Getting Your First Job: 8 Non-Obvious LinkedIn Profile Tips

LinkedIn profiles can be divided into multiple categories – those who are actively seeking a job, those who have already found great jobs, and third, entrepreneurs and thought leaders. The catch is recruiters might be looking at all these professionals in order to find the right candidate. 

This means that your LinkedIn profile needs to stand out from the crowd. That being said, it is not a hard task. This is because many people fail to optimize their LinkedIn profiles based on their goals. 

So, today, we will explain what you need to do with your LinkedIn profile to catch the attention of recruiters. 

Add a Website Link 

Gone are the days when resumes used to be multi-page PDFs. Today, individuals are getting creative with their resumes and portfolios. So, our first suggestion for job seekers is to set up a website that can serve as a portfolio and a resume. 

The layout will ultimately depend on the profession. For instance, software developers might have a resume and details of the projects they have handled. On the other hand, paper writer and designer will also have a portfolio section that showcases their best works. Similarly, some professionals might also prefer using their social media links. 

No matter the choice, LinkedIn allows users to include links to their websites, resumes, profiles in the introduction section. This can be a great tool for job seekers to redirect recruiters to their websites. 

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

When you are looking to get the attention of recruiters or employers, LinkedIn will serve as a window to your professional experience. As such, make sure that your previous internship or part-time student job titles reflect your experience. 

For instance, you might have done an internship in a company that required you to do the job of a junior analyst. In this case, you can include ‘Junior analyst’ in the title and mention that this was an internship position. That being said, make it a point not to exaggerate your skillset because if the recruiter calls the company for reference, it shouldn’t appear as if you have lied on your profile. 

Make Sure to Include a Comprehensive Description 

It is not only the title of the roles that matter. You should also pay attention to how you present yourself in your profile. It is crucial to include keywords that resonate with the specific role you are looking for. 

In the description, you can add responsibilities and the projects you work on with bullet points without making it look too overwhelming. 

LinkedIn Featured Section 

LinkedIn’s featured section is mostly used by those who have a portfolio to showcase. However, the space is not exclusively for sharing your work samples. You can also use the tool to feature the posts you have shared or any articles you java published on LinkedIn. If you haven’t shared any, you can also include posts that you have been tagged in. 

LinkedIn also allows users to attach external media like images, documents, and links in the featured section. In other words, there is room to get creative. 

Leverage Recommendations 

In today’s professional world, recommendations play a crucial role. The same applies to LinkedIn too. If you have glorious recommendations from your college mates, colleagues, or even your professors, then your profile is going to stand out. 

However, naturally, you might find it awkward to randomly ask someone for a LinkedIn recommendation. But, if you already have feedback from them – such as from a reference letter – then you can take the initiative to check with them if you can post this on your LinkedIn profile. 

This way, your contact doesn’t have to do any extra work, but you will also be able to boost the credibility of your LinkedIn profile with authentic recommendations. This approach can also be a great tool for students with no prior experience to score a job. 

Stay Active 

Well, this might not strike us as a ‘non-obvious’ way of getting noticed on LinkedIn; however, it’s a tip that most of us often tend to ignore. It is important for job seekers to be active on LinkedIn and interact with others. It is only a matter of liking, commenting, and sharing other people’s content. 

It might also work in your favor if you produce and publish your own content. You can pick a topic that interests you, and it need not be related to your profession. LinkedIn supports multiple formats of content, including articles, videos, and images. This can get your profile more exposure and help you get noticed through searches. 

Avoid Making Your LinkedIn Profile Look like a Resume 

While LinkedIn indeed can be a great way to exhibit your professional skills, you should not simply copy-paste your resume. LinkedIn is designed to be a professional networking platform. In other words, you need to use this site to put up your ‘best professional front.’ 

This means that you will also need to bring on a bit more personality to the profile, offering insight to other users into what kind of a person you are. This is why it is important for you to engage on LinkedIn. By creating and sharing content, you will be able to create a profile that best represents your professional aspirations as well as personality. 

Check your LinkedIn Social Selling Score

LinkedIn has also set up a unique feature called the Social Selling Index, which assesses the strength of a profile based on four factors. This includes the professional brand, connections, engagement, and relationships. 

This feature mainly targets thought leaders and entrepreneurs. However, individual job seekers can also refer to this score to find out how your profile comes across to others. According to LinkedIn, those with a higher SSI score generate more opportunities. So, it wouldn’t hurt job seekers to find their SSI score and adjust accordingly to improve their visibility on LinkedIn. 

Cracking LinkedIn’s secrets is not a tough task. By using the tips we discussed above, you can polish your LinkedIn profile to make it look more attractive to potential employers and grow your network.