How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out

98% of recruiters and 85% of hiring managers use LinkedIn to find qualified candidates for open positions, making LinkedIn the place to be if you are on the hunt for a new job. It has the power to send recruiters and managers knocking at your door.

So what can you do to make your LinkedIn profile work do this for you? I want to help you learn how to get noticed and stand out on LinkedIn.

If we’ve never met before, I’m Heather Austin from ProfessorAustin.com and The Career Club on Facebook, and here, I share simple solutions to help you build a business or launch a career you love.

FREE 5-Day LinkedIn Mini Course

LinkedIn is the place to be for professionals and job seekers. Let your LinkedIn profile help you find and land your dream job. Access your FREE LinkedIn mini course today!

Not only is LinkedIn the fastest-growing professional online network; it is also a powerful search engine for recruiters and hiring managers to find talent.

So it’s important that you make your LinkedIn profile stand out so that you get the attention you deserve. Let’s find out how!

Step #1 – Focus on the Top Half

The top half of your profile is what recruiters and hiring managers will see first when they view your profile. The top half includes your profile picture, your headline, and your summary.

You’ve got to get it right when it comes to these three items. First impressions are everything. If you’re wondering what you can do to make your top half better, I’ve got you covered!

I’ve made videos specifically on how to optimize your LinkedIn profile picture and headline that will give you in-depth detail on how to ace both of these areas on your LinkedIn profile. 

Step # 2 – Make Your Profile Keyword-Heavy

Once you find a position that really interests you, highlight or underline keywords or phrases that appear multiple times in the job posting. These words and phrases indicate what the employer is looking for in their ideal candidate.

With these keywords pinpointed, incorporate them into your headline, summary, and experience sections. Do your best to emphasis the hard skills rather than soft skills.

Soft skills are things that represent your personality and behavior, like communication, leadership, and teamwork. Although these skills are important and necessary, employers want to see tangible skills.

This is why you want to focus on your hard skills. These are skills you have gained and grown based on your education and experience. This includes skills like graphic design, accounting, programming, and sales.

Think about this step as market research. Remember that it’s important to tailor your profile to your desired industry or position, and that it’s important that you use keywords to do so.

Step # 3 – Make Connections

Believe it or not, recruiters and hiring managers want to know who you know. They’re interested in how well connected you are in your industry and if you have the ability to form relationships.

For example, if a recruiter sees that you’re lacking in connections, this might lead them to believe that others simply don’t want to connect with you or that you don’t want to connect with others.

This is a red flag to employees and could be an indicator of your lack of people skills. So, to beef up your network, start by connecting with people you know personally, then move on to people that maybe you haven’t met in person but that have something in common with you, such as the school you attended or the company you work for.

However, your goal shouldn’t just be to make connections for the sake of making connections. Rather, think of adding connections as developing long term relationships.

Don’t forget to customize your connection requests to each person to increase the likelihood that they accept and to help each connection be quality and long-term.

Step # 4 – Get Recommendations

One of the most powerful things you can do for your LinkedIn profile is to secure some well-written recommendations. I always say: to get a recommendation, you should give a recommendation.

Pinpoint others in your network that you would like to receive a recommendation from and compose a high-quality recommendation for them.

Chances are they will return the favor. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from others. A good recommendation includes the qualities that make you unique to your industry or position, how the person knows you, and what they are recommending you for.

LinkedIn allows you to proof the recommendation before officially adding it to your profile. So if there’s something that isn’t quite right about the recommendation, you can always ask your connection to adjust it – and don’t be afraid to do so. 

Step # 5 – Get Active

Recruiters and hiring managers love to see that you are an active participant on LinkedIn. This means joining groups and engaging in high-quality conversation within those groups.

This also means creating your own posts and articles and commenting and sharing other people’s posts and articles. To really stand out, make sure that all your engagement on LinkedIn is professional and reflects your true self.

Another great way to get active on LinkedIn is to follow any company page that you would like to work for. This only reiterates your interest in the company, and it’s great way to learn the latest news from the company, such as positions they are hiring for or events they are holding.

Just For You

If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to land that dream job. If you want even more LinkedIn profile tips to help you stand out, take a look at my free LinkedIn mini course, where you’ll learn what you can do to your profile to get it noticed.

FREE 5-Day LinkedIn Mini Course

LinkedIn is the place to be for professionals and job seekers. Let your LinkedIn profile help you find and land your dream job. Access your FREE LinkedIn mini course today!