LinkedIn Profile Tips
LinkedIn Profile Tips: 5 Mistake’s You’re Making
LinkedIn is a powerful yet tricky tool. However, optimizing your profile and following the right tips could get you noticed by potential employers online. With this in mind, our Business Development Associate Eleonora shares the top 5 examples of mistakes to avoid on your LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn Profile Tips Written by Eleonora Sartori, CRCC Asia Manchester Business Development Associate
No LinkedIn profile picture
Our first bit of advice for improving your Linkedin profile is simple: Having a picture of yourself is key. More importantly, having a clear head shot is even better for LinkedIn. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a professional studio photo, but don’t use a photo that could be regarded as ‘unprofessional’. For example, photos from parties or nights out are best left off your LinkedIn profile.
Simply listing your work experience
Just like your CV/resume, your LinkedIn profile shouldn’t just be a list of your professional, educational and volunteering experiences. Rather, it ought to highlight specific activities and the achievements you reached. For example, instead of writing that you were ‘a member of the sales team’, specify that you ‘led a team of 5 to increase online sales by 15%.’
Simply spelling out your job title won’t give potential employers any idea of the skills you put to use. Our advice? A 4-5 bullet point list of your tasks is enough.
Take time to write out your work experience in a way that will stand out to potential employers.
Cliche words to avoid on LinkedIn
Many tend to fall back on cliche wording when writing their LinkedIn profile. Describing yourself as someone that is ‘a great team-player’, ‘detail-oriented’ and ‘very well organised’ won’t really give useful information to expert recruiters. HR employees will see these skills from your job description and eventually ‘skills sections’. Here’s a tip: Try to use a creative, quantifiable and specific ways to describe yourself and your work experience (see above for an example).
A lack of posts and activity
Some companies and institutions demand a certain commitment and interest towards their field. One of the best LinkedIn tips is to ensure you’re following relevant companies and sharing content to demonstrate that you are passionate about the cause. Make sure to keep the activity consistent if you want to project a specific image of yourself.
Recruiters will be looking for evidence of your passion for the field.
Irrelevant job experience
This topic is controversial, even in the recruitment world. Some believe that every experience is valuable and worth putting on your LinkedIn profile, whereas others prefer to cherry-pick to suit the role to which you’re applying. Every job teaches you something, that is indisputable. I believe in a two-tier system when it comes to recent graduates (hence those with usually little work experience):
- If during your degree/s you didn’t have any relevant work experience, then including other jobs like waitressing can show your multitasking and time management skills. If you achieved a management role, make sure to highlight your tasks in this position.
- On the other hand, if during your studies you were able to participate in extra curricular actives like volunteer work, university organisations, and internships such as the CRCC Asia Program, then adding that extra bartending role won’t make that much of a difference.
All in all, it depends on your target.
Hopefully these LinkedIn tips will kick start your profile and your career. Good luck!
A summary of our LinkedIn tips and advice:
- Make sure you have a clear photo of your face.
- Write about specific achievements from your previous work experience, avoiding cliches.
- Keep an active profile to show you’re interested in your field.
- Highlight skills obtained from previous roles and leave off irrelevant information.
Now that you’ve perfected your LinkedIn profile, it’s time to prepare for your potential job interviews. Check out our top tips on How To Prepare For a Job Interview. If you’re looking for internship experience to add to your LinkedIn profile, apply for an internship abroad with CRCC Asia:
