LinkedIn: Why It’s Important, And How to Make Yours Stand Out
By Anna Streetman
When I first heard about LinkedIn, I was in my sophomore year of college. A professional communications manager came to speak to my class about it. She explained that is was like Facebook, but for professionals, and that it was a very important tool to have as part of your portfolio. By the end of the class, everybody had created an account, myself included.
And then? I completely forgot about it for the rest of my college career.
I only picked it up once more after I graduated and somebody told me it was an excellent way to apply for jobs. I scrambled to get recommendations, add relevant experience and skills, and write the perfect bio so that I would look good to potential employers.
But the good news? Within two weeks of graduating, I had a job. And I strongly believe my LinkedIn profile played a part in that. As a matter of fact, during my interview for that job, one of the first things the hiring manager said was “So I saw on your LinkedIn profile that…”
Apart from my personal website, my LinkedIn profile has become my most important asset to showcase my talent and abilities. I’ve worked hard on writing a bio that plays to my strengths, getting recommendations from past colleagues, and making my profile stand out.
If you play your cards right with LinkedIn, you can make a good impression on potential employers and even land better jobs. Here’s how:
Step 1: Write the perfect bio.
It sounds difficult to write the perfect bio, but I promise it isn’t. First, think about what you’re good at and what you’re passionate about. Think about what type of jobs your interests could land you. And go from there. For example, my areas of passion and expertise are writing, editing, and digital marketing. This is my opening bio:
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.”
I love words. To me, they are magic. And I like magic. So, I've created a lot of it. I have more than five years of experience writing news and journalistic stories, social media posts, feature stories, blog posts, marketing emails, tech stuff, and just about anything else you can think of. I am a lifelong writer with a burning desire to create words in all mediums that compel, motivate, and inspire others to action.
My goal was to show off my strengths and passions, but I also took the opportunity to add a little personal flair to it. Aim to make your skills and passions stand out from others in the same field as you. Because even though are others that do what you do, nobody can do it like you.
Step 2: Make sure all your positions and job descriptions are up to date, and that they showcase your accomplishments.
This seems like a no-brainer, but even just yesterday I noticed one of my past positions was written in present tense, when the other past positions were in past tense - oops!
A good format for each position is to have a sentence or two describing the overarching responsibilities you had for each role. Then, in bullet points under that, go into more specific detail about your work. Use this space as a chance to brag as well. If you helped the company grow in any significant way, this is a great place to add that.
For example, this is what I have listed for one of my previous positions:
In this role, I developed, edited and maintained digital and print content including websites, emails, and magazines for four franchisee associations: National Franchisee Association, Franchise Business Services, PF Independent Franchisee Association, and Coalition of Franchisee Associations. These associations represented franchisees for brands such as Planet Fitness, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Burger King.
• Developed and maintained all association websites utilizing WordPress and Drupal website development platforms and HTML; ensured pages were aesthetically pleasing and optimized for search engines
• Wrote and edited articles for three quarterly publication using my interviewing and interpersonal skills; utilized attention to detail to edit the final copies of each magazine
• Created and developed social media handles and scheduled content for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram accounts on behalf of four associations utilizing HootSuite; grew each handle’s audience by at least 25% in eight months
• Wrote, created, and scheduled emails utilizing Magnet Mail, including three weekly newsletters and weekly promotional/marketing emails for events for all associations
Step 3: Make sure any relevant skills you have are listed.
LinkedIn has a primary section where you can add any skills you have, such as Photoshop, HTML, Python, etc. You can also have colleagues of yours “endorse” each individual skill. To do this, you simply go to somebody’s profile and click the little check mark by each skill.
LinkedIn has gone through a change relatively recently where only your top three skills show up by default, and you have to click “Show More” to see the rest. You should keep that in mind while asking people to endorse you for your skills; make sure your top three are your best and most relevant skills.
Step 4: Get as many recommendations as you can.
On LinkedIn, you can both request and receive recommendations from others. Similar to how you read testimonials about a hotel before you decide to stay in it, potential employers can read testimonials about you as an employee and a person before they decide to hire you.
Asking for recommendations may feel awkward, but I’ve found that people are willing to help you out if you ask them. If you are still in school, you can ask your professors for recommendations. You can also write recommendations for others in the hopes they will write one for you, also. I currently have seven recommendations that I attained from colleagues over about three years.
Recommendations are crucial because they take a little more time and effort to attain and can be very persuasive to potential employers. I mean, would you rather stay at a hotel with several glowing recommendations, or with none at all?
So, there you have it! There are my four top tips to make your LinkedIn account stand out. Happy networking!
Meet the Writer
A digital marketer with a strong background in writing and editing, Anna wrote her first story for the children’s website Neopets.com when she was ten years old - and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She believes in the power words have to change people’s lives and their hearts, and embodies that belief by always choosing her words carefully and writing words that mean something to her. Anna has two terrier mix dogs named Lexi and Lulu, and they love pizza almost as much as she does. Almost. You can find out more about Anna at her website, www.annastreetman.com.
