"LinkedIn is the most important recruiting tool on the internet," says Phoebe Gavin, a career and leadership coach. If you're not filling it out properly, "all you're doing is shooting yourself in the foot and making yourself harder to find."
The basics of LinkedIn are pretty easy to grasp: you'll want your about section to reflect what you do and use keywords that will attract recruiters from your industry. And you'll want your work timeline to give a good detailed account of what you've accomplished in each role.
But there are also certain tactics that can help you stand out. If you use them, "you're already going to be head and shoulders above most LinkedIn users," says Gavin.
Here are three ways to get the most out of your profile.
The banner is the 'biggest visual asset' on your profile
The first thing that people see when they click on your LinkedIn is your banner photo. "It's the biggest visual asset on the profile," says Gavin, adding that "you can do anything with that image."
Take advantage of this prime real estate to give a powerful first impression of who you are as a professional. You can use sites like Canva.com or reach out to graphic design friends to create a captivating design, then overlay that design with some relevant text. Describe "yourself as a professional in a way that helps people immediately understand who you are," says Gavin. And don't be afraid to brag.
Gavin's banner photo describes what she does for a living — career and leadership coach, author, speaker — then features the many media outlets she's been featured on, for example. Career coach Angelina Darrisaw's company, C-Suite Coach, won the Major League Baseball's award for most valuable business partner in 2022, "so we have that in my banner," she says.
Featured links are a 'great way to show proof' of work
Below the banner and the uppermost section of the profile is the featured links section.
"If your work or something that you do professionally is linkable, then use featured links," says Gavin. They show up even before your professional timeline and are a "really great way to show proof of the work that you've done."
This can be pretty straightforward for people who are in journalism, marketing or who do public speaking, as these can often provide digital proof of your output. But even if you don't have links readily available, you can still "write something about your particular approach to work," says Gavin. This can be in a Medium post or a LinkedIn article, for example. Darrisaw's profile features a series of links to YouTube videos she's featured in. Whatever platform you choose, it's an opportunity to give a more in-depth look at who you are as a professional right upfront.
"You can do as many features links as you want," says Gavin, "but the maximum that will show up on your profile without the user having to click anything else is three."
Engaging in conversation about your industry shows 'intellectual curiosity'
Finally, another great way to showcase your enthusiasm about your work is the activity section of your profile.
"There are so many industries and fields that are represented on LinkedIn and across the board," says Darrisaw. "There's conversations around almost every topic, right? So I think whatever your focus is, or your area of expertise is, being a part of the conversation is really useful."
Follow thought leaders in your field and comment on their posts. Share articles that are relevant to what you do. Share photos from some of your day-to-day work.
Ultimately, when recruiters see that you're actively participating in a thoughtful way, it shows that you have "intellectual curiosity," says Octavia Goredema, career coach and author of "PREP, PUSH, PIVOT." It also shows that you're "interested in amplifying perhaps the work or insights of others and it's not just self-promotion."
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