How to transform your LinkedIn profile

For a LI profile that will jump out to recruiters and attract readers, tick off the below and copy the best bits of my profile if helpful. Google further guidance if needed. If an over-55 like me can have a good profile, you can too!

1. Photos - Upload a

   1. headshot photo, and

   2. background picture. Any picture will give impact. Perhaps something meaningful to you, eg a view you enjoy, an image that represents your industry/organisation or a personal passion. Ensure any words in your background picture are visible

2. If you're job-hunting, under your picture click the button: “Open to/ Show recruiters you're open to work”. Fill in your preferred location and job type. Click the “choose who sees that you're open” to keep this visible only to recruiters, or to add a green badge that everyone can see.

3. Write an engaging Headline within 120 characters, to highlight your skills and expertise and using keywords* that will be searchable by potential employers/recruiters. Divide it into three parts, each separated by a vertical line |

   1. Part One - Describe your preferred next role (eg Finance Director)

   2. Part Two - List one or two projects or successes that you enjoyed, that represent you at work (eg Manage Large Transformation Programmes, Lead Teams Through Change)

   3. Part Three - Name your industry if this is a specialism you want to pursue (eg Pharmaceutical Industry Expertise)

4. Enter a postcode or region for your work location. NB Location means the geographical area where people will find you for work: if you work remotely, widen it as much as possible

5. Write an engaging About section within 2,000 characters, again including important keywords* so you will come up in job searches. Only the first two lines will be visible in searches, so make those first lines count!

   1. Use the summary in your cv

   2. Follow on from what you have written in your LinkedIn headline (Step 3 above)

   3. Write it in the first person (“I”)

   4. Highlight 2 or 3 of your important achievements

   5. If you seek a particular role, organisation size or activity, outline that here

6. How many Connections do you have? Aim for 50 connections to start with, then build from there to get to 500+ in the long term. Build your network by connecting with former colleagues, clients, service providers, alumni, friends and family

7. Experience section - paste in a summarised version of your cv

   1. Include a minimum of 3 positions (current and two previous).

   2. If you have done many positions, group similar/shorter term roles together into one

   3. If you don’t have a current position, use this area creatively to highlight your skills and impact to an organisation. Tip - use wording from a well-written job advert.

8. Add your Education achievements and Licenses/certifications, including university, professional qualifications, and courses you have done at work or privately. If you don’t have a university degree, what else have you done that you can include?

9. Request three Recommendations, preferably one from your most recent position. Google how to word a good LinkedIn recommendation, and offer to draft it for them or provide them with a template

10. Customise LinkedIn URL (if you have a common name) - and include it in your email signature so people can find your LinkedIn profile easily.

*: How to identify which keywords to include

• Visit your favourite jobs board eg www.indeed.com, and find 5-10 job descriptions that might fit your interests and experience

• Copy them all into a document and remove headers and company information

• Paste all those 5-10 job descriptions into a word cloud site such as www.Tagcrowd.com

• Identify the 1-5 keywords that appear the largest on the word cloud, and integrate those into your Headline, Experience, Skills and Endorsements sections of your LinkedIn profile.

• Test it. Do an advanced people search in LinkedIn to see where you show up. Search people using the keywords that you have just included. On the results page, filter by ‘Relationships...All’. Aim for your profile to appear on page 1 or 2 of the search results.

How helpful is this? Like it or email your comments or questions to nicki.deeson@gmail.com!