How to Translate Your Résumé Into a Great LinkedIn Profile

Photo: Christina Jones Photography

LinkedIn is an amazing tool to keep up with your network, highlight your accomplishments, and search for the job of your dreams, but figuring out how to optimize the platform can be tricky. If you’re struggling with how to create a great LinkedIn profile, keep in mind that your LinkedIn profile should look a lot like your résumé.

Think about your LinkedIn profile as if it is your résumé, but with a little more personality and flair. LinkedIn should always remain professional; however, it allows you to give a little more insight as to who you are as a person. Here’s how to translate your résumé into a great LinkedIn profile:

Make your headline align with the headline of your résumé.

By default, LinkedIn will make your headline whatever your current job title is, but your headline can be a lot more interesting than that! You can manually go in and change your LinkedIn headline.

By updating your headline, you’ll gain two major benefits:

1) Your headline will be more interesting and will be more likely to grab someone’s attention.

2) Integrating keywords into your headline makes you more searchable and will increase your chances of coming up on related keyword searches. (There are recruiters who spend the entirety of their days scouring LinkedIn for potential candidates.) You want your headline to grab someone’s attention and use keywords and phrases so that you come up on keyword searches.

Here’s a great example of a headlining statement:

“Accomplished IT professional offering 20+ years of progressive leadership in technical assistance and expertise in client-facing communication”

This statement uses key phrases such as “leadership,” “technical assistance,” and “client-facing communication” while highlighting this person’s extensive experience (20+ years). The statement is much more effective than simply using the job title “IT Help Desk Manager”.

Add skills to help attract recruiters.

This is an easy way to optimize your profile and improve your search engine optimization (SEO). Add skills to the skills section of your résumé. Figure out what kind of jobs you want to attract and include related search terms.

An easy way to figure out what terms to include on your profile is to look at a job description posted on LinkedIn. Often LinkedIn will show you the keywords that they are looking for and will tell you what terms you have and have not included throughout your profile.

Use these as a guide to figure out what skills to add in the skills section. This will vastly improve your LinkedIn visibility and will help you attract attention from recruiters and hiring managers.

Make sure that your job history and job descriptions align with your résumé.

When you’re working on your LinkedIn profile, it is essential to make sure that your profile aligns with your résumé and shows the same career path. It can differ slightly since it is important to cater to your résumé to each specific job; however, someone should be able to look at your résumé and see essentially the same career trajectory on your LinkedIn profile. Consistency across channels is key, and inconsistency can cause skepticism from recruiters or potential employers.

Creating a cohesive personal brand is extremely important for developing your career, and using consistent branding across channels helps build your credibility. Think about it this way: If you search for a person or business and see multiple platforms and channels come up with the same information and visuals, you can assume that this person has put in the time to create a consistent branding strategy. If you see different visuals, as well as inconsistent verbiage and job history across platforms, it’s harder to believe that the person is professional and trustworthy.

It’s important to present uniform content across LinkedIn and your résumé. The more channels and social platforms you utilize, the more reputable and trustworthy your brand becomes. If someone is unable to find a source of your work, including examples, contact information, and recognition, they’re unlikely to trust you as a professional. If you can’t establish trust among recruiters and/or hiring managers, you won’t be able to land a job.

Ask for a recommendation.

Referrals, recommendations, and testimonials are a huge part of building online trust and maximizing your online footprint. When a trusted friend tells you about a business, you transfer that trust to the company. Similarly, when a trusted industry professional recommends a person, you transfer that trust onto the person to whom they are referring. LinkedIn recommendations are a great way to highlight your expertise and leverage your connections.

If you’re stumped on how to reach out to someone about writing you a LinkedIn recommendation, try phrasing it like this:

“Hi X,

I hope this note finds you well. I’m working on building my online footprint and I’m wondering if you would be willing to share some feedback on your experience working with me? If so, I’d really appreciate it if you could write me a short LinkedIn recommendation.

Thanks, and please let me know if there’s anything I can do to return the favor.

Best,

[Your Name]”

Update your photos.

Having a great LinkedIn profile photo is essential—members who include a profile photo receive 21x more profile views and up to 36x more messages. However, many people don’t realize that including a background photo is an important element of a great LinkedIn profile as well. One of the amazing qualities about LinkedIn is that it lets you put a face to a name, which subconsciously establishes an emotional connection. You’re much more likely to remember someone who you’ve seen a picture of then simply remembering their name out of a stack of résumés. Including a background photo provides further insight as to who you are and what your personality is like. This helps strengthen that connection with the reader.

Your cover photo or background photo gives you the opportunity to highlight your personality and/or your field of work. If you’re feeling stuck on what kind of photo to use, try going with one of these two options: Pick a photo related to your career (my background photo is a photo I took of a keyboard). If you want to show more personality, pick a photo that you connect with. If you like hiking or camping in a certain place, pick a landscape image of that area. If you’re from a specific city that adds to your identity, pick a cityscape. If you do pick a photo without an obvious correlation, be sure to reference it somewhere in your summary.

For example, if you picked a landscape of a hiking location you love, you could say something along the lines of “when I’m not working, you’ll often find me outside either hiking or camping…”

Change your LinkedIn profile URL.

This is one of the easiest ways to make your LinkedIn profile look more professional. When you create a LinkedIn profile, by default your profile URL will be something along the lines of https://linkedin.com/in/firstname-lastname-99765bxkjhjhy with that ugly long string of random letters and numbers at the end of the link. You can change that!

You can actually change your LinkedIn profile URL to almost anything after the linkedin.com/in/ however I recommend sticking with something along the lines of your first name and last name. If your first and last names are taken, try adding a simple number (i.e. birth year, graduation year, etc.), middle initial, or something else fairly neutral. I’ve seen people use city or state initials, which work as well.

The goal is to make your LinkedIn profile URL more simple, clean, and easy to remember. Here’s a step by step guide on how to change your LinkedIn profile URL.

A great LinkedIn profile is an essential element of your personal brand and is a very important tool to utilize when looking for a job. Updating your profile can take time; however, doing so will help you increase your visibility on the platform.

About the Author: A native San Franciscan, Michele Lando is a certified professional résumé writer and founder of writestylesonline.com. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves, both on paper and in person, and works to polish an individual’s application package and personal style. Aiming to help create a perfect personal branding package, Write Styles presents tips to enhance your résumé, style, and boost your confidence.

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This story was originally published on August 30, 2019, and has since been updated.

5 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Career This Leap Day

This post is in paid partnership with LinkedIn.

Photo: Smith House Photo

Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.

It might be an old cliche but we can honestly say that after the thousands of interviews we’ve conducted on stage or online at Create & Cultivate, this one actually rings true. Camila Coelho affirmed it during her recent keynote conversation; “You are going to be stressed but if you love what you do, you will be thankful every day that you are doing it.”  

When you consider the average person spends 8.8 hours per day at work—that’s a little more than 9,000 hours per year or one-third of your life—it becomes pretty clear that you should choose a job that you really love. If you’re reading this nodding your head in agreement, then it might be time to kickstart yours – whether that’s brainstorming ideas for your side hustle or improving your skills to get that promotion, there are so many ways to further your professional journey and take it to the next level.

And with Leap Day this Saturday, February 29, you now have a full day to put that plan into action. But the question is, what would you do to boost your career if you had an extra 24 hours? Now’s your chance to write down your goals and make it happen.

Not sure where to begin? Don’t stress. We partnered with our friends at LinkedIn to help you get started. They have millions of jobs and the community to help find the one meant for you. No matter what stage you’re at in your job journey from just starting out to pivoting onto a different path or leaving a job, LinkedIn is here to support you every step of the way. From updating your LinkedIn Profile to connecting with people in your field and listening to career-focused podcasts, ahead we share some simple ways you can boost your career in 24 hours. Let’s go!

Freshen up your LinkedIn profile

In many cases, your LinkedIn profile serves as your first impression with hiring managers and recruiters, so it’s a good idea to make sure it’s up to date and best represents you as a professional. According to LinkedIn, 65% of people believe that the impression you make online is just as important as the one you make in person. This first impression can be key to landing your next opportunity.

1. Add a Profile Photo

According to LinkedIn, people who have a profile photo get up to 21 times more profile views. Your profile photo should be both professional, but also approachable, so people can get a true sense of your personality. Pro tip: Use a simple background and try to make sure your face fills up 60% of the frame, so the focus is all on you.

2. Location

LinkedIn found that members who have locations listed on their profiles receive up to 19 times more profile views and are up to 23 times more likely to be discovered in searches. Adding your location makes it even easier for you to be connected to your next opportunity.

3. Summary

This is your career snapshot. Think of it as your personal “elevator pitch.” List your skills and highlight your strengths. Pro tips: try to sum up your experience in about 40 words and include keywords that you’ve seen featured in descriptions for jobs you’re interested in. Lose the jargon. And be your authentic self.

4. Experience

Start with your current position. According to LinkedIn, professionals who have their current positions listed on their profiles are discovered up to 60 times more in searches. You can also write about projects, accomplishments, and the value you bring to your team and organization. Keep it clear and concise. Bullet points work great here.

5. Pictures and Videos

Showing your accomplishments is a great way to share more about yourself. LinkedIn is introducing Featured, a new section on your profile where you can showcase posts or articles you’ve published on LinkedIn, as well as media like images, links, and documents. Highlighting your work helps you demonstrate your expertise to your network, grow your audience and build your brand. 

6. Education

Be sure to include where you went to school and what you studied. According to LinkedIn, adding your education leads up to 17X more messages from recruiters. 

For more information, visit Rock Your Profile and discover how to create a LinkedIn profile that brings your personal career story to life, whether you’re just starting out, seeking to advance, or making a career change. Instructor Lauren Jolda, head of the "Rock Your Profile" team at LinkedIn, offers tips on tailoring each section, starting with the key insight that a LinkedIn profile is unique and shouldn’t be approached exactly like a resume.

Tap into your network

Today, networking is an essential part of the job search. Even if you’re not hunting down a new job, having connections in your field is incredibly valuable. Through your LinkedIn network, you can get introduced to someone you might like to connect with which increases your chances of getting hired by nine times. When it comes to networking, make it easy on yourself. Make sure you've added the people who you interact with in your everyday life. You never know if a friend is connected to someone who works at your dream company.

Take an online course

Whether you’ve been eyeing that corner office and want to step up into a managerial role, or you’re launching a side hustle and need to know the basics of SEO, there are so many online courses now that can help you get there. Even if you’re happy in your role, you should always be open to learning and improving so your skills don’t stagnate. Then you’ll be ready for that promotion or job change when the opportunity strikes. The beauty of online is that you have an entire catalog of courses at your fingertips. Most of us are too time-strapped to attend a physical college, but online courses bring the education to you.

LinkedIn Learning is a great place to start and can help you bridge the gap between the career you want and the skills you need. Their personalized learning experiences and courses are taught by real-world professionals and there is a massive library of more than 15,000 topics for you to choose from that span every level, industry, and profession including creative, business, and technology courses. Access free LinkedIn Learning course, like this one titled “Making Recruiters Come to You” with tips and tricks to attract recruiters, such as how to make yourself more easily discoverable and connect with recruiters. 

Listen to career podcasts

No one can deny the rise in podcast popularity and it’s easy to see why. These digestive sound bites can open up a world of possibilities, deliver endless inspiration, and motivate us to take those crucial next steps in our careers. The best part is you can tune in and learn while you’re commuting to work, taking your lunch break, or walking the dog. So why not use your 24 hours to tune into the new LinkedIn podcast Hello Monday with Jessi Hempel where she explores the changing nature of work, and how that work is changing us. What does work mean to us? Should we love what we do? How can we switch it up? Her guests, including Anna Faris, Seth Meyers, and Elizabeth Gilbert, share the many lessons they learned on their own career journey that apply to your own, too. A few others we recommend are WorkParty, GoldDigger, Second Life, WSJ Secrets of Wealthy Women, Glossy, Boss Files, NPR’s How I Built This, and The Influencer Podcast.

Reorganize your workspace

It might not seem like organizing your desk can boost your career, but here are some compelling stats that might change your mind. Firstly, clutter is surprisingly hard on our brains. Your brain is constantly processing visual information, and this study found that too much clutter can make it hard for it to be efficient. So reducing unnecessary stimuli aka clutter can reduce stress and help you to stay focused on your goals. 

Secondly, an unorganized space can decrease your sense of self-worth and make you feel depressed. A 2010 study from the University of California revealed that women who described their homes as being cluttered or filled with unfinished projects were more likely to be depressed and fatigued than women who characterized their living spaces as being restful and restorative. They also found that women who lived in cluttered environments had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Plus, decluttering and organizing actually releases those feel-good chemicals called endorphins. So we really can see no reason not to clean up your desk. It’ll reduce stress, help you hit your goals, and put you in a better mood. 

Here are some ways to shape-up your workspace:

—Put time on your calendar. If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. Go through your desk drawers and throw away what you no longer need and file what you do.

—Buy chic trays and filing systems to organize your paperwork, pens, and notebooks.

—Clean out your email inbox. 

—Add a vase with fresh clippings and flowers or a low-maintenance succulent (science says it’ll make you happier and more productive).

So make this year’s Leap Day count and choose one or more of these activities to boost your career.