Everyone wants to look good, both in reality and in social networks which are now the real showcases in which to present themselves. If Facebook can also be used without sharing personal and professional or contact information with the whole world, the speech for Linkedin is different, which serves to create professional relationships between people, to look for a new job and new projects or to change jobs.
The Linkedin profile, which can now be considered our online digital curriculum, must therefore be properly taken care of and kept up to date.
After seeing how to use Linkedin to look for work, here we see how to make a professional profile and enrich it with content that can attract recruiters to their profile in order to be found and receive job offers from those who need our skills and can be hired by a company.
1) Complete the profile in each section
Profile is the first point of the guide to use Linkedin .
The important thing is to pay close attention to present yourself well and completely.
You should therefore not leave personal information aside as you do on Facebook but, on the contrary, it is important to write as much professional information as possible, without leaving empty spaces.
The new and improved LinkedIn guides the user in completing the profile step by step, indicating when it is complete.
Each time you log in you can press the blue " Improve your profile " button to follow the advice and correct, update or add information.
Anything can be useful so it is also worth adding projects, publications and skills that others can confirm.
The new LinkedIn helps to create a more visual curriculum, not only made up of text but also of photographs, presentations and videos .
If you feel creative it would not be absolutely wrong to publish a video presentation or to publish photos of a professional event that you want to highlight.
Also, don't forget that all search engines use special algorithms where the keyword counts.
LinkedIn makes it easy to find people by their name and also by the skills and other words that appear in their profile.
It is therefore important to make a list of terms associated with our skills and experiences and ask ourselves what words someone should look for to find us.
So, take those terms and rework them from the perspective of a recruiter looking for candidates for a job and also use many synonyms to have a better chance of our name appearing for different searches.
The Profile Effectiveness indicator located in the center of the page on the right side of the profile gives a judgment on the completeness of the profile with any suggestions for completing it and adding content.
Once the maximum level is reached, you can share your profile on Facebook or Twitter.
2) Publish a professional photo
The Linkedin profile, like that of Facebook, has a profile photo which in this case must be professional and clean.
So no pictures of animals, couple photos, funny, funny or vain pictures.
The important thing on Linkedin is not to look beautiful but to appear professional and reliable.
The photo can be more or less elegant depending on the profession or job you are looking for.
Keep in mind that this photo is the first thing you look at in a profile.
3) Public and searchable profile
When editing the profile, it is important to fill in the contact section in order to be available and traceable by potential employers.
To set up a public profile, instead, press the down arrow button next to the Edit Profile button and click on " Manage public profile settings ".
4) Customize the profile URL
The Linkedin profile is our online curriculum and must therefore be easy to share and remember for others.
Linkedin allows you to customize the internet address of the profile page so that it is unique and easy to write and keep in mind.
In practice, an address such as linkedin.com/in/pomhey/ must be obtained
To set the unique and personalized URL you need to open the Edit Profile, press below the photo where the address of the public profile is written and then look on the right side of the page to find " URL of your public profile ".
5) Use a LinkedIn badge
The Linkedin badge is a kind of badge or logo that can be affixed to your personal blog, such as signing emails or other online profiles of social networks.
Below the URL section you will find the link to choose the distinctive badge which is an HTML code to copy and paste where you want.
6) Connect with the right people
It is understood that Linkedin is not a social network for friends but for establishing professional relationships.
Needless to add people who do jobs completely different from ours or beautiful girls and you have to choose well the people to whom to send the contact request.
More connections equate to more chances of finding us in search results.
We therefore need to identify the people we want to connect to and send them a personalized connection request without being intrusive.
As in real life, in Linkedin to get close to a person you have to find some common affinity and maybe introduce yourself with a question.
The groups work similarly and if there is a recruiter in the same group, when he does a search he will find our name at the top of the results.
Participate in groups relevant to the work sector, to which HR managers will probably also be registered.
7) Ask for recommendations on Linkedin from bosses, colleagues and employees
The old letter of recommendation also exists on Linkedin (they are called reports) and can be obtained from other people with whom you have worked.
I personally believe that you shouldn't have too many recommendations otherwise it may seem to be contrived.
You should then only ask for specific recommendations for your sector and job.
8) Participate in Interest Groups
LinkedIn groups are a platform similar to forums where you can discuss with other people working in our same sector.
Interacting with the members of a professional group allows us to increase our credibility and make a better profile, connected with influential contacts and to stay updated on possible opportunities.
It may also be a good idea to join a sponsored corporate group if it is part of your area of interest.
These groups are promoted by LinkedIn and are generally of a high quality.
Pay attention and remove the groups that you do not want to participate in since their presence is indicated on our profile.
9) Write the profile not only in Italian but also in English or other languages
There are people who only work in Italy and have the profile written in English on Linkedin while others who work in multinational companies forget to translate their profile also in English.
Linkedin allows you to create copies of your profile in a foreign language, which is useful if you intend to offer your professionalism even beyond borders.
To make a new resume, press the down arrow next to the Edit profile button and click on the option to create it in another language.
10) In conclusion it is important once again to underline that LinkedIn is a service increasingly used by professional recruiters and also by Italian companies.
A complete and updated profile on Linkedin can represent the key to enter the world of work and it is also useful for creating a real curriculum, the one to be printed or sent to companies.
Read, in this regard, how to convert the Linkedin profile into a CV to print
BONUS : Since in Linkedin only those who have a connection with us can contact us, in order to give a reference to those who browse the profiles and find potential candidates for a job, it is better to write your email address in the description, so that it is always visible to everyone.
READ ALSO: Create a professional Facebook profile to look for work
