5 Tips For Making Your LinkedIn More Attract-ive

It’s probably been a while since you walked around handing out a printed resume. It may have even been a while since you applied for a role using your digital resume. While still important, digital resumes only play a small part in how candidates are vetted.

These days, employers are using your social profiles (personal and professional) as fact checkers — ensure you have a positive and truthful online presence, especially on LinkedIn.

Recruiters and head hunters are constantly perusing profiles for suitable #opentowork and passive candidates. Whether you’re job hunting, building your personal brand, or wanting to stay up-to-date with industry news, LinkedIn is the way to go.

Here are our tips to making your profile more attract-ive:

1. Pictures speak a thousand words

First impressions count, but you don’t need to pay for a professional headshot. We recommend taking some time to spend a moment to brush your hair, put on a clean shirt, learn how to use self-timer, and take a photo of yourself against a blank wall.

✨ Bonus: If you want to add more personality into your headshot, find an environment that resonates best with your current (or future) role, or take a photo with your furry or scaly friend 🐶🐱🐰

2. Optimise your profile for discovery

You can give yourself a bit of a tailwind by making your profile more likely to appear in searches.

It’s pretty simple really. Add keywords and skills into your “About” section, but remember to add them into your “Skills” section too.

Make sure your description include some details about your current (or aspirational) role, even if it feels redundant. For example:

• “Front End Developer, proficient in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Git, and jQuery”.
• “Sales Development Representative, skilled at generating sales leads at a high-growth B2B FinTech startup”.

LinkedIn tends to promote profiles who are active and well connected, so be sure to like or comment on a posts. Also, seeking out and connecting with highly connected people (i.e. network “hubs”) is a quick way to expand the connectivity of your profile.

3. Turn your “About” section into a personal narrative

People love a narrative. There are thousands of profiles in this world, but there’s only one of you.

Your “About” section is an opportunity to share what sets you a part. Look at it as a creative outlet, an opportunity to brag, and a chance show that you’re a human. Share what you like to do on weekends, share your most rewarding achievement, showcase your top skills, and list the tech stack you enjoy working with. Basically, enable the ability for others to get to know you and want to truly connect with you.

Some insight into your personality provides an opportunity for others to have something to talk to you about via LinkedIn, and increases the likelihood for someone to reach out and will make engaging in conversations much easier!

✨ Bonus: If you’ve got a resume, certificates, or social links that showcase your work (e.g., Github, Stack Overflow, Behance, Dribbble, ArtStation, personal portfolio link, etc.), this will add to your credibility and personality.

4. Content, content, content

Creating content is a great way to gain attention on LinkedIn and creates opportunities for others to connect with you and your view of the world. It doesn’t have to be too involved, it can be as simple as a one-paragraph observation, or an interesting article you’ve read.

5. Build your network

The world is quite literally at your fingertips. You can connect with virtually anyone that’s on the platform. All you have to do is hit that connect button. Don’t forget to add a note, which is always a nice touch.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool when used correctly. Make sure you optimise your profile and put your best virtual foot forward.