21. Focus on Achievements
One thing which will immediately improve the strength of your LinkedIn profile is focussing on your achievements. Rather than simply explaining what you can do and what you’ve learned, help your intended audience to visualise your successes by providing them with hard facts and statistics.
22. Focus on Benefits
Another thing that will really improve your chances of getting results from your LinkedIn profile is to explain to your intended audience exactly what you can do for them. It’s all very well to show them how great you are, but at the end of the day what they really want is for you to make their lives easier.
23. What’s Different About You?
OK, so you’re a software engineer, a writer, or an HR expert. So what? There are thousands of people with those job titles. What makes you different? Why do I need you specifically?
24. LinkedIn Summary Section
The LinkedIn summary section is your opportunity to engage with your intended audience in whatever manner you think best. You can literally write anything you want in it… so how do you know what that should be? Should it be approached like the professional profile at the top of a CV? Or as though it was a cover letter? Or is this something else entirely?
25. LinkedIn Publications Section
Want to show off your expertise? Here’s your chance! It doesn’t matter if you’re not an academic, you can still showcase a few publications to really add some credibility to your LinkedIn profile.
26. LinkedIn Experience Section
Ahh, here we go. Everybody knows this one – It’s just like your CV, right? Well… Not really. The LinkedIn experience section is certainly the place to talk about your current and previous roles, but that doesn’t mean you have to approach it in a ‘traditional’ way…
27. LinkedIn Education Section
The education section on LinkedIn gives you a surprising degree of freedom. You can choose to include every last bit of information about every qualification you’ve ever received… Or you can include almost nothing… Or you can go somewhere in between. The only challenge, in fact, is knowing which option is best for you.
28. LinkedIn Skills Section
The skills section on LinkedIn is often given only a few seconds thought. When you setup your profile it’s right down near the bottom of the page, and by that time people just want to be finished. But there are any number of reasons for devoting a bit more time and thought to it than that… Not least that getting it wrong might mean you’re never found by your intended audience.
29. LinkedIn Endorsements
Following on from the skills section, endorsements are an essential part of a powerful LinkedIn profile. You’ve told the world what you’re good at, now it’s time to see if your contacts agree.
30. LinkedIn Recommendations
As useful as endorsements are, it’s LinkedIn recommendations that really demonstrate your credibility. If you’ve worked with people who are willing to appear publicly on your profile with a few words about the quality of your work, that goes a whole lot further than anything you could say about yourself.
