Read on for our top 10 tips for a great LinkedIn profile, whether you're creating a new one or updating!

1. Profile tidy up

Make sure you have a recent, professional picture for your LinkedIn. It doesn’t have to be corporate but make sure it is a clear and friendly photo.

Include a headline that includes industry buzzwords and your job title so you can appear in people’s searches. We recommend personalising your profile’s URL too, it looks great in email signatures!

Take a look at a few jobs that you are interested in applying to and see what skills are listed. If you have those skills and experience, add them to your profile too! Then, when applying to jobs in the future, you’ll match more of the required skills and can apply directly on LinkedIn.

2. Elevator pitch

Your summary should be short and to the point, summarising your experiences and current job role. Here is a good place to highlight specific achievements that you’re proud of and they demonstrate your skills or even progress towards your goals. We recommend thinking of it as your elevator pitch, you have 30 seconds and need to get across only your key points. On LinkedIn, you can show off your personality more too.

3. Complement your CV

Don’t copy and paste your CV, instead, complement what is on there. Get key figures in at the top of your profile that shows results; include keywords, highlight your achievements and what career goals you’re hoping to achieve. You can add multimedia work examples and certifications to your profile to further highlight your skills.

4. Turn on ‘Open to new job opportunities’

If you are open to new roles, your manager doesn’t have to know but recruiters can!

Click on the ‘Me‘ tab > Settings and Privacy

Scroll down to Job Seeking Preferences where you’ll see ‘Let recruiters know you're open to opportunities’, click on change and move the slider to yes.

When a relevant opportunity pops up recruiters can now get in touch with you!

5. Follow people in your industry

LinkedIn is a great tool because thought-leaders and people you admire are probably already on there. Take some time to search for people in your industry that inspire and motivate you. You can then engage with these people by leaving comments, sharing their work or reacting to their posts.

6. Connect with people

Similarly, a lot of your friends and colleagues are probably on LinkedIn too, so connect with them to further build up your network. Having a large network is helpful, especially when you try to reach out to new contacts and notice that you already are a second or third connection, which makes an introduction much easier.

7. Join a group

You can join like-minded people in your industry on LinkedIn groups and can share content, find answers, search jobs, and network. To find groups relevant to you, simply enter keywords into the search bar at the top or, you can browse group recommendations provided by LinkedIn.

Below, are steps on how to find groups:

If you want to search for groups by name or keyword:

  1. Select Groups from the drop-down list on the left from the search box at the top of any page.
  2. Enter in your keywords.
  3. If you need to narrow down your searches, you can do this with the filters on the left side of the search results page.

If you’d rather browse groups recommended especially for you by LinkedIn:

  1. Hover over the Interests bar at the top of your homepage and choose Groups.
  2. Click Discover at the top of the page to see your suggested groups.
  3. To request membership, click the Ask to Join button (under the group description).

8. Post regularly

Now your profile is complete, it’s time to start showing off your expertise. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming; simply share articles you like, work you are inspired by, industry news, and personal achievements in your current role to build up your brand. This will give potential employers and recruiters an idea of your personality, values, and industry knowledge.

9. Write articles

Why not share your industry thoughts and opinions by writing a short article on LinkedIn’s platform? Articles on LinkedIn are easy to find when you visit a profile, which will also help make a great first impression, plus it could be seen and shared by thousands through LinkedIn’s Content Suggestions tab.

It could be just something you’ve read that you want to make a comment on but is too long for a status or maybe you have an opinion on current industry trends or news. Remember to remain professional. We recommend posting once a month to start.

10. Kudos

You can share Kudos now with LinkedIn’s new feature. You can choose from 10 kudos categories like ‘Amazing Mentor’, ‘Inspirational Leader’ or ‘Team Player’. You can share the kudos to your LinkedIn Feed and the person you recognized will receive a notification letting them know that you gave them a shout-out, in addition to seeing it in their feed.

Or, you can commend somebody for a skill they’ve included on their LinkedIn by clicking on someone’s profile, scrolling down to ‘Skills and Endorsements’ and then clicking the plus button next to the skill to endorse them. People usually return the favour but don’t bombard people!