CREDIT: "BUSY MINDS" ILLUSTRATION BY LAM LE

Stand out in your headline (Don’t just use your current job title)

Your headline is one of the first things that employers see on your LinkedIn. If you do not create your own headline, LinkedIn will just use your current job title as a headline. It would be more beneficial to write a headline that catches the eye and draws people to your profile. Once they are on your profile they will be able to see your current job title so there is no business in it being your headline.

When you are writing a headline make it roughly one to three sentences and include how you can benefit the employer. A headline is basically your value proposition so it is important that you do more than just stating the field you are in, but instead where you excel and how your skills can benefit a company.

Do not include everything

Employers do not want to scroll through a cluttered LinkedIn profile for 15 minutes. They do not need to see everything you have ever done over a long time span.

If you are looking for a job in a certain industry try to only list your experience that applies to that field. There is no need to write about a job you had eight years ago pouring coffee or flipping burgers, unless that is the type of job you are looking for. In addition to this, do not list a number of places that you worked at for only a few months.

Unless it was a contract job, these listings just make it look like you cannot hold a job for very long and you bounce around between companies which is not attractive to an employer. In terms of skills, it is also not necessary you include a list of 100 skills that you probably took off of Google. Have a nice mix of hard and soft skills that you actually have and be able to describe how you developed these skills if selected for an interview.

Turn off the “Viewers of this profile also viewed”

This is a setting that most LinkedIn users are not aware of, but can easily be turned off. A default setting on LinkedIn is a tab on your profile that shows other profiles that people also viewed. All this does is lead employers away from your profile and to your competition. The candidates that are shown in this tab can be distracting and take away the focus on your resume. To turn this feature off just go to privacy and settings and change the option to “No”.

Showcase pieces from your portfolio

LinkedIn has a great feature that allows you to attach documents to your profile. If you have successful pieces from previous positions it is beneficial to attach them. This will validate the skills and experiences you discuss in your resume and will allow employers to see previous work that you have done. This can include articles, presentations, photos of things you have designed or anything relevant to your field.

Ask for endorsements and testimonials

Endorsements and testimonials are a great way of having employers seeing that your experiences and skills are validated by past co-workers and employers. Instead of just saying that you have a strong work ethic, having people from your past and current positions endorsing that will prove to an employer that you actually have that skill. A testimonial is an asset to your LinkedIn profile because it is an opportunity for people to share your best traits and explain their relationship with you.

Professional profile photo

We are in a time of the selfie, but there are some places that they do not belong and one of those places is LinkedIn. Your photo is generally the first thing that people see so spend the time to take a professional picture. Make sure you are wearing professional attire and you are have an appropriate background. If you present yourself poorly in your LinkedIn profile photo it will give the impression that you will present yourself like that in the workplace.