Top 10 Tips For Your LinkedIn Profile

By Sue Ellson

Have you been thinking about how to improve your use of LinkedIn? If so, read on!

1. Key words and frequency of key words – it is vital that you include what you want to be searched for in your headline, summary, previous jobs and projects (hopefully also in education)

2. Remember that LinkedIn is a hungry beast that needs to be fed – provide endorsements, give recommendations, share updates, share your contacts by connecting with more people (always be honest)

3. Increase your connections – keep your old email addresses, download your contacts and invite them to join LinkedIn, look for people you may like to connect to

4. Keep statistics on your profile – how many connections, how many times you have been viewed, how many times you are appearing in search results, how many recommendations, how many endorsements

5. Keep a downloaded PDF of your profile (just in case LinkedIn goes bust or your account is closed/hacked) – every time you update it significantly or every three months

6. Keep a download of your contacts (your connections are more likely to keep LinkedIn updated but not necessarily tell you when they have changed jobs) – every three months or whenever you add a lot of new connections

7. Be strategic when asking people to connect with you (go through all your existing connections first, add them in ‘safely’ and then be a bit more adventurous). If you have too many people who do not accept, your ability to send invitations will be limited

8. Consider turning yourself ‘anonymous’ before looking for information on other LinkedIn member profiles (only business stalking not personal stalking please!) and keep an eye on who is viewing your profile (Privacy and Settings)

9 Unless you are in recruitment, specifically looking for work and wanting to connect with people who are not in your network, personal account holders do not currently need to pay for LinkedIn

10 Participate in relevant groups (but not with a sales message – create discussions and contribute, seek opinions) and follow relevant companies