Nowadays, if you are not available on the Internet, you somehow do not exist for a broader population. Of course, you can take care of your privacy, but the LinkedIn profile is a modern tool for work, which is a necessity when you want to be active on the national job market.

It is also important that your LinkedIn profile is free of obvious errors and that is why we have created a collection of elements that you should pay special attention to when you want to maintain a professional LinkedIn profile. Get ready for a lot of useful information that will help you to become the best online version of yourself.

Photo, Not Selfie!

We understand that you look exceptionally good on this holiday photo and that your suntan suits your face, but your LinkedIn profile is meant to be professional so your photo must look professional too. No selfie, no photos with your sweet pets, no photos with a bunch of your best mates! Do you want a potential employer to see you through the perspective of your photo or through what you can really do? The photo should only be a background that completes the entire content on your profile. The best photo is the one taken on a subdued, one-colour background, where you wear a shirt and look neat. So give up the idea of showing the whole world a funny picture of yourself taken spontaneously, your Facebook or Instagram is for that, but not your LinkedIn profile.

Professional Headline

The problem with the headline is that many people don’t know what they should include there, so you can find profiles with a quotation of their favourite author or a long description of unclear formulas. Such use of this space will only discourage potential employers. Remember that this is the first text that appears under your name, so it’s worth the effort to be associated with the thing you really want to be associated with. You can write the title of the position you are occupying, but don’t forget that headline can make you stand out. For example, you can add a specific description or field of business in which you work or in which you would like to work but have no experience, however, you have completed courses and a great willingness to develop. This is the place for your advertisement but be smart about it.

Clear Job Titles and Descriptions

In terms of job titles, this is the space you definitely need to fill in properly with your resume. Add all your previous jobs with the full job title and the period in which you worked for a particular company. Under each of the positions, you have space where you can briefly describe your tasks, responsibilities and achievements. Make sure you do it! Write down everything you can be proud of. Less important issues can be easily omitted. Focus only on what can be valuable to your potential employer. Highlight your advantages and skills, which you will be able to use in your next job. Besides, don’t use generalities. Instead, just provide the details. Show that you know what you’re doing and that you can handle a similar position without any problems.

Education First!

As far as education is concerned, it is worth to write down not only your studies but also any courses, training, awards and honors that you have received. This is the place to prove that you have the necessary education to do what you want to do and any additional information will prove that you are still developing and that you are not afraid of challenges. You can also show off your knowledge of other languages, which is very important in the recruitment process. You can get a job for which you do not have enough education, but the language will help you to win over other candidates. Remember that it is worthwhile to write the truth here because during the interview your language skills can be tested.

Good List of Skills

Highlighting your skills is very important! Don’t be shy and believe in yourself. Write down all the skills you feel comfortable with. Potential employers will appreciate it and will pay attention to many interesting skills that you provide. Come out of the box and write something that will make you stand out and make others curious about you. In terms of skills, it would be great if someone could certify them for you. So how can you start getting a certification of your skills? By certifying the skills of other people you know and they will pay you back in the same way which will allow you to collect many confirmations of your skills and this will surely attract the recruiters to your profile.

Catchy Summary

The summary is in a sense an expansion of headline. You have 2000 characters at your disposal to show your best side. Write something about yourself, your work, obligations, your experience, your passions and plans for the future. A nice option is also the possibility of adding a video or presentation so that you can stand out and attract attention. Oh and don’t forget to repeat the keywords you put in your headline, it will help the recruiters to find you.

Be Active

Many recruiters pay attention to the activity of potential candidates, so it is sometimes worthwhile to write a post, to like someone’s publication or to comment on a video shared by another LinkedIn user. Being active also means being part of the selected groups and adding new contacts. You never know who you can get to know in this virtual world and who can be helpful in the real world.

Extra tips on how to improve your LinkedIn profile:

• Add a background photo. According to LinkedIn:

“Make Sure Background is Not Distracting”

• Add information about your location. According to LinkedIn:

“Adding your location make you up to 23x more likely to be found in LinkedIn search”

• Make your profile available to everyone, be seen by others. According to LinkedIn:

“Customize Your Settings [is a key] to Nurture Your Network”

• Create your profile also in other well-known languages. According to LinkedIn:

“[It helps] To connecting people to opportunity — from all corners of the world!”

• Personalize your URL on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn:

“For personal branding, you need to attach everything on the web to your full name and LinkedIn has vanity URL’s that you can use to help you control your Google results.”