How to Complete Your LinkedIn Profile in 7 Steps

Over 350 million professionals are on LinkedIn. In order to stand out, you need to pay special attention to creating a profile. In this section, you will learn how.

Title 120 characters

This is the most important moment in creating a profile. Be concise, creative, and use key terms to make it easier for other users to identify the industry you work in and your direct role in it.

Name

Enter your first name, last name and patronymic (if necessary). This is not the place for nicknames or funny references to the profession (such as “rock sales star” or “ninja developer”).

James Eaton

Award-winning sports psychologist working with top athletes in the UK.

Southampton, United Kingdom | Sport

List the industry you are in to make it easier for employers to find you.

Link

Customize your LinkedIn link to make it easier for people to find you. You can find your customized website link in the light gray box below your name. Click the edit button and make your edits.

Profile photo

First impressions matter a lot in business meetings and when people look at your profile. In addition, when choosing a suitable photo, consider the industry in which you work and focus on potential customers and colleagues.

LinkedIn Profile Photo Tips

Contact a professional photographer

It’s worth it, because you can use these photos in other social networks, as well as for other purposes.

Look presentable

You don’t have to smile stupidly, but you don’t have to look angry either. Just in case, ask other people’s opinions before posting a profile picture.

Use most of the frame

Your face should be in the center; leave some room above your head and grab your shoulders a little.

Choose authentic photos

Choose photos that are true. If you wear glasses, a beard, or prefer to wear a tie, take a photo that matches your everyday look at work.

Be a professional

LinkedIn is not Facebook. Organize your profile just like you would at work.

Do not go too far with formality

Dress appropriately, but don’t overstep the bounds. Let the photo reflect your character and work suit.

Leave your pets behind the scenes

It’s cute, but keep your pets away from your LinkedIn profile picture.

Keep your profile background neutral

Don’t let the background distract your profile visitor. Choose a neutral and unpretentious background. By adding your professional photo to your LinkedIn profile, you can increase the number of views by 14 times!

Basic information

General information no more than 2000 characters. Write a brief description of your current and future professional aspirations. Fill in your contact information: mobile phone number, Twitter link, email, etc.

Adding links to media resources builds trust. Provide links to presentations, videos, podcasts, blog posts, and more. Be specific about your past and current positions. Focus on your skills and accomplishments.

Providing links to media resources will add credibility to your words about who you are and what you do. Screenshots, slides, videos, articles, etc. that contain information about you will do.

Experience

Experience/Position no more than 100 characters

Senior Sports Psychologist

August 2006 – Present (11 years), Kyiv, Ukraine

68% of participants use LinkedIn to connect with former business partners.

Description – 2000 characters. Be specific about your current position and work experience. Don’t be afraid to go into details.

Complete your resume with videos, quotes, publications, presentations, and other content you create that is relevant to your professional work. Try to arouse interest among users. The longer they study your profile, the higher the chances of establishing a business relationship. Avoid big words. Instead of talking about your skills and abilities – demonstrate them. For example, instead of calling yourself a “great salesperson,” list the awards you’ve received or your performance in numbers.

• creative
• Innovative
• Operational
• Motivated
• Purposeful
• Vigorous
• scale
• Experienced
• Expert
• Reputation

Projects

List projects you have worked on to observe and test your skills. Add links to current projects – this will strengthen your credibility. Many people talk about talents, but they are more important for older people.

Education

Indicate the name of the institution where you studied and received your degree. Indicating information about education allows you to connect with other graduates and imprint the rest.

Skills and recommendations

List the skills that characterize you as a specialist. Involve in this section those who can confirm the restoration of your qualities and recommendations based on them. LinkedIn member profiles with skill descriptions are viewed 13x more often!

Education/Degree 100 characters

Kyiv National University. T. Shevchenko

Bachelor of Science Departments – Specialization: Psychology and Biomechanics

2001 – 2005

Information about education 1000 characters

The education section is very important for applicants without work experience. Remember that an academic background often requires access to LinkedIn Alumni Association groups, which can be important when networking.

Network of disputes

Try to add at least 300 disputes. However, for practical reasons, limit the number of conflicts to no more than 3000. Establish contacts with fellow professionals, colleagues, clients and customers who can be useful to you.

• Sports industry 199 363
• International sports 31,587 participants
• ESSA 1,897 participants

Groups

Join groups to maximize your potential LinkedIn connections and send messages to select other members of the group.

Complete Profile

Users with a complete profile are 40 times more likely to be presented with opportunities on LinkedIn.

• Highest
• Higher
• Advanced
• Average
• Elementary

Only 51% of LinkedIn users have a 100% complete profile

An effective level of efficiency requires:

• Field of activity and place of residence
• Current place of work (with description)
• Two previous jobs
• Your education
• Your skills (at least three)
• Profile photo
• 50 disputes

The search algorithm shows the search results:

1. Profile completeness (only 100%)
2. General contacts
3. Contacts of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd levels
4. General groups

Make sure that your profile is completely filled out, otherwise you will be invisible to the search algorithm. This is counterproductive and does not meet the requirements used for use on social platforms.

The main reason for filling out your profile is that we are sure that you will appear in the control institution.

To maximize your presence, optimize your images. Here is a diagram and a description of all the possibilities to make sure you get the most out of the added images.

Image Requirements

Profile background 1400 x 25

Allowable size: from 1000 x 25 to 4000 x 4000

Maximum file size: 4MB

Only JPG, PNG or GIF files

Profile photo 400 x 400

Image Requirements

Acceptable size: 400 x 400 to 20K x 20K pixels

Minimum size: 200 x 200 pixels

Maximum file size: 10MB

Only JPG, PNG or GIF files

Standard Logo 100 x 60

Image Requirements

100 x 60 pixels (resized to fit)

Maximum file size: 2MB

PNG, JPG or GIF

Upload your brand/company logo. Try to make it look professional and attractive while encouraging other members to collaborate with you.

Large / Professional Photo: 970 x 240

Image Requirements

Minimum image size 970 x 240

Maximum file size: 2MB

PNG, JPG or GIF

At the top of this page is a banner that is larger than any other image on LinkedIn.

You can use this space to post an image that will help generate leads for your company.

Banner Image: 646 x 220

Image Requirements

Minimum image size 646 x 240

Maximum file size: 2MB

PNG, JPG or GIF

Banner images are one of the newest and most visible. They are displayed when users visit your brand homepage.

If visitors are actively searching for your brand and you want to make the best impression.

Rectangular Logo: 150 x 50

50×50 pixels (resized to fit)

Maximum file size: 2MB

PNG, JPG or GIF

This is the brand image that pops up when your company is searched for.

Make sure you use something recognizable for your brand to make sure customers know which company page they want to go to.

Recommendations

As written by other members, recommendations are a way to promote your company.

It is a sign of trust from both LinkedIn and those who view your profile.

Recommendations are compiled by other LinkedIn members to validate or promote the profile of their colleagues or business partners. Secure the references of the most important and prominent of your former colleagues and employers. This will add credibility to your profile.

It is best to collect 5 to 10 recommendations.

LinkedIn will display the two most recent recommendations received. (Below is a graphical example).

Gather up to two references for each of your most important jobs.

Confirmations

Being less specific, confirmations are a softer means of confirming reliability.

While confirmations are considered in LinkedIn’s algorithms, they are not as reliable as written recommendations and have a lower priority.

Providing recommendations

59% of people consult with friends and family when making purchasing decisions.

More referrals, better business.

1. Above your image, in the upper right corner, select “Settings and Privacy”.

• Company Page Management
• Language Change
• Change settings and privacy
• Help Center\Get Help

2. Under the “Settings” heading, in the “Profile” tab, select “Manage Recommendations”.

• Settings
• Twitter settings
• WeChat Settings
• useful links
• Edit name, region, industry
• Edit profile
• Edit public profile
• Recommendation Management

3. Select “Request Recommendations”

• Recommendations
• Received
• Provided
• Request references (4)
• Provide recommendations

4. Select the past or current position for which you would like to be referred.

Next, select up to 3 people to send them a referral request.

Ask for recommendations from your contacts.

Which position would you like to be recommended for?

Who do you want to contact?

• Your contacts: (You can choose up to 3 people)
• Find contacts

5. Create your own referral request instead of the auto-generated one provided by LinkedIn.

Subject: Can you recommend me?

Could you write me a short recommendation for my work so I can add it to my LinkedIn profile. If you have any questions please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Your response rate will increase if you write the letter yourself, making it more personal.

6. Tell us what you would like to be recommended for

We all love to read nice reviews about ourselves, like “He was a pleasure to work with,” but in the eyes of the HR manager, such reviews are of little value.

“James was a pleasure to work with. His smile brightened the whole office.”

“James has constantly implemented and improved many aspects of the company.”

Sending a message to someone you don’t have contact with

1. Join a general group
2. Find a person’s post in a group
3. Group members can send each other a message without establishing direct contact
4. Click on the down arrow and select “Reply in private”

Download your contact list

• Advanced settings
• Export LinkedIn Contacts
• Change Time Zone: Central Standard Time
• Click on “Contacts” in the top menu, then click on the gear icon that appears in the center (upper right side).
• In advanced settings, the first option is “Export LinkedIn Contacts”.

Download the contact list containing:

• Name
• Company name
• header
• Email address

Keep Relationship Notes on LinkedIn

Under each profile in your contacts, there is an option to add relationship notes:

• Reminders
• Important Details
• How did you meet
• Contact Information

Only you can see this information.

All this information is private

Create a brand page

Brand pages are niche pages, offshoots of the company’s main page. They allow a company to promote specific products or markets to specific customers.

Click on the edit button in the right dropdown menu, then on “Create a Brand Page”

Populate the page with information as you would with any other page, including:

• Links
• Images
• Industry
• You can create up to 10 free brand pages

1. Your Professional Title

LinkedIn searches for keywords in your professional title. Avoid “funny” job titles like “Assistant’s Boss”, instead use descriptive titles like…

“Sports Nutritionist”

      2. Optimize your URL

While the benefits of a hand-picked URL may be minimal in terms of SEO, these are just good manners.

Link your profile to your name, this will make it easier for your contacts to search.

This will also allow you to add your URL to business cards.

      3. Complete your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn prioritizes profiles that are 100% complete. Nothing complicated, right?

Fill out every cell on LinkedIn, use the LinkedIn guide to complete your profile.

      4. Use anchor text in links

LinkedIn profiles can have up to three links, including company websites or blogs.

You can change the anchor text to be more meaningful. All you need to do for this is to select the “Other” option.

      5. Optimize your work experience data

You don’t need to fill everything with keywords, but use at least one keyword that you will focus on.

Focus on secondary keywords that are relevant and describe your skills.

Instead of writing entire paragraphs, use different keywords as lists.

Formatting your data will also increase your profile views.

      6. Optimize Headlines in Experience

Changing the titles a little by adding a few keywords is a smart move.

Instead of writing “Sports Doctor”, tease the search engine by typing something more meaningful, like

“High-class Multidisciplinary Sports Physician”

      7. Get More Confirmations

Verifications add value to your profile.

Some believe LinkedIn’s new ranking system will be based on popularity, and confirmations are part of that system. It’s always good to be prepared, just in case!

      8. Promote your profile outside of LinkedIn

Add a link to your LinkedIn profile to your email signature, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and any other sites you use.

      9. Make sure your profile is visible

This may seem obvious, but make sure your profile is set to public or it won’t show up.

      10. Use Publisher

Publisher is a new option on LinkedIn. It allows you to post articles directly to LinkedIn. This shows your experience and gives LinkedIn bots more content and information to process. It also shows that you are active and your name will pop up in your followers’ feeds.

How to get more confirmations

1. Copy this template and send to your contacts. Don’t forget to personalize it.

Hello [name],

What skills would you like to validate? I look at people’s profiles, validate skills according to their preferences. It helps in job searches, believe it or not, but HR managers look at the skillset on LinkedIn. Thus, it makes sense to help each other. J

If you have a minute, could you reply with proof of ONLY these 5 skills on my profile:

-[insert skill#1] -[insert skill#2] -[insert skill#3] -[insert skill#4] -[insert skill#5].

Trying to push these babes to the top. Let me know which of your skills need to be confirmed.

www.LinkedIn.com/in/[Insert your URL]

2. Send a message to your contacts by clicking on “Contacts”. Sort by “Recent Conversations” and send emails one by one on the list.

Best time to post on LinkedIn: Tuesday and Thursday, between 7 and 9 am.

Merging Evernote and LinkedIn. Combine business cards, LinkedIn information and notes in one place.

Your profile will be viewed 5 times more often if you join groups and be active there.

Looking for a new job on LinkedIn?

Do not “sleep” in front of the boss, turn off the display of activity.

Censor yourself. If you wouldn’t say that in an interview, then don’t say it on LinkedIn either.

Follow the rules of good manners. Send a thank you message if someone has validated your skills.

20 unique LinkedIn posts per month can help you reach 60% unique audience.

Use your LinkedIn profile as a sales tool

Add a short video about your company to your profile.

LinkedIn members who update their profile regularly.

Get more job offers.

State your name

Publications are a great way to showcase your professional knowledge and show yourself as a leader in your industry.

Avoid profile clichés such as “creative” or “motivated.” Use fewer adjectives.

• creative
• Passionate
• Innovative
• Strategic
• Purposeful
• dynamic
• Expert
• Motivated
• Shock
• Experienced
• Organized

Automatic checks, designed to prevent unauthorized login attempts and keep user data secure, already protect all LinkedIn profiles. But there are a few additional steps you can take to keep your account as secure as possible.

Update your privacy settings

In addition to the protections LinkedIn has put in place to protect your information, there are some additional privacy settings that you can turn on or off, depending on your needs.

Enable or disable activity notification:

If you don’t want your contacts to see you edit your profile, follow businesses, or recommend contacts, disable this option.

Choose what others can see when you view their profile.

You can set your privacy settings to high so that when you view other people’s profiles, you appear to them as an “anonymous LinkedIn member”.

Specify who can see your contacts

You can share your contact names with other first-level contacts, or you can make your contact list visible only to you.

Two step verification

Two-Step Verification requires the user to have more than one form of verification to sign in to an account. This is a much more effective account protection tool that will greatly reduce the possibility of data theft and unauthorized access to sensitive information, since most accounts are hacked from new or unknown access points.

How do I enable two-step verification on LinkedIn?

1. Open the top right menu and click Manage next to Settings & Privacy.

• Company Page Management
• Language Change
• Settings and Privacy /Manage privacy settings
• Support Center
• Get help

2. In the tabs along the bottom left, select Account > Manage Security Settings (bottom left).

• Profile
• Contacts
• Groups, Companies and Applications
• Account
• Privacy settings
• Advertising Preferences
• Tinctures
• Profile photo display
• Show – hide profile photos of other members
• Managing the content of the main page that you hide
• Choose your language
• Managing security settings
• Email, Phone and Password
• Add/Edit email address
• Phone number management
• Change password
• useful links
• Improve your account
• Request an archive of your data
• Close account

3. In the Two-Step Verification for Login section, click Enable.

• Security Settings
• Two-Step Verification for Login
• By enabling this feature, you will log out of all accounts in which you are currently logged in. We’ll then ask you to enter a verification code the first time you sign in from a new device or the LinkedIn mobile app. Read more>
• Currently disabled – enable. Note. Some LinkedIn apps will not be available when you enable this option.
• Ready
• Complete Two-Step Verification
• Enable two-step verification
• Please enter the verification code sent to 07949
• Confirmation and device recognition. Change phone number.
• Have not received? resend
• Confirm Cancel

4. Enter a secure phone number and click on Send Code

LinkedIn password and security tips

1. Change your password every few months
2. Don’t use the same password for all sites
3. Don’t use dictionary words as a password
4. Do not use names or slang terms as your password
5. Use lowercase and CAPITAL letters, numbers and symbols in your password
6. Sign out of your profile when using a shared computer
7. When compiling a password, length is more important than complexity

On average, it takes a hacker 1 WEEK to crack a 10-character password

It takes 2 years to crack a password that is 8 characters long, consisting of numbers, letters and symbols, it will take 2 years.

Cracking a 15-character password will take a hacker 150 million YEARS