What Makes a LinkedIn Profile POWERFUL?
Your LinkedIn profile is NOT your resume. Your resume is your professional past. It’s dull, boring and often task-based. Your LinkedIn profile is your CAREER FUTURE! It’s who you are, how you help people, and why you deserve to be noticed. A POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile sells YOU!
Here is an example of a POWERFUL LinkedIn profile
Notice how this LinkedIn profile is NOT copied and pasted from a resume.
#2. Professional Head Shot Photograph Your LinkedIn profile is your digital introduction and first impression with your reader. It’s important to look your best and a professionally taken photograph will ensure you are portrayed in the best light!
#3. Attention-Getting Headline Your LinkedIn Headline is very much like a headline in a newspaper. It should grab your reader’s attention and compel them to READ MORE! Access my LinkedIn Headline Generator App to quickly and easily create a POWERFUL LinkedIn Headline that will get you noticed and found! Why not? It’s FREE!
#4. Over 500 Connections A strong network shows you are serious about connecting and expanding your reach.
#5. Customized URL, Websites, and Contact Information A customized URL allows you to extend your brand and further optimize your LinkedIn profile. Your public profile address is the direct link to your LinkedIn profile. By customizing the address with your name, you are able to add it to your email signature, resume, cover letter, letterhead, business card, and marketing literature. Websites and Contact Information provide your reader with the ability to reach out, learn more, and continue their experience with you.
DO NOT COPY AND PASTE YOUR RESUME!
Why? Your LinkedIn profile is NOT your resume! Your resume is your professional history. Your LinkedIn profile is your career future! Your resume is dry, boring, and task-based. Your LinkedIn summary should be engaging and impressive to your reader. It should COMPEL them to pick up the phone and call you!
#7. Clear Call to Action It’s important to tell your reader what to do once they’ve finished reading your LinkedIn summary. Tell them how to reach you! How many opportunities are you missing because you didn’t include your contact information?
#8. Multimedia Work Samples Your LinkedIn profile should act as a portfolio or compendium of all your great work. Rather than simply DESCRIBE what you’ve done throughout your career, embed PowerPoint presentations, whitepapers, photos, videos, etc… to SHOW your reader.
More LinkedIn Profile Examples
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! There is so much more to your LinkedIn Profile!
#9. Articles & activity
This section not only shows that you are active on LinkedIn (think of it as a time/date stamp of freshness) but that you are also engaged with your network and adding value.
#10 & 11. Complete Experiences, Keyword-Rich
A POWERFUL LinkedIn profile includes your past experiences. This area is highly sensitive when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization). By including keywords that people are using to find someone like you, you are ensuring that your LinkedIn profile performs well in search and that YOU WILL BE FOUND.
Education, Licenses & Certifications, Volunteer Experiences
Your LinkedIn profile acts as a viewport into your background.
Additional Profile Sections
Your LinkedIn profile extends far past the work experience section. Volunteer Experiences & Causes, Certifications, Education, Interests, and Groups & Associations are just a few of the additional sections that comprise your COMPLETE LinkedIn profile.