5 Things to do on LinkedIn NOW

Here’s five things I recommend you do on LinkedIn to keep it fresh and relevant:

Transform your headline

If you’re still allowing LinkedIn to auto-populate your Headline with your current job title you’re missing out. The most dynamic and impactful profiles use their Headline statement to communicate a powerful branding statement. With a 120-character limit you’ll need to choose your words wisely being sure to include a mix of relevant key words, impactful (and truthful!) adjectives and as much detail as you and about your niche if you have one.

Customise your URL

When you signed up for an account with LinkedIn you will have been allocated a generic URL containing your name followed by a series of numbers. You can boost your brand and search ranking results in LinkedIn by customising your URL. Keep in mind that you will need to have a minimum of five and a maximum of 20 characters. Learn more about the reasons why this is a good thing and how to do it here: Customise Your LinkedIn URL

Update your About section

Chances are, it’s been a while since you updated your About section and it’s not highlighting your USPs (unique selling points) effectively. Even if you’re happily employed in your dream job, there are benefits to keeping your LinkedIn summary updated ranging from helping you gain more credibility to boosting your network. This is a great place to ‘tell your story’ in a few paragraphs including a description of the key deliverables in your current role. Consider adding a bulleted list of your specialisms, career highlights or key competencies which can be easier to read. With a 2,000-character limit you’ll find you can pack your summary with a lot more information than you can cram into your 1-2 page CV. This helps an employer really get to understand your background, skills and experience so make it count.

Join groups

You might not realise but being a member of LinkedIn groups helps you to boost your engagement score. It’s possible to join up to 100 groups and I highly recommend you join as many as you can. The kinds of groups you might find useful are those which are industry specific e.g. social media, IT, engineering, health care, etc. Within those industry areas you’ll find groups dedicated to all kinds of things from thought leadership to job search. To learn more about how to search for and join groups click here. Once you’ve joined groups of interest, you’ll not only have gained access to a fantastic professional development resource you’ll have grown your all-important network.

Complete your profile

This seems like a no-brainer but I’m still surprised by the number of people I coach who have not fully completed their LinkedIn profile. Not sure how complete your profile is? Review your Profile Strength Meter by following these instructions from LinkedIn.

The completeness of your profile impacts significantly on how you rank in search results. Without a 100% complete profile you risk not being found by recruiters and head-hunters if you’re a job seeker or by a potential client if you’re a freelancer or B2B marketer for example. Follow this LinkedIn Ultimate Cheat Sheet which will guide you every step of the way.