3 Things to Do Today to Get Your LinkedIn Profile 2021 Ready

Regardless of whether you are job hunting or seeking to expand your network, having an attractive LinkedIn profile is an incredible strategy that will ensure your success for being presented and found online in the most professional manner.

LinkedIn is the world's largest professional networking platform. It is also one of the most compelling web-based media networks, with more than 760 million users to date. That represents massive opportunity for possible professional connections who could help you get one step closer to your dream job!
 
LinkedIn can support your career in so many ways including brining more attention to your professional image. So, is your LinkedIn profile ready for the new year? Here are our top 3 suggestions on how to improve your LinkedIn profile today to kickstart your job search for the new year.  
 
Improve your Headline
The “Headline” section is the first bit of information displayed about you on your profile. While by default, the system displays your current job title and company name, this section is fully editable and it can say whatever you’d like it to, up to 120 characters. The goal here is to transform your headline into something a bit catchier that welcomes readers to want to learn more about you.
 
When thinking about your headline consider what separates you from other applicants. What combination of skills help you with accomplishing results? Why do you love your work? Introspection such as this can reveal a convincing opening statement that will again, increase the odds that visitors to your profile will want to read on.
 
For example, if your headline is something along the lines of “Accounting Manager with XYZ Company” consider changing it to something more robust and interesting such as “Accounting Expert: Transforming financial services operations and protecting the bottom-line.” can help you to formulate strategies to improve your LinkedIn headline.
 
Highlight your achievements
Explicit and quantifiable achievements should be peppered throughout your work experience section and highlighted in a way that helps the reader skim through the profile, recognizing your unique contributions to the organization. For instance, instead of just listing bullet points of duties and responsibilities, break out your achievements into their own section for extra effect.
 
You could say something like, “Noteworthy Achievements Include:” and then follow through with bulleted statements that demonstrate not just what you did, but what you did and how it made a difference on the employer.
 
For instance, let’s consider a bullet point from a sales professional who we recently assisted. His existing LinkedIn profile included the following bullet point:

• “Sold the companies products and met all metrics for performance.”

 
After a little more probing, we helped the client come up with the following bullet point instead to represent his precise achievement:

• "Expanded territorial deals by an average of 92% in my first year across three distinct brands."

 
The later sounds more interesting, right? That is the goal of presenting your achievements in such a manner – to drum up interest in who you are as a candidate and the unique contributions you have made to your employers, and in a way that is easily recognized by the reader of your profile.
 
Ask for recommendations
Last but not the least, nothing speaks louder than testimonials from others. LinkedIn's Ask for Recommendation feature is an ideal way to ask for references from others who can attest to who you are as a candidate and who can explain why you are a good fit for new employment. Recommendations from others are a great way to obtain references from former bosses, colleagues and even clients who can describe your gifts, abilities and attributes they esteem the most. They can even take the place of actual letters, saving your reference time as they no longer need to type up and print an actual letter – LinkedIn provides this great digital tool instead. Visitors to your profile will quickly see that you are an amazing professional who others value greatly. What’s more is that there is no cap on how many recommendations you can receive! Our advice is to always try to obtain at least one recommendation per month going forward to keep this section fresh with new information about you and your abilities.
 
So, are you ready to make improvements to your LinkedIn profile for the new year? To learn more about how to transform your LinkedIn profile schedule a call today to speak with one of our career experts. We look forward to assisting you!
 
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