5 Ways To Create An Effective LinkedIn Account

By Walbert Castillo on October 17, 2014

According to a recent survey done by Jobvite, 94 percent of recruiters will utilize social media to find employees for their company. About 78 percent of these companies have hired someone through the use of social media.

Recruiters will use social media as a multi-channel strategy to locate the most qualified candidates for their company. Popular social media websites include: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn.

The top social network of 2013 is LinkedIn and falling in second place, Facebook. After asking 1,600 recruiters and human resources professionals, Jobvite stated that “social profiles give recruiters more confidence in a candidate’s professional and cultural fit.”

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a liaison for employers to reach out to potential employees. Founded in 2002, this business-oriented website caters to 300 million users across the globe.

Users have the option to “connect” with their colleagues, friends and others, thus adding these individuals to your social network. LinkedIn allows users to discover more about your previous work experiences, skills and interests. The main question is how can you make yourself a perfect candidate for future employers?

1. Profile Picture

Upon visiting your LinkedIn profile, users will first see your picture. Similar to a job interview, the way you present yourself in front of your employer will factor in how others will perceive you. Remember, impressions can go a long way, even if it’s just a small 500×500 photo of yourself. Everything counts.

Word of advice: stay professional. Remember, LinkedIn is a place for employers to hire suitable candidates for their company. If they perceive you as otherwise from looking at your photo, you should consider changing your profile picture.

When you upload your LinkedIn profile picture, make sure that it’s a head-shot portrait of yourself. People will remember faces more than names.

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According to The Undercover Recruiter, these are seven LinkedIn profile pictures you absolutely do not want to upload:

  1. Grainy or Pixelated – Make sure the image is completely clear.
  2. The Self-Portrait – Taking “selfies” on your phone is very unprofessional. One way you can change this is hiring a photographer or setting up a timer on your camera using a tripod.
  3. Poorly Lit – Do not have dramatic or shadowy images unless you represent the arts.
  4. Inappropriate for Your Industry – Be sure to keep in mind what your future employer wants from you. However, there are exceptions. If you are trying to attract a recruiter that lies in jobs such as accountancy or law, potential employers want to see someone who looks like they are trustworthy and serious.
  5. Boring – But don’t be too flashy. Use a lightly colored background or a physical location that corresponds with your industry.
  6. Black & White – B&W photos are great for profile pictures on social media websites such as Facebook. However, LinkedIn is not Facebook so add color to your photo.
  7. Party Picture – Don’t use a photo with alcohol in your hand or with a large group of people.

2. Transparency

An article from Business Insider stated “you have 120 characters at the top of your profile to describe to the world what you do.” The majority of LinkedIn users will write down their official job titles. However, some may take advantage of these 120 characters. The ideal headline should make you marketable to recruiters and help you get discovered by recruiters.

Other than the headline box, LinkedIn users have a variety of options to grab the attention of recruiters. The summary box, background experiences, organizations, etc. are all places on your profile where you can list your many involvements and skills. Be sure to distinguish yourself from others. How are you unique? What have you done differently than others?

US News stated that “lots of people likely have or have had similar responsibilities to yours in one company or another. You distinguish yourself by conveying what is unique to you.” Describe how you overcame certain obstacles in your workplace.

Imagine your LinkedIn profile as an extended version of your resume. However, not everything has to be crammed on a single piece of paper.

Summary - The introduction to your LinkedIn profile also known as your “elevator pitch.”

  • Don’t leave this section blank.
  • Use correct grammar.
  • Use the right keywords so recruiters will be able to search for you without difficulty.
  • Tell a story to your audience.
  • Don’t forget to add your contact information.
  • Use this section to your advantage because the majority of LinkedIn users do not utilize the summary section.
  • You have the option of uploading high-resolution photos.
  • Try to include something that you won’t find in your resume.
  • This is your chance to present your personality to recruiters.

Background Experiences/Organizations/Projects/Volunteer Experiences & CausesPrevious work experiences

  • Write down your position(s).
  • Include the dates.
  • In the description box, it’s recommended to list down three to five bullet points of the skills you picked up on from your previous/present job.
  • Make sure to be as detailed as possible with your experiences and skills.
  • Most LinkedIn users will copy and paste information from their resume to this section.

3. Action Words/Keywords 

Name, headline, company name, job titles and skills are considered to be the most searched on LinkedIn. If the keywords in your profile match with what the recruiter is looking for, there will be a greater chance for you to be hired.

You can easily fall last in recruiters’ searches if you do not have a 100 percent complete profile. LinkedIn demonstrates how much you have left to finish on your profile by showing you a profile strength indicator on the right side of your profile.

Utilize the following nine different categories of keywords from The Career Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to help you effectively describe your skills.

  1. Leadership–administered, fostered, guided, hired, improved, moderated
  2. Communication–addressed, lectured, marketed, recommended, wrote
  3. Organization–categorized, maintained, orchestrated, prioritized, updated
  4. Teamwork–accommodated, mediated, participated, tailored, unified
  5. Creativity–brainstormed, designed, engineered, produced, shaped
  6. Technical–assembled, installed, operated, programmed, specialized
  7. Financial–audited, calculated, computed, marketed, projected
  8. Research–analyzed, conducted, determined, gathered, researched
  9. Problem-Solving–alleviated, customized, implemented, strengthened, transformed

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4. Association

Recruiters like to see that you have a strong professional network because it shows that you are proficient in establishing informal/formal relationships with colleagues, classmates, etc.

LinkedIn users have the option of joining their own company’s groups. Through this, you can gain large credibility within your industry because it will be easier to locate those who work with you. If you want to be recognized even more, one method is to ask questions that involve group discussions. These questions are indexed into Google searches so recruiters will be able to find you easier.

In addition, you can also follow companies/groups that you may be interested in working with in the future. For instance, if you are applying for a job and one of the recruiters for that job finds that you are following the company on LinkedIn, it can leave a good impression by showing that you are interested.

Also, you can gain more information about these companies through the use of following them. If these companies have any recent changes, you’ll be sure to find these on your LinkedIn news-feed.

According to LinkedIn Makeover, “it’s important to have a strong LinkedIn network with many first degree connections.”

What does it mean to have 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections?

  • 1st degree connections are the people you have received an invitation from or have sent an invite to.
  • 2nd degree connections are the people you have connected to your 1st degree connections.
  • 3rd degree connections are the people you have connected to 2nd degree connections but not to 1st degree connections (non-paying LinkedIn members will not be able to see the names of 3rd degree connections).

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5. Endorsements

If you endorse others, you can hope that they will endorse you back. It’s an outlet on LinkedIn to build credibility for recruiters to see in the near future. Endorsements can lead to recommendations.

According to an article from Forbes, ”endorsements make it easy to put in a positive word for a connection without going to the trouble of writing a recommendation.”

Although it is a great addition to have on your LinkedIn profile, endorsements will not affect recruiters from looking you up on LinkedIn’s search engine.

Only first degree connections can endorse you so do not hesitate to ask them for a recommendation, considering you may know the person already. In addition, endorsements can help strengthen your ties with your connections.

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