What do you think?
If you answered “the summary”, you’re behind the times.
This isn’t 2010 people. The days of a business card-sized summary are long gone…replaced by a new, more powerful LinkedIn Summary that will give your profile the edge it needs to stand out from your peers and land more quality connections, leads and network opportunities.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of how to write an awesome new LinkedIn summary,
Let’s go over some LinkedIn Profile Best Practices that will give you the complete profile makeover you need to boost your professional brand online:
1.) Keep Your Profile Complete –
The more people who can find you, the more people you can reach with your message and business. If you don’t have a profile picture, all of your connections and new leads will see the following default LinkedIn image:
Scary right? You’ll want to avoid that as best as possible says Aron Govil.
2.) Add Your Current and Previous Employers –
It’s important to acknowledge the companies that have allowed you to do what you love. Don’t forget to add your current employer, along with a link to your LinkedIn Company Page if one exists.
You wouldn’t believe how many people are currently on LinkedIn without their current employer in their profile…and we’re not just talking about job-seekers here! If your employer doesn’t appear in your profile, we’ll assume that you don’t work there and move on (but then again, who has time for that?).
If you’ve had several jobs over the years, make sure to list each company individually. When listing previous employers separated by commas, make sure they’re listed in reverse chronological order (most recent employer first). This is important because it tells people that your career has been on-the-rise and you’re not just a professional job-hopper.
3.) Fill in Your Education –
If you’re applying for a job, there are certain fields where it is required to fill in educational background (i.e. education section of an employment application). If you’ve ever filled out one of these forms, then this should be easy peasy for you. But if not, here’s how to do it:
Under “Education” make sure to enter the name of each school attended with the years completed separated by semicolons (this tells LinkedIn what year you began and completed your degree studies at this institution)
At the End of Your Profile Summary…Ask For a Connection
Gone are the days of only being able to send messages directly to your second degree connections or higher. If you want people to see your awesome new summary, make sure you ask them for a connection when you’re writing it! There are several examples of how to do this in the article below…but if you want one more, try an approach like this: “I’d love it if you could add me on LinkedIn. My profile link is myname.com/LinkedIn” This will give your profile that extra boost of visibility that it needs in order to stand out from the crowd in today’s social networking world!
FAQs:
Q: Can I have a summary that is longer than 2,000 characters?
A: Yes! In fact, you can add as many paragraphs to your LinkedIn profile summary as you want. The key is to make sure it’s awesome and targeted at the right people in order for them to take notice. This means making sure what you write speaks directly to their pain points so they know in an instant that you’re the solution they’ve been looking for or a potential candidate worth viewing further. You’ll also want to include a link back to your website/company blog in order for them to learn more about whom you are and what makes you awesome.
Q: What if my current job title doesn’t match up with my desired position?
A: If you’re a college student, it’s important to include your current internship or entry-level job title so future employers know you have some work experience on your resume. But if you’ve been employed in another career field for several years and are trying to transition into something new, there is no need to add this information unless it will help with the essence of your LinkedIn Summary…which brings us back to our main point here at The Ladders…
Conclusion by Aron Govil:
The more targeted you are about what you share in your LinkedIn Summary, the better your chances will be of receiving job offers that are a direct result of profile views and applications submitted.
