LinkedIn can really be a mystery sometimes – especially for young professionals. Some people use it and love it while many others create a profile simply because they were told it was important (which isn’t a bad reason either!).
Whatever your stance is on LinkedIn, we are here to share the 5 must-haves you should focus on within your profile to represent yourself well throughout your early-professional career and beyond.
1. Headshot
Make sure your headshot is current and professional. No photos of you from middle school or you with your furry friend. Simply find a plain background, wear something you could wear into an office, and have a friend snap a photo. We all have pretty great smartphones these days that can do the job! Want extra brownie points? Add a cover photo to help add a bit of personality to your profile.
2. Headline
The Headline is one of the most important parts of your LinkedIn profile. While many college students simply describe themselves as a student within the Headline Section, this is the information that will convince someone to click on your profile and you want it to stand out. Your Headline should be thought-provoking and quickly share more about who you are beyond being a student. Sharing things like your passions, what kind of career you are looking to have in the future, or the impact you want to make with the people and places around you are all things that can help you build a thought-provoking headline.
3. About You
The About Section is the opportunity to share your professional experiences and skills. Like a social media post or news article, the first few sentences matter so be conscious and quickly share the main details about yourself. Including details about yourself that align with the Orr Fellowship mission and core pillars, can be just another way to demonstrate you could be a great fit as a Fellow. And lastly, always include a call to action at the end clarifying what you want people to do after viewing your profile.
4. Experiences
Like the About Section, the Experience Section is a place to continue to tell your story. The Experience Section shouldn’t be a cut and paste from your resume but rather a place to highlight the skills you learned throughout your experience to get you to where you are now. Emphasizing both what you learned and enjoyed throughout these experiences can bring light to details on your resume and provide a great conversation starter for those who may interview you.
5. Recommendations
While the Recommendation Section is at the end of your profile, don’t disregard this section! A recommendation is an incredible way to demonstrate the value you bring to a work environment. At Orr Fellowship, one of our main goals as Fellows is to do good work for our partner companies and this is a great place within your profile for that to be shown.
You made it to the end, congrats! Here are a few other items to consider as you modify your LinkedIn profile –
- Always, always, always proofread your LinkedIn profile. It may not seem like a big deal, but more people may look at your LinkedIn profile than have access to your resume. Simply asking a friend to review it can be a smart move to save you from that typo you missed!
- Understand your audience and always have them in mind to help tailor your LinkedIn profile.
- Space is your friend. Whether that is placing spaces between sentences or paragraphs, breaking up items will make it easier for people to review the information you want to communicate about yourself.
Now it is time to make those LinkedIn profile changes.
Good luck!
Written by Orr Fellow – Miranda Cocca
Miranda is a 2nd year Orr Fellow working at Genesys where she is completing a rotational program that introduces her to four different departments across the company. When she is not working hard, you can find Miranda getting involved and leading other initiatives for Orr Fellowship.
