I first made my LinkedIn profile fresh out of University (we won’t talk about how long ago that was) and then, it was just a place I felt I needed to be in order to get a job. Now years later, it’s the way to connect with old colleagues, stay up to date on trends and tech and keep my eye on the regional economy.

But it all starts with your profile.

Here are a few steps you can take to give your profile a polished makeover.

1. Update your banner

A banner is one of the first things that loads when someone visits your page. If it’s blank, what impression does that give the people you are trying to engage with?

Some people opt for a banner that is provided by the business they work with, which often has a clear slogan, contact information or brand iconography. However, if you opt for a personal photo, this should be something high quality that reflects your personality or something you are interested in.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s always better to have something in this space than nothing at all.

2. Have a clear profile picture

Your profile picture should first and foremost be clear and high quality.

As a general rule of thumb, the visit to your profile should be able to pick you out in a coffee shop based on your profile picture, and remember these are often the same size as your thumb when viewed on a mobile device.

Your face should take up 60% of the frame, ideally in a head on solo shot, that fills the entire space.

3. Add a voice recording

You can add a voice recording to your profile to enable visitors to understand how to pronounce your name, but also provide a short introduction to who you are and what you do. This is an accessibility feature that should be used appropriately, but does also have a long timeframe in order to state your name.

4. Extend your bio

You bio can be so much more than just your job title. You have 220 characters to play with! This is an opportunity to include some key words about who you are, what sector you work in, your experience and qualifications. You’ll be surprised how much you can squeeze into this small space.

5. Add a featured content section

To enable featured content on your profile, you need to head to your profile and select ‘Add profile section’. The featured content area allows you to showcase some of your top work or posts to give people visiting your page an insight into your skills and experience. This could be brochures, reports, awards or personal highlights that you would like to share.

We aim for five pieces of content here that you keep refreshed each year so it’s the latest and best work you have done.

6. Expand your about section

This is one of the only places on your page that is entirely up to you to define what you want to include, without delving into your work history or your posts. Ask yourself what the story is that you want the person visiting your profile to hear, what to do you want them to learn about you and what impression do you want to give them.

Think about who you are – it sounds simple… but you are so much more than your work history and career journey, which they will see anyway if they scroll a little further.

Think about what you love, explain any gaps in your job history, highlight transferrable skills, your ability to tackle challenges.

Don’t let someone leave this section with any doubts about who you are.

7. List your experience

It’s okay to list the experience you have from the start but do you really want to? Maybe not.

Unless your experience of working a paper round or being a waitress in your early teens was a vital step in your career to where you are now, you can remove this section and list only what matters.

Your experience should be bullet pointed and include as many key skills as you can. This is how recruiters, like ourselves, find and source top talent across the region.

What is listed here needs to demonstrate your knowledge and specialist skills, as well as the aspects of the job that interest you.

8. Update your licenses and certifications

Update your license and certifications section to add all the incredible things you achieved. You worked hard for your certificates – showcase them!

9. Include all of your skills

Add as many skills that are valuable to you and your experience and, importantly, get others to endorse them. If you say you are great at Communication and Leadership, get people to back you up.

This skills section is also vital for recruitment consultants to find and match talent with the requirements for a job. If you have your skills listed here, the easier it will be to find and match you for the best roles in your area.

10. Give and receive recommendations

Recommendations help boost your profile and, bonus, make you look like a great person to work with. Win win!

Ask your colleagues, or people you have managed previously to give you a recommendation using the plus icon in the corner.

It’s also important to give recommendations too. Oftentimes, if you give someone one, they’ll reciprocate the favour.

11. Clean out your interests

Like many people, you set up your LinkedIn profile fresh out of university or when you needed to secure a job, which could have been over a decade ago.

Make sure your interests and follows are regularly cleaned up so they 1) align with your values now as your skillset evolves and 2) so that your algorithm knows what content you are interested in to serve you the most appropriate posts for you.

Now your profile is ready to go… it’s time to get posting. Good luck!