Did you know that an average of 45 million profiles are viewed each day on LinkedIn?
Your LinkedIn profile is a digital representation of your story and professional experience and can be your ticket to a variety of new opportunities like landing your dream job, building your professional network, searching for mentorship, partnerships or new business.
And it is one of the first places where a recruiter at a company you’re interested in, a fellow alumni who recently moved to the same city as you or a potential client will look at when considering to connect or reach out to you. So, it’s important to keep your online CV up-to-date and show off your greatest successes and career aspirations with other like-minded professionals.
What’s an All-Star profile status on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn ranks user profiles in five levels (Beginner, Intermediate, advanced, expert and All-Star levels) depending on their profile level of completion and strength. Your profile strength will increase, the more content and profile completion. If you reach All-Star rating, that means your profile is optimised for success. According to LinkedIn, users who complete profiles are 40 times more likely to get contacted.
While that may sound like a lot of work, building a robust profile is easier than you think. To help you get started, we’ve put together these 8 key components to amp up your profile to an All-Star status.
- Profile Photo
- Industry & Location
- Summary
- Experience
- Pictures and Videos
- Education
- Skills & Endorsements
- At least 50 Connections
#1 Profile Photo
Adding a professional photo makes you 14 times more likely to be viewed, according to LinkedIn Statistics, compared to those without one. The impression you make with your profile photo matters a lot. But not any picture will do. My rule of thumb: You are the only one included in the photo (Don’t include your spouse, kids or pets), smart casual dress code (Formal depends on your industry), with a clear background and most important SMILE.
In addition to your profile photo, add a banner image. This could help you weave a consistent story and I personally recommend including a quote or tagline you love or even your company’s mission statement to make your profile truly stand out.
#2 Industry & location
LinkedIn allows members to filter their search results based on location and industry. So, it’s crucial to include what industry you work and where you’re located to improve your discoverability from recruiters, mutual connections and potential clients.
#3 Summary
This is your career snapshot. Think of it as your personal “elevator pitch”. This is your opportunity to introduce your authentic self and highlight what you do, strengths and future aspirations.
A summary of 40 words or more makes it more likely to show up in search and consider calling out your specialties for keyword search. Pro tips: Stick to a few short paragraphs, lose the jargon and be your authentic self.
#4 Experience
One common mistake that many LinkedIn users make is to simply include their company name and position they held. Highlight interesting projects during your time there, key accomplishments by using figures to quantify them, what you have learnt and value you bring to your team and organisation. Although bullet points are recommended in this section, don’t simply copy and paste job descriptions from each of your positions. Again, this profile serves as a digital portfolio that represents you, so do illustrate your unique professional story.
#5 Pictures and Videos
Apart from updating your work experiences, adding rich visual content is a great way to engage with other people. Including pictures, compelling videos, links to news stories, press releases and innovative presentations you’ve delivered will bring your experiences to life. Don’t be shy to use them. Posting more interactive media will help you tell your professional story in eye-catching ways.
#6 Education
Be sure to include where you went to school and what you studied. People who list these details get up to 11x more profile views. This also gives you a chance to connect to fellow alumni and expand your network. This section allows you to showcase your leadership skills and passion for your industry. Were you the president of the Student Council or a Committee member at the Science Club?
Pro tips: If your work experience section is a bit thin because you have just entered the workforce, you can include relevant school projects, coursework, competitions and extracurricular activities and separate yourself by adding rich media.
#7 Skills & Endorsement
LinkedIn allows you to list up to 50 skills in this section, you’ll only need to list a minimum of 5 in order to achieve an All-Star status.
But don’t get carried away by adding as many skills possible. Add skills you want to be known for and that your connections can endorse you for. Every mew endorsement adds credibility to your profile. Don’t limit your list to technical skills only. Many recruiters prioritise career seekers with transferable soft skills like communication, leadership, critical thinking, adaptability and so on.
#8 Connections
You’ll need to have 50+ LinkedIn connections in order to achieve an All-Star profile. But first off, do make sure you select the option to ‘Make my public profile visible to everyone’, otherwise, people may have known you but not able to view your profile and connect with you. Here are the 5 ways to get 5x connections on LinkedIn.
Bonus Touches
Only 51% of 706 million members have a complete profile, but you still have to complete with the other 353 million users across 200 countries. To set yourself apart from other All-Star LinkedIn members, we’ve added three extra bonus tips to make yours from All-Star to Rock Star.
Bonus Tip 1 – Customise your URL
A customised URL will increase your search results, make it easier to direct people to your profile and it looks sharp in email signature and on business cards. Anyone who clicks on the link will be directed to your LinkedIn Profile – do copy & paste it in anywhere you like people to learn more about you.
Bonus Tip 2 – Ask for Recommendations
Receiving recommendations from your employers and peers are a great way to demonstrate your credibility and show you’re a pleasant person to work with. These serve as a testimonial to your work and give confidence to your future employers and clients. Best times to request for a recommendation: Leaving a job, winning a new client, accomplishing a work milestone.
Bonus Tip 3: Stay Active
Posting at least once a week improves your chances of being contacted by recruiters by up to 10 times, according to LinkedIn. By posting relevant content that brings value to your network, this will help position yourself as a subject-matter expert within your field and forge a more meaningful relationship.
Apart from publishing content regularly, you can stay active on LinkedIn by joining relevant groups, contributing to discussions and following companies that you’re interested in.
Hope this cheat sheet can help you to build an All-Star LinkedIn Profile in no time. And as this is a living document that tells your professional story, make sure you update and refine it on a regular basis. Remember, small updates can lead to big opportunities.
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