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What impression does your LinkedIn profile make on potential employers?

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Your LinkedIn profile is your first impression on potential employers, clients, partners, and recruiters. Think of it as a mini-website for your personal brand. It is usually the first place a recruiter will go when they are deciding to add you to a shortlist.

As much as you might not like to believe it, you are being judged by what your LinkedIn profile says about you. Your digital reputation matters and it is now more important than a CV.

Is your profile Google & future boss friendly? What impression does it make?

Be subjective and honest with yourself here. If you find it hard to review your own profile then ask a co-worker or friend to look at it and provide feedback.

If you are applying for a role, then the employer or recruiter probably has a tonne of applications to go through. So, making their job easier for them is certainly going to help you move up the list. This includes making your LinkedIn profile user-friendly.

How do you make it more attractive for recruiters and employers? Here are some tips to fast track your profile.

  • Make your headline descriptive- it should not be your job title but how you solve a problem/help clients or benefit the people you work for.
  • Include a summary – you have 2000 characters and your summary should be about your overall career experience. This provides a snapshot of your experience and the outcomes you have achieved in your career.
  • Match your career chronology to your resume – Your LinkedIn profile should match your CV. You don’t want gaps that will be questioned.
  • Describe your work – don’t just list a bunch of tasks you do. Describe how your work impacts positively on the company and its clients. Share the type of projects you excel at or really enjoy.
  • Maximise your profile – Your LinkedIn profile allows you to put a lot of information including projects you have worked on, articles you have published, volunteer work, memberships, skills, recommendations and more. Use it to your advantage.
  • Personalize your LinkedIn URL – you can customise your URL with your name so take time to personalise it and make it easy for people to find you.
  • Include your contact information – seems basic I know but something that often gets forgotten. Include your current email (not an old Gmail address you never access) and mobile number at a minimum.

Also, remember that your digital brand assets should reflect your personality. It is OK to have some fun in business. Show people who you are on your digital channels. People want to see an insight into who you are as a person, not just an employee.

Now you have no excuses for making a negative first impression.

Now get clicking!!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS created by your online profile-how do others perceive you?

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Digital & social media are now an integral part of the business world. They are essential channels to communicate with future employers, current & potential clients and your wider network. Your online profile forms your overall digital footprint which means it gives an impression of who you are as a person and a potential employee.

Everything you do online is trackable. Every social media post, review, blog, purchase, where you have surfed the net – all leaves little footprints which can be found. You want those footprints to be positive, not negative.

Your online profile is your first impression! It can impact your success when it comes to getting an interview or winning a role.

What does your online profile say about you?

  • Are you proactive and willing to learn?
  • Are you a team player?
  • Are you motivated?
  • Are you credible?
  • Are you clearly knowledgeable in your role or industry?
  • Do you care what others think of you?
  • Are you keeping up with technology and using it wisely?

All these things and more can be seen very clearly in your online profile. When was the last time you did an audit on your profile? When did you update your LinkedIn profile last? When did you last write an article that showcased your expertise? When did you last review your Facebook profile to ensure it was employer-friendly (I have seen candidates lose opportunities due to a poor Facebook profile).

Your online profile directly impacts your offline reputation. Opportunities are lost everyday due to a candidate having an outdated, lack lustre online profile, which makes it hard to sell you to a potential new boss. Your profile is being judged and can make the difference between being at the top of the hire list, to being glossed over during the vetting process. Where do you want to be?

A small investment in time to update your profile can result in a great outcome, in the form of new opportunities.