Your LinkedIn profile should align with your resume but needs to be much briefer and more succinct. It should be very easy to read so keep it simple, highlight accomplishments, keep the layout simple, use bullet points.
Attach a professional photo – it is worth investing in a professionally taken photo if you don’t have one. Prospective employers and recruiters may make decisions on whether to interview you based on your photo.
You are best to make your profile accessible so people can invite you to link in – when you are job searching you want people to find you. Ensure you connect with all the people you have dealt with professionally as well as people you know – the more connections you have the more likely you will come up in searches.
Profile Heading
Under your name put the key titles/expertise/skills that help promote your brand – for example
CA qualified | Finance Manager | FP&A Specialist | Process Improvement
or
Project Manager | ERP Implementation | 6 Sigma qualified
About
- A brief overview of who you are and the value you bring – build your brand statement into the description.  Whilst it needs to be short, concise and relevant to the roles you are seeking, you can also say a bit more about you – what you are passionate about in your job and what you love to contribute to a business so that anyone looking at it gets to know a bit more about you as a person
- You can use or reword slightly the Executive Summary from your resume and you may also mention key skills/expertise
- We recommend 2 -3 short paragraphs and you can also use bullet points that are impactful and easy to read
Career History
- List out each of your roles with a brief 1-2 line description of the role and 3-4 key achievements in point form. This is not as detailed as your resume – make is shorter and much more succinct.
- Focus on the most recent 2-3 roles and provide progressively less detail. For earlier roles just list the company name and job title – not the detail.
- If you have had several roles with one organisation list out all your roles especially if they demonstrate career progression or broadening your skillset
Additional Information
- Include your education and qualifications/certifications
- In the skills section add in a many of your skills as you can – sometimes these are used in searches by Recruiters and Talent Acquisition specialists
- Ask managers and ex-colleagues for recommendations and include these
- Adding in volunteer work and community involvement also help round out your profile
- Join groups that people in your target roles are likely to be part of
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