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LinkedIn is not just a business-oriented social networking portal; it is the lifeline for most job seekers. But why is it that despite the vast reach and abundant presence of recruiters, there are professionals who still haven’t managed to land a job through the medium? It is probably the way they operate their accounts and the inadequacies in their professional profiles that gets them written off. If you are a LinkedIn user who wishes to optimize his/her profile to land a job, here’s a list of dos and don’ts that you need to follow…

Do’s:

• Put up a professional profile picture 

As per the Jobvite 2014 Job Seeker Nation Study, 94% of employers are active on LinkedIn. It’s not enough to simply create a LinkedIn account and sit down. You must use it extensively. Start exploring the arena by clicking around your professional social network. Once you begin doing so you will notice there are several LinkedIn members who belong to your fraternity and can be contacted. They may even get to know that you visited their profile. Not having a profile photo can hamper your chances of being hired. You may leave the potential employer guessing who you are. So let people see you and co-relate it to your personal brand. Make sure the picture you select is recent and professional. It is good to show personality, but don’t go overboard on the oomph factor.

• List more than facts and figures

In many cases, a Google search has the power to inform a potential recruiter where you have worked before, for how long you worked there, and what you did during your stint. But you must not rely solely on Google. Make good use of LinkedIn to tell the story Google doesn’t. This is your chance to explain your responsibilities, contextualize your skills, and highlight the projects you have worked on.

• Break away from the boring style of resume

Bored businessman photo from Shutterstock

LinkedIn is your opportunity to differently offer information to potential employers. It would be refreshing for recruiters to spot official profiles that don’t just copy and paste full sections from their CVs. While the traditional resume only runs into two pages, LinkedIn allows you to not only break away from usual résumé constraint but to also to go into detail about your skills and accomplishments. You can even upload visual work samples and update your profile to demonstrate in real-time what you are currently working on.

Don’ts

• Don’t mess up your professional headline like this guy:

Very BAD Example ^

Make sure you don’t let go of the opportunity to optimize that 120 character-space provided at the top of your profile.  This space will help you grab the attention of visitors and inform them of what you know and what makes you special in the professional domain. Don’t just say that you’re a teacher, consultant, therapist, or writer. Be more specific and tell what you specialize in and how that adds value to your employer's company. For instance, instead of "developer," you could say "mobile games developer;" instead of "marketer," you could highlight on your specialization and say "social media marketing strategist."

• Don’t forgo the summary section

Good Example ^

The summary section on LinkedIn is meant to bridge the gap between the professional headline and experience and skills you talk about in the later sections. You should think outside the box to give an overview of what you do and who you are. Make sure you don’t use the same repetitive clichés like ‘I’m a team player’. It has to be inspiring enough to make people contact you. The reader should want to scroll down to know more. Once you are successful in doing so, you have as many as 2,000 characters to blow your own trumpet. 

There are times when people connect with those they have met at least once or have common friends with. Even though it is ok to have numerous LinkedIn connections, you must make sure that the people you connect with are at least acquaintances. Don’t attempt to connect with professionals you neither know nor have common ground with. LinkedIn’s purpose is to help you build connections with people you have something common with, be it a profession, an industry, college, etc.  

• Stop recommending anyone and everyone

It would be foolish to go on an endorsement spree. The world knows it is easy for you to freely endorse connections for particular skills possessed by professionals. Reserve these recommendations and endorsements for people you’re familiar with. You don’t want to show potential employers what you’ve been up to. After all, your generosity with endorsements won’t decide whether you get the job or not. So if the need arises, manage your settings to hide endorsements. 

Research shows one in three employers may reject you due to an ineffective social media profile. So start updating your LinkedIn account and boost your presence in the digital arena. Join groups, follow influencers, become an influencer, show off those honors and awards as LinkedIn is the key to simplifying and expediting your job search.

But before you rush to switch tabs and sign in to your LinkedIn account, take a look at these business leaders who have managed to create impressive and compelling LinkedIn profiles –

• Rami Kantari (Partner and Senior Professional Training Consultant, Speaker, Trainer with Meirc Dubai)

Profile: ae.linkedin.com/in/ramikantari

A premium account holder, Rami Kantari’s LinkedIn profile is worth a visit. His picture is a professional headshot and headline descriptive. In a bid to keep himself informed and updated, he is following over 140 Influencers who are in turn helping him learn about industry trends, conduct and innovations through their published posts. Kantari himself is an Influencer and has talked about major account selling skills. His executive summary not only mentions his specialties but also shares presentations on executive training and leadership training. The experience section of the profile shows the NLP certification, while his causes include education. The page is full of skill endorsements as people obviously believe in the abilities of Rami Kantari, who has also recommended people he has worked with. Needless to say, this business head’s profile is full of groups, professional interests, awards and news feeds!  

• Paris Norriss (Entrepreneur, CEO of Rise, Professional Trainer and Coach)

Profile: ae.linkedin.com/in/parisnorriss

With more than 500 connections, this young turf is inspiration to many. He has set up businesses and is part of the younger generation of CEOs. Though his profile does not mention his previous stints, it is the publications and visual demonstration of his accomplishments through clips of interviews and radio shows that are sure to impress you.Norriss throws light on certifications and does not shy away from sharing with us his university dissertation. He obviously has several endorsements and follows news and 20+ Influencers. Norriss shows how you can utilize LinkedIn for professional growth, even without being a Premium member.

Note that the URLs of their profiles have been personalized. You too can customize it. Hope these profiles inspire you enough to make improvements to your existing LinkedIn account. 

Written by Devika Arora. You connect with her here .

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