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If you are building a career, a great LinkedIn profile acts like a magnet.<\/strong><\/p>\n When your profile has the right elements, it will attract recruiters, hiring managers and other people who might have the great next career opportunity for you.<\/p>\n In fact, if you\u2019re in some professions, such as enterprise software sales, if you\u2019re not on LinkedIn, it\u2019s like you don\u2019t even exist. And even if you are a tailor or carpenter, a strong LinkedIn presence shows your professional approach to your business.<\/p>\n \u2022 Recruiters looking for candidates Every one of these visitors to your profile is an opportunity to share who you are professionally in an inviting way so people see you the way you want them to see you.<\/p>\n Put up a great photo.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Profiles with photos get 14 times more views than profiles without, and I guarantee that profiles with a great picture get far more than the ones with boring photos. Look awesome in your picture.<\/p>\n Use a head shot where you look happy and confident. Wear something neutral that you might wear to work, not too formal, not too casual. A solid background works best.<\/p>\n Your photo is so important that I often recommend investing in a professional headshot so you put your best face forward to business world, including clients, colleagues and hiring managers.<\/p>\n Customize your headline.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n LinkedIn will automatically fill in your current job title and employer under your name, but you can change that to something that describes what you really do and are.<\/p>\n If you had a tagline, what would it be? Use that. Your formal title might be \u201cAssociate Assistant to the Training Department\u201d but who you really are in your career is an \u201cInnovative Learning and Development Project Manager.\u201d<\/p>\n Create an inviting and interesting summary section.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This is your chance to talk about yourself in a bigger-picture way. Use a conversational first-person voice and tell people what you\u2019re all about. Sometimes a quick summary of what you\u2019ve done to date is good and sometimes it works best to share some insights on your industry. Just make sure it sounds inviting and friendly.<\/p>\n Include all the right keywords.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Recruiters search on keywords, and the LinkedIn system matches words in your profile to words in job postings to rank how well you fit the job, so make sure the right keywords are there in your title line, summary and job descriptions.<\/p>\n You can also create a subsection in your summary of keywords, which is helpful for technical people who have a lot of skills that people might be searching for.<\/p>\n Tell a story with your experience.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t just list job responsibilities or skip this entirely, and don\u2019t just cut and paste from your resume.<\/p>\n Tell a little about the company and what you did there that you\u2019re proud of. A paragraph or two with the overview is fine. If they need more details, that\u2019s on your resume.<\/p>\n Build your network before you need it.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n When it’s time for a job search, it’s easier if you have put time into expanding your connections before you want to use them in a job search. For the most important connections, you can be more visible to them by following them, liking their posts, sharing some appropriate news, and being active in similar groups.<\/p>\n Once you begin connecting with people, LinkedIn\u2019s algorithms will suggest more for you. LinkedIn\u2019s platform will walk you through checking who you might know; here\u2019s a link to their help page for that<\/a>.<\/p>\nWho\u2019s looking at your LinkedIn profile? All kinds of people.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\n\u2022 Recruiters screening candidates for a job you applied to
\n\u2022 Hiring managers before or after your interview
\n\u2022 People considering working for you or for your company
\n\u2022 People researching careers like yours
\n\u2022 People you used to work with
\n\u2022 Current and potential clients
\n\u2022 That person you met in the coffee line at Starbucks<\/p>\nHere are a few quick ways to make your LinkedIn profile draw people in:<\/strong><\/h5>\n