LinkedIn is a professional social network enabling recruiters and job-seekers to connect. In this platform, users are invited to create contents, showcase their skills and expertise, build connections, or create a company page.

Because of its high rank in Google, LinkedIn is an excellent place to establish credibility for yourself or your company. So, start with a bang by investing in your LinkedIn profile and do your best to stand out and make important business connections.

Below you’ll find a guide to optimizing your LinkedIn profile and making a good impression:

1.Cover Photo

Your cover photo or background should represent your brand’s identity or show off your personality. You can find great free images in StockSnap.io, Unsplash, Pexels, etc., or use Canva for free banner templates.

Many people underestimate the power of a good cover photo and decide to ignore it for good. If you go through profiles on LinkedIn, you’ll see that most users have not uploaded any. I advise you not to be like everyone else with the boring blue backgrounds. Do not miss any opportunity that elevates your presence on LinkedIn.

Some tips on choosing the right cover photo are as the following:

• If you are a member of the management team, a founder or an entrepreneur, use your company’s colors, name, and logo in your background.

• If you are an employee, you can either put your skills and interests on view or have a quote on your favorable background, which can be nature, books, or abstract images.

• Some people go for an appealing photo that sparks others’ interest and add a deep and thoughtful tone to their cover photo. There’s no harm in doing that, too.

Your cover photo says a lot about you, so try to choose it wisely and avoid driving potential clients, investors, and hiring managers away at first glance.

2. Profile Photo

For your personal profile, choose a headshot in which you have a natural smile on your face and are looking at the camera. It is recommended that your photo shows your head, neck, and top of your shoulders. Avoid wearing dresses which are too revealing because it doesn’t seem fit for LinkedIn as a professional network.

Other tips on deciding on a good profile photo for your LinkedIn account are as below:

• Be consistent across all social media channels, especially if you are a personal brand or have a business page. This way, visitors will recognize you instantly. So, put the same profile photo as other social accounts.
• Keep away from photoshoots with strange facial expressions, complicated body gestures, or casual poses.
• Use a high-quality image.
• Look as normal and welcoming as possible.
• Make sure you don’t have too much makeup on.
• Pick a solid background.
• Shoot a natural light photo

3. Headline

Your headline is what appears just below your name and can be up to 120 characters. It should include your current position and highlight your expertise and career accomplishments. If you want to land a job with a company, hiring managers should be able to find you as easily as possible, so include your desired job post in your headline.

For having a more impactful headline, factor in below points:

• Find powerful keywords in your field and use them.
• Be sincere.
• Bragging too much can ruin your chances of impressing recruiters. Don’t do it excessively.

4. Contact Information

Try to fill in as many elements as you can in the Contact Info section so that LinkedIn rewards you with more visibility.

• You can add up to three clickable links in the profile URL section. They can be links to your company, blog, or your career portfolio.
• You can put phone number and address of your home, workplace and your mobile number.
• Your primary email address is added by default
• LinkedIn supports some instant messengers, including Skype, ICQ, Google Talk, QQ, WeChat. Add the accounts you have.
• You can add your birth date, and it’s up to you to make it visible to your connections only, your network, or all LinkedIn members.

5. Profile section

As mentioned earlier, you’ll get more search visibility for a complete profile. So, take the time to fill in as many fields as you can in this section.

Your profile section has the following elements:

• About

Craft your LinkedIn summary here. Show visitors what you do at the present time and what you aspire to do in the future. Tell it in 3-5 short paragraphs clearly and simply to make it more readable. Avoid using slangs, jargons, acronyms, or abbreviations, which are confusing and out of the average’s depth and repels visitors.

• Background

Bring your background into the spotlight by putting information about your work experience, education, licenses & certifications, and volunteer experience in it.

• Skills

Your profile is more likely to get viewed if you highlight skills relevant to your career goals and your circle endorse you for your strongest assets. Don’t undervalue this section.

• Accomplishments

There are several fields in this section, such as patents, projects, honors & awards. Check this part carefully and make sure not to leave any part you could have filled empty. Your accomplishments can project a highly professional image to professional contacts, and most ordinary users have nothing to offer in this section. So use this opportunity to rocket to stardom.

• Additional information

As you may already know, testimonials are highly influential. So, ask colleagues or employees for glowing recommendations. It can be nice to return their favor by offering to write for them.

• Supported languages

Add your language skills here to grab the attention of international corporations.

6. Profile URL

LinkedIn gives you a Public Profile URL, which is a combination of your name and random numbers & characters. You can create a customized URL for your page by clicking on the pencil icon next to “Add profile section”. At the bottom of the page that appears, you can edit your profile link as you want.

7. Broaden your network

Communication is the lifeblood of social networks, and so you have to have a quality network. Request to connect to your colleagues, employers, or employees and accept others’ requests. Don’t be afraid to have people of the same profession in your circle as they may be beneficial to you in the future.

To sum up

LinkedIn has a professional environment in which you can grow your business, seek job opportunities, and reach millions of executives in decision-making positions. Leverage your LinkedIn profile and stand out from the crowd by implementing the above-mentioned recommendations.Feel free to share other points that help improve LinkedIn profile in the comments below.