1. Professional Profile Pictures: It is extremely important that you are putting your best foot forward. This means you should have a professional photo of yourself as your profile picture. Also, try to pick a photo that you are smiling in, profiles that capture someone smiling are nine times more likely to convert, and twenty-one times more likely to be viewed! Lastly, dress for success, first impressions mean everything especially within the virtual world!
2. Headlines That Catch Your Eye: By default, LinkedIn uses your last job as your headline. You are able to change this within settings to reflect what job is most beneficial for your goal. You only have 120 characters so make it something catchy that reflects you as a person and employee.
3. Create a Well-Written Summary: LinkedIn gives you the ability to describe who you are in the workplace. It is important that you list your areas of expertise along with your accomplishments. It is also important to add in your contact information so that potential employers will be able to contact you about opportunities. This also helps you grow your network and expand your community of business professionals.
4. Make Sure Your Work and Volunteer Experience is Up to Date: You should add all past work and volunteer experience. This shows that you are a well-rounded individual and that you are capable of handling a variety of situations. It is also important to write in first person, as this is a story about your work and volunteer experience.
5. Add Your Educational Background: Not only will this show everyone where you earned your degree, you will also be able to connect with fellow alumni to grow your network.
6. Create Keyword Specific Skills: When people search on LinkedIn, they can search by key phrases. This will allow your profile to be viewed more often and will increase your likelihood of finding mutual connections.
7. Communicate With Connections. Do not stop at simply adding the people to your network. Send them a message to see what they are doing and how you may learn from them. This allows you to create a deeper connection and network to help you grow within the workforce and as an individual.