2 - Write the LinkedIn Profile

Authors: Riccardo Sarpietro, Stefano Ivancich

Thi section is a step-by-step guide on how to write a successful LinkedIn profile.

Once you have written your LinkedInn profile, don’t hesitate to post it on our Discord Server (channel #cv-review) to get suggestions and advices on how to improve it.

Why it is important to have a LinkedIn profile:

• other people can find you. For instance, if you won some competitions people should be able to find you.
• You appear on Recruiters search results
• It’s good for networking
• When you get contacted on LinkedIn your negotiation power is much higher than when you contact recruiters.

The following is a guide on how to increase your reach on the LinkedIn algorithm and your credibility to a HR (without lying).

Goal to have: at least 500 search appearances per week. But do not spend too much time on this, try to have a presentable profile.

To select keywords, ask yourself:

• Which are your abilities?
• What’s your work experience?
• What job titles best describe the job you are looking for?
• What makes you different from the competition?
• What makes you better than the competition?
• What are your greatest accomplishments?
• In which city would you like to work?
• Does your next job require the ability to use a specific software?
• Which keywords recruiters look for.
• Jobs requirements, what’s written in the job posts

Keywords can be used in any part of LinkedIn, you can use keywords in:

• profile headline
• present work experience
• past work experience
• overview
• specialties
• file name of the pictures (profile picture and background)
• last name area
• specialist headline
• profile outline

There are some tricks to boost your LinkedIn profile:

• Customizing the URL in the home page to reflect your title and make sure you allow your entire profile to be seen by general users.
• Headline: use the job title you want to apply for even if you are currently unemployed because recruiters search for keywords.
  • Example “Name Surname Marketing Expert”
• Location: must be the same location of the position you are applying for.
• Downloadable CV (a downloadable pdf)
• Certifications
• Photos at work (accomplishments…)
• Open to work setting

Your profile picture should NOT be: a selfie, logo of the company, dark pictures, too sexy, too distant, sunglasses, vacation, not in a car. Pictures taken by a professional get 14 times more Perspectives. Make sure that your picture should be at least 200x200 pixels.

And of course, smile :) .

File Names: name, last name, highest education level (e.g., MSc), location where you would like to work, your top five skills, job you are looking for.

• Example: name_surname_MSc_Berlin_Python_Java_Software_Engineer.png

Background picture: should be something professional, nothing fancy or colorful. It should reflect what you do, you can apply some keywords or short phrases about your job to help recruiters easily understand what you do.

Description should contain the following paragraphs:

• Who you are, What you did, Where, When: I’m an enthusiastic Computer Engineering student at University of Padua.
• Work experience summary: I’ve always been extremely passionate about everything related to New Technologies and Entrepreneurship, which is how I discovered the world of Start-ups, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
• Personality and soft skills: I believe in continuous growth and improvement, both in personal and professional life. This approach has encouraged me to be proactive and work on innovative projects.
• Free time and side projects: Spending my free time in the development of Machine Learning projects, Android apps, Back-end infrastructures, attending a C2 level English course weekly and studying business skills. I have great enthusiasm and desire to make new experiences, get involved in something, test my limits, move out of the usual context, and constantly pursue my way with determination.
• Hard skills: python, java, … skills that are job requirements.
• Soft Skills: Creativity, empathy, … the one that are most searched on LinkedIn
• Email: to make sure that the recruiters have your contact

The skills are used as keywords that recruiters use to find you. Skills like team-working or Microsoft office will not give you any advantages. Put the skills that you want to be found for.

Search for a job description of a job you would like to do. Check the requirements and skills requested for that specific position and make sure they match with your skills.

The top three can be flagged on your profile, make sure you select them wisely, aligned to the job you would like to do.

Link them with a job or education.

Do the LinkedIn skill assessments to get them approved. This will boost the profile credibility and LinkedIn will give you a badge related to the skill that will be recognized by recruiters.

Endorsements = credibility. “99+” is the highest number of Endorsements you can reach for a Skill. The greater the number of endorsements you have for a particular Skill, the greater your credibility for that Skill.

Add the same information that is present in your CV, the same bullet points are fine.

Although you must include traditional education paths and academic achievements, you can include any other program or path that was not necessarily achieved by college or university, like a corporate training seminar or a certificate earned through an institution. Include certifications obtained online.

If possible add images, documents, sites or presentations under your education/experience to prove your skills.

Add your projects, like in the CV, with links to a GitHub repo, slideshow, or publication DOI or direct link to the paper or preprint (e.g., arXiv)

Skills make your profile more easily found, Recommendations increase your credibility. Hiring managers and recruiters often read the Recommendations when they are reviewing a Profile, so try to have at least one Recommendation per job. Get recommendations from your coworkers, former employers, clients, and professional contacts. Being generous on LinkedIn is fundamental. So, if you want to be recommended, start recommending others first.

Useful tools to write recommendations:

• LinkedIn Recommendation Generator
• ChatGPT

Like in most social networks, on LinkedIn 80% of the content is provided by 20% of the users. Becoming an active LinkedIn member can boost visibility a lot.

Social Selling Index (SSI) measures how effective you are at establishing your professional brand, finding the right people.

Tips:

• Accept any connection (if they harass you, remove the connection). LinkedIn’s algorithm is more generous with active profiles with more connections and will boost your visibility.
• Join groups: specialists, university alumni, business, and company groups.
• Ask and answer questions on other people’s posts. Aim for authenticity instead of self-promotion.
• Do NOT write negative comments, instead write constructive feedback.
• Keep an eye on the LinkedIn finds that come into your inbox. Observe who is linking to whom and what your friends, colleagues, and former supervisors do.
• Share concise, consistent updates with your network related to your interests or expertise.