If you want to stand out from the crowd you have to be visible. Use these surefire ways to get yourself noticed.
- Your Title
This is hugely important and determines how you are found on LI searches. Make sure you have your degree subject in there if you are an undergraduate or graduate.
I.e. Marketing Undergraduate, Marketing Graduate
- Photograph
Dress how you would dress in business or how you would turn up for an interview. Holiday shorts or you at a wedding with a drink in your hand do not portrait you as a serious business prospect. Head and shoulder shots are fine. Full body not required! Think passport as a clue.
- Summary Section
This section again is hugely important and is normally the one that gets left blank. Again the wording is important for the search engines, so have key words in there too. Not too stuffed full though! Think who you are, what you do, and who you do it for. Add your contact details into that section too.
- First Person
I advocate that CV’s are always written in 3rd person, but LI profiles can be written in 1st. This gives you an opportunity to inject your personality into the profile. Make it sound engaging for the reader with a conversational style.
- Achievements
Ensure your profile is ‘achievement-led’ – no one is looking for Mr/Ms Ordinary. When listing your experience it shouldn’t read like a job description. Show the reader how you have excelled (even at the p/t work you did to supplement your studies).