LinkedIn.

Steps 6 - 10 and Complete Article