One of the mistakes a lot of people make on LinkedIn for their job searching is not creating a complete profile.  Here are some tips and ideas into making your LinkedIn profile work for you in your job searching:

Have a nice professional headshot. Don’t leave your photo blank.  Put in a nice professional looking headshot.  Don’t use photos of you standing on a beach or far away.  Your profile photo will be reduced to 80×80 pixels, so make sure to have a nice close shot.

Use your professional “headline”. The headline shows up right under your name and should reflect the type of job you would like to obtain.  Good examples would be something like, “Experienced Assisted Living Administrator”, or “Creative Marketing Director with 20 Years Experience”.

Don’t underestimate the Summary. The summary should act as a 30-second introduction to who you are and highlight your experience towards the job you want.  Some people refer to this as an “Elevator Pitch”.  Regardless, your goal is to grab their attention with the things that will help you get the job you want.  Don’t put useless information in here about irrelevant jobs or personal information.  Focus on the skills, background, and experience you have which will apply directly to the job you would like to find.

Use keywords in your Specialties. Keep in mind that LinkedIn profiles can be searched, so make sure to fill the specialties with specific keywords pertaining to the job, the skills, or industry you are looking for.  As an example, a web designer may put something like, “web design, seo, websites, search engine optimization, internet marketing, adwords, graphics, html, php, WordPress, Joomla, director, administrator, coordinator”.  You can see that we’ve included titles, specific skills, and general keywords potential employers may use.

Only put in relevant experience. When posting positions you’ve held at previous companies, only put in jobs that are related to the one you would like to have.  There is no need to put in the job you had at Burger Hut 15 years ago if you are not looking for a job in fast food.  Put a one or two sentence highlight about each position talking about not only your responsibilities, but things you accomplished.  For example, if you were a department manager, be specific about how many employees you managed and any highlights.  “Human resources manager directing 5 employees and overseeing full benefits and compensation for 136 employees, and 29 contractors.”

Don’t forget the “Extras”. The areas to put links to your blogs or portfolio websites, education background, interests, and groups and associations can also be highly beneficial.  They can show that you’re passionate about what you do and you’re involved in a number of things which can help you in your career.

For more great tips and advice for job searching with LinkedIn, take a look at a great video training series you can download at http://www.linkedinjobsearching.com.

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