How to create a Perfect LinkedIn profile in 2021: Ultimate guide
📖 Learning
Professional social networking is one of the most important parts of gaining better chances in the business world. LinkedIn has become a significant part of this professional networking reaching over 45 million student users today. Not only that, they are growing at a rate of two sign ups per second. Statistics show that LinkedIn is used by over 562 million people in more than 200 countries.
If you are looking for an international opportunity or a better placement in your career, LinkedIn is the best platform to depend on. It is a platform which has not lost its professional charm even after so many years of its inception.
Many recruiters also depend on LinkedIn to find ideal candidates for their job. This makes your LinkedIn profile as your portfolio for the recruiter. In this article, a few important nuances which will serve as a guide in using LinkedIn are mentioned.
Prerequisites of LinkedIn
Creating the Account on LinkedIn
Profile Picture on LinkedIn
Summary on LinkedIn
Add your Contact details on LinkedIn
Connections on LinkedIn
Engagements on LinkedIn
Recommendations on LinkedIn
Keep Updating your Profile on LinkedIn
FAQ
Prerequisites of LinkedIn
Make sure that you have a functional email ID to which you have access. You can use both your phone number and email address to sign up for LinkedIn. Keep ready a list of your educational qualifications, work experiences, achievements, skills, training, etc. with you.
You might not want to run around for documents every time they ask for details. When you sign up make sure to be as clear as possible. Don’t lie on your LinkedIn profile. If you are unemployed, mention that you are looking for opportunities.
Creating the Account on LinkedIn
This is the most important part of being on LinkedIn. The first thing that you need to do is to fill in your educational qualifications along with marks, experiences, the skills you have, the organizations you have worked with, the positions of responsibility that you have been assigned, and so on.
You need to be mindful of what goes into your profile. Before you add any achievements or experiences, just think if they are relevant and suit your goals in any manner. If yes, add them, or else ignore them. However, be careful about the timeline. They should not be too old. This means that you do not add anything that you did as a kid. However, exceptions are there too.
If you are a person with lots of work experience, then you need not add the details of your high school. When you provide your name, make sure that you give your official name that is used in all your official documents. If people tend to misread your name, you can also add the pronunciation of your name.
Ipsita Acharya
Profile Picture on LinkedIn
Your profile picture is the first thing that an employer would see in your profile. Make sure that the picture that you choose is on par with the way you want them to see you. Formal pictures are preferred over informal ones. So, do not post your picture from the beach or your recent trip to the waterfalls. Try to look as professional as possible.
Summary on LinkedIn
This is the second place where your recruiter’s eyes will fall before checking your whole profile. Give a short note on what you like to do, your area of interest, and what you are looking forward to.
It can also include your professional background, achievements, targets for the future etc. Always remember that it is a part of your first impression and hence make it as explanatory and concise as possible.
Add your Contact details on LinkedIn
It is better if you provide your mobile number since that will increase the chances of a recruiter contacting you. Even if you decide to not provide contact details, provide an email ID without fail. You can also provide additional details on contacting you to reduce the chances of missing out on anything. Contacting also means that they can reach out to you through the messaging facility of LinkedIn. Do not forget to check them every day.
Connections on LinkedIn
If you are actively looking for opportunities on LinkedIn, it is very important to have good connections. LinkedIn will automatically suggest people who have gone to your same school, college, workplace, etc.
Most probably you will get to meet a lot of people through this facility as well. For better connections, check for people who are working with your area of interest or organization. Send them a connection request and try to know more about the things you want to know. Do not make contacts randomly. Have a strategy in your mind and connect accordingly.
You can choose to limit your area of interest, prospective organizations you would like to work for in the future can be some of them. The same rule applies when you get a connection request as well. There is no need to accept the request of everyone who is sending you requests. It is ideal to keep the number of contacts more than 300 and less than 3000.
Rishabh Rathi
Engagements on LinkedIn
Being an active part of LinkedIn increases your chance of visibility to the recruiters. You can also try and be an active member of any group as well. Apart from increased visibility and connections, increased engagements on LinkedIn are also a portrayal of your professional place. It is a place to articulate who you are.
Your activities can have a significant impact on the recruiter. If you do not want your recruiters to see your activity, you can turn off activity broadcasts as well. However, it is highly recommended that you make use of LinkedIn to share your knowledge and achievements.
Recommendations on LinkedIn
Recommendations are highly effective ways to increase the credibility of your claims. It is given by other users on LinkedIn. It is a kind of acknowledgment where they evaluate your performance. You can request your previous manager or client to give you a good recommendation. It will create an impression that you are a competent professional like you claim in your profile.
Keep Updating your Profile on LinkedIn
Making an account in LinkedIn is not enough, it is important to update your information as well. It applies to everything right from your photo to your skill set. Instead of seeing a time frame to update your profile, make it a habit to update them whenever something happens. Even if it is small, add them since you never know what all the employers are looking for. As you change your profession or field of study, remind yourself to update that as well.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, LinkedIn is a place where you express you are in a professional environment. And it should be like that as well. Try to view your profile as a recruiter and think what will their impression be about you. Make amendments accordingly.
If at all you don’t engage in LinkedIn also, do the bare minimum of updating your details. If you are an active and informed user in LinkedIn, chances of you getting a better job offer is really high.
FAQ
What is the best way to use LinkedIn?
Contact and Connect With Other LinkedIn Users, Give and Receive Recommendations and Endorsements, Use LinkedIn Groups, and Create Engaging Content Especially for LinkedIn, these are some of the best way to use LinkedIn.
Does LinkedIn cost money?
LinkedIn is free, but if you choose to upgrade to a paid account, you have access to additional features. As a Premium member, you can get messages from any LinkedIn user at no cost to them.
What should you not do on LinkedIn?
Don't Send Spam Messages to Your Connections, Don't Send Irrelevant Messages, Don't Send Messages With, “I see you viewed my profile, and Don't Ask New Connections or People You Don't Know to Endorse You.
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