LinkedIn is the largest professional network and community used to find jobs, internships or events and to expand connections among colleagues in the field. There are more than 700 million registered users. Recruiters from all over the world actively use the social network to "hunt" for candidates. And for European companies, as a rule, it is the first resource for posting vacancies.
A LinkedIn profile can become your portfolio and complement your resume, so it is important to use all the features of the platform correctly. In this article, we will tell you how to do this correctly so that the page displays your value to recruiters in the best possible way.
Where to start
- Enter your first and last name. In that order, not the other way around, because that is the international standard. It is better if your LinkedIn name matches your CV name. If you are working for a foreign market or planning to move, fill in this information in English. Do not use anything extra here: unnecessary symbols or emojis.
- Add a photo. Opt for a discreet photo, not a “me on vacation” one. If when searching for a profile photo, the question “Can I show up for an interview dressed like this?” is answered with “No,” that photo is definitely not suitable. At the same time, it is important that you have a friendly look, because this is essentially the first meeting with you. Put a photo that looks professional and at the same time conducive to communication with you.
- Add a cover photo that is discreet enough so that it does not steal all the attention. At the same time, remember that this is your personal social media page, so it is better not to put a cover photo that is directly related to the company where you work. Recruiters are more interested in learning more about you than about the product of the company where you work.
- Come up with a headline. Describe what you do as succinctly as possible. This is the information that clients and employers will see first. Look at your colleagues - how are they doing it? To understand what to write, put yourself in other people's shoes and think: what words do people use to find the products or services that I provide? If I were looking for the best candidate, what would I type in the search bar? Recruiters search for candidates by keywords, so do a little research and determine what these words are in your case.
- Fill in your contact information. This will allow recruiters to contact you in an alternative way if you suddenly forgot about your LinkedIn and do not visit it for a long time. If you are a business owner, add a link to the website, but you can leave the employer's website out. Do not write the exact address up to the apartment number - after all, this is too personal contact information.
Here and below - examples from the page of the speaker of the PMHS and PM Soft Skills course Anna Lavrova
Select the language of your profile and content (the language into which other users' posts and comments will be translated). LinkedIn is a network primarily focused on Western countries, so it is best to fill out your profile in English or the language of the country where you want to work.
Select the language of your profile and content (the language into which other users' posts and comments will be translated). LinkedIn is a network primarily focused on Western countries, so it is best to fill out your profile in English or the language of the country where you want to work.
- Create a short personal URL instead of the standard one - it will be easier to remember. Add it to other social networks, resume, signature to outgoing letters.
- Fill in your preferences in the "Open to" ("ONO") section if you are open to new vacancies. This will help recruiters offer you relevant work faster. Include all possible variations of the title of the desired vacancy. You can also add "ONO" to the title.
In the "Add profile section" you can add sections that you consider necessary and about which you have something to say. Of course, it is better to provide as much information about yourself as possible. But if, for example, you volunteered once in your life and understand that this experience is not very relevant for your current profession, it is better not to add a section at all, so as not to leave it half-empty.
About
A section where you can tell what a great specialist you are. If you are “open to new opportunities,” share what drives you in the field you are considering or already working in, what projects you prefer — long-term or dynamic, and what values are your top priorities. Write the text in the first person. Add as many keywords as possible, because this section is the second most important one that people pay attention to after the headline.
What must be in the "About" section:
- who you are from a professional point of view (field, role, experience, background);
- your key skills and tools;
- who do you want to become (if you want to change your role);
- what you expect from the new role, company, project and team (if you want to change the role);
- why you are a sought-after specialist, what advantages do you have over others.
Featured
A section where you can add posts, articles, links and media files, such as a resume. Speaking of resumes . LinkedIn is about what kind of person and specialist you are, a resume is more about relevant experience for a specific vacancy you are applying for. “But you can’t attach a resume for every vacancy in the world to LinkedIn,” a counterargument may sound. This is true. Therefore, you need to make an effort to “get” either universal skills or specific ones — those that are suitable for a certain profession (if you have already decided on it).
Resume tips:
- no more than two pages, ideally one;
- only experience relevant to the vacancy;
- do not indicate hobbies in your CV, you can talk about them during the interview;
- pay attention to the design of the resume: style, photo, font;
- Please provide an email address that looks more or less professional (butterfly72@gmail.com will not work).
If you already have a resume, make sure that it contains only relevant information, it complies with ethical standards in general and the requirements of a particular company in particular.
Activity
LinkedIn is a social network, so it is very important not only to design the page correctly, but also to “revive” it in every possible way.
How to do it:
- Share personal expert content, thoughts. It is advisable to do this no more than 1-2 times a week, even if you really have something to talk about. Too frequent publications can irritate users.
- React to other people's content. This will help them get a complete picture of you, understand what you like, what you support.
- Comment on other people's posts and like them.
- Write in private messages. Respond to the recruiter, even if you are not interested in the vacancy they offered. If you are looking for a job, you can initiate communication with a recruiter who has recently been added to your contacts.
How to increase the virality of a post:
- add hashtags;
- publish posts with visual content;
- tag people and companies (just don't overdo it);
- try to elicit an immediate reaction from your audience: invite them to write a comment, like it.
Experience
Before you describe your job responsibilities in detail, remember how you came to this position. Tell about your tasks and achievements on the project. If this is a company where you finished working, describe how the project and the team changed, how they became better thanks to you.
What should definitely be in the description of every position you've held:
- project objective;
- responsibilities;
- achievement/OKR;
- specific tools/methodologies (if they were used in the work).
Look at the pages of managers you like, at LinkedIn vacancies, and use keywords, experience, and other requirements that employers indicate in vacancies. On many job search resources, algorithms perform some of the recruiters' tasks. So when we say "keywords", they are really "key" - those with the help of which the search and filtering of candidates takes place.
Education and Courses
Don't go into details - what courses you took or what grades you got. It's better to check dates and names - they can be checked rarely, but they can be checked. If your bachelor's and master's degrees are in the same specialty, you can only indicate the master's degree.
The same applies to courses - leave the one where you improved your qualifications, in this case you can leave out the basic ones. Often the courses give practical tasks, projects - tell about them.
In general, courses are a must have for IT specialists , because there are hardly any other such dynamic areas that require constant development and training. Here are examples of vacancies where employers indicate "IT PM courses" as one of the requirements for the candidate:
Vacancy Junior Project Manager on dou.ua
Vacancy Junior Project Manager on dou.ua
Skills
Try to select skills from the drop-down list. Firstly, this way you will not make a mistake in spelling, and secondly, LinkedIn contains the most significant ones - those that are paid attention to when looking for a candidate. The section has a limit of 50 skills.
Skills should be listed in a certain order: the most important ones for the current or desired job are first, and then all the rest. For example, for a PM, the main ones might be project management, team management, and English (yes, language skills can also be noted here, and not only in the "Languages" section ). You can adjust the order in the same section.
Now, understanding the delivery process has come to the forefront among skills - in 30% of vacancies for PMs, employers mention this, although previously a separate manager, architect or development lead was responsible for delivery. Among the top skills are the ability to work with JIRA , write project documentation and plan projects, understanding SDLC and organizer skills - 15-20% of vacancies.
Systematically review and remove irrelevant skills: those that are unnecessary or that are related to a methodology, technology, or tool that you no longer want to work with, even if they have a lot of evidence.
What is confirmation?
Your colleagues or employers can verify certain skills. The number of verifications will be displayed next to the skill.
Recommendations
In addition to confirming your skills, colleagues, clients, and employers can leave written reviews about their experience with you. If the person who left it has a high rating, this can have a positive effect on your profile as a whole.
Of course, it's nice to get good recommendations without asking for them. But there's nothing wrong with casually asking a colleague or client you've worked with to leave a recommendation for you as a specialist in their profile when talking to them.