Establishing your professional brand on LinkedIn is a must. The reason behind it is quite simple. And, the perfect way to do so is to create an authentic LinkedIn profile for yourself. LinkedIn is used by professionals in more than 200 countries with nearly 600 million users to grow their careers, network, and connect with professionals in the same field.
Here are some crucial parameters that must be followed to build your digital CV on LinkedIn.
How to Use Your LinkedIn Profile as a Resume?
LinkedIn is not a one-time life service that you set it once and it keeps running. You need to update it at regular intervals where you switch careers, learn some new skills, or even take a course to upgrade yourself. Below are some key points that describe how to use your LinkedIn profile as a resume.
Use a professional profile picture for LinkedIn
We are humans. So we must put our professional profile picture as we would see ourselves. Make sure the picture you are using as the picture looks recent. Having a photo on your profile means half of your work is done. It is the primary thing that makes your resume presentable. Consider certain points while uploading your photo on LinkedIn;
· Your face must be clearly visible.
· No hats and sunglasses should be worn
· Keep a smile on your face
· There should be proper lighting where the picture had been taken.
· Dress professionally
· Add a 400*400 pixels photo and under 10 MB
Add a background photo
This is yet another element that grabs people's attention and adds an extra element to your profile. It engages attention and helps your profile stand out from others. Keep in mind the dimension should be 1884*396. Use an image considering your profession.
Make your Headline Engaging
Your headline should speak about you. That does not mean that the headline has to be your job title. Usage of adjectives is essential while writing headlines for your LinkedIn profile. Without the adjectives, headlines are meaningless.
Turn Summary into a Story
This is the most important part while you are developing your digital presence on LinkedIn. It reflects your entire profile in a short space. This is a platform to tell your story to your professional network. Make it crisp and engaging. If your summary engages the readers or the recruiters then there is a good chance for your resume to be shortlisted. Invest some time and write out a few drafts. You can even use some key adjectives like experienced, passionate, innovative, or certified that suit your profile. It is a perfect place where you can literally "SELL" yourself to the corporate world. Highlight your accomplishments and consider it as your Cover Letter and build your digital CV on LinkedIn.
Optimize your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn serves a two-way process. It serves as a search engine a professional social media networking platform. Determine the keywords that you are using for your headline and summary. The right words can surely make the difference to make your profile grow.
How to Become a LinkedIn Power User?
Becoming a LinkedIn Power User helps you in growing your career. LinkedIn is the social media platform for career building and professional networking with persons in a similar role as yours. It is somewhat similar to that of Facebook. Facebook is more concerned regarding your personal space whereas LinkedIn aims to build your professional endeavors. Let’s explore some key pointers that will help to how to build your digital CV on LinkedIn.
Build Your LinkedIn Networking
With LinkedIn, you can build your LinkedIn networking, to a larger extent. It is easy yet organized way of growing your professional network. It is recommended to connect with potential persons sharing the same or relevant skills like yours. Another great way to grow your network is to write articles for LinkedIn concerning your profession. You can also post valuable comments on other people's blogs.
List your Skills
Every LinkedIn profile allows listing of skills to a maximum number of 50. Try to align the skills with those that the potential employers are looking for to garner your chances of getting hired. Skills provide a platform for others to endorse you. After the headline and the summary, the next big thing that employers look for is the skill set of potential candidates.
Give endorsements
Endorsements increase the credibility of the profile on LinkedIn. Feel free to reach out your LinkedIn connections and ask for endorsements just like recommendations. So, once people give you endorsements for your skills, it is better to return the favor. Endorsements take your profile a bit further.
Ask for Recommendations
Don't just wait for recommendations to come your way. These are basically testimonials that we have in our resumes. If you know someone or have worked with that person personally or beneath, whether in your organization or client-side, proactively ask for recommendations. You can start with your colleagues with whom you have worked or even working. Drop them a personal note, requesting for a recommendation on LinkedIn, and build your digital CV on LinkedIn.
Take Skill Tests
It is an online test that determines and demonstrates the level of your skills and displays a Verified Skills Badge on your profile. Statistics suggest that candidates with Verified Skills Badge are 30% more likely to be hired than candidates who don't have badges.
Final Lines
Building your digital CV on LinkedIn is not that easy. You need to minutely craft through each phase as you would have done on your Printed resume. LinkedIn having an online presence gets a faster approach as compared to the later ones.
