How to create an ‘all-star’ LinkedIn profile

In today’s market LinkedIn is often one of the first forms of contact between a recruiter and a candidate. Whether you complete regular outreach or use your profile as a form of inbound lead generation it is important you optimise your presence to make the most of the world’s most popular professional network.

According to LinkedIn users with complete profiles are 40 more times likely to receive opportunities. In this blog we share with you how to create an ‘All-star’ profile along with some great profile optimisation tips. You can also download a .pdf version at: All-Star LinkedIn Download, perfect for sending to the team.

Industry and location

Make it easy for potential candidates to find you, set your industry as ‘Staffing and Recruiting’ and your location as the areas you operate in. Use your headline to go into detail about what you do. For example if you recruit digital marketers why not go with: ‘Digital marketing recruitment professional’.

Experience

A complete LinkedIn profile requires a current position and two past positions, with descriptions. Use the description area to clearly and concisely explain what you do and whom you work with. When a candidate lands on your profile it should be clear that you are the right person to help them secure their next career move.

Do your research and make use of target industry terms and phrases. Add rich media and links to convert profiles views into conversions (traffic to website, inbound message, phone call etc.).

If you have previously worked in your target industry reference how your practical experience helps you understand the sector. Use the description area to sell yourself as THE recruiter to contact.

Education / organistions / certifications

Use the education section to add further credibility to your profile. If you are a member of any professional organisations or hold any relevant certifications reference them in the corresponding sections. Organisations and certifications are not requirements of an ‘All-star’ profile but are worthwhile additions.

Skills

An ‘All-star’ profile requires a minimum of three listed skills. Use the skills section to illustrate how you help candidate, if you place within sales and marketing roles you could list:

• Marketing recruitment
• Sales recruitment
• Telesales recruitment

Think about what a candidate and / or company might search when looking for relevant recruiters, update your skills accordingly.

Profile picture

LinkedIn is a professional network; your photo should reflect this. Consider what impression a potential candidate could take from your picture. This doesn’t mean you can’t show some personality but do avoid party pictures and over the top filters.

Connections

A minimum of fifty connections are required to achieve an ‘All-Star’ LinkedIn profile. If you have just set up a profile connect with old colleagues, friends and family. Make use of the import contacts function, connect your email and invite to build up your network quickly.

Follow the above steps and you will have an ‘All-star’ profile ready to engage both active and passive candidates. If you are looking for LinkedIn integrated recruitment software book your personal HRS demo today or download a HRS brochure.