7 LinkedIn profile tips for creating a powerful Linkedin  promotion.

Tip No. 1 – Professional Profile Picture

When it comes to starting your LinkedIn profile is to make sure that you add a professional profile picture. One of the first places a potential connection will look when they reach your profile is your profile picture. Upload a professional photo where you are smiling, dressed appropriately and looking directly at the camera. Remember, that first impressions are everything. In fact, LinkedIn has reported that profiles with a photo have 21 times more profile views and nine times more connection requests.

Now to make sure you upload the perfect profile photo, take a look at a video that I created about the do’s and don’ts of a profile picture for LinkedIn.

Tip No. 2 – Powerful Headline

Step 2 to making sure that you get started in the right direction on LinkedIn is to customise your headline. A catchy, industry specific headline is a must. This is the second place a new connection will look when they view your profile. By default LinkedIn will place your most recent job title as your headline. So you want to make sure you click on the edit button and customise it using keywords that make it easier for others to find you. Incorporate your speciality and a avoid generic headlines.

Tip No. 3 – Well Written Summary

The next step to making sure your LinkedIn profile is in tip-top shape is to include a well-written summary. The summary section on LinkedIn is one of the most overlooked sections. This is where a potential connection will look to find out some of your greatest accomplishments. Your summary should address who you are, who you help and how you help them. To properly accomplish this, develop a sentence about what type of career interests you and what drives you most about your ideal career, then discuss the area of expertise. You will also want to mention any volunteer work that you’ve done and any awards that you’ve received. Now you could add a little bit of personality to this section by briefly mentioning your interests. Remember that headers sub headers and bullet points are a great way to effortlessly lead your reader through the content.

Now you have 2,000 characters available to create your summary. To make it easier for someone to reach you, include your email address at the very end.I have a couple bonus tips for you before we leave. The first bonus tip is to actually customise your background photo.So you’ll notice my photo will actually be located in my main or what LinkedIn calls your introduction section. You can go ahead and click on the pencil icon.It even gives you a recommended size for your photo. You don’t want to get too fancy here, just keep it simple. If you want to add a title of some sort, you can. And then the last bonus tip is to customise your LinkedIn URL.This is found in the “edit public profile and URL” section. Okay guys, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial of the 7 top things to help you get started on LinkedIn.

Tip No. 4 – Add Work Experience

Step number four is to add your work experience. Your work experience will tell a more complete story about who you are and who you help. You’ll find your work experience section below your main profile section. Go ahead and click on the plus sign. Start with a descriptive title and then enter the company name. If the company name is available, you’ll actually be able to select it from the drop down menu. Selecting the company will automatically link you to their page.

When writing your job descriptions, make sure that you identify your key accomplishments and your achievements in just a few sentences. You want to strategically place keywords and quantify your accomplishments as best you can using percentages, numbers and dollar amounts and always make sure that this section is written in first person. You’ll want your work experience section to mirror the work experience section on your resume. However you don’t want to make it look like you copied and pasted from your resume.

Tip No. 5 – Add Education

With your work experience section completed, you are now ready to add your education. You’ll find the education up in the introduction section of your LinkedIn profile. You’ll go ahead and just click on the little pencil icon and then find the spot where it lists your education.

Remember your education section tells a lot about you. It’s the perfect way to connect with your old classmates or even alumni. You want to start by adding your school and the degree or degrees that you’ve received and if you have a specific major or an emphasis you can always add that to the field of study area. You’ll also have the opportunity to add your grade point average. If you’re a student or a recent graduate you can use this section for your GPA, otherwise leave it blank. When it comes to your dates attended, enter the time period you started to the time period you graduated or expect to graduate. You can also add activities and societies such as sororities or fraternities or even extracurricular activities or clubs that you belonged to. Use the description section to add awards and honours or even committees that you served on. Now here’s a good rule of thumb when it comes to your education section, if you are more than five years out of high school and have an undergraduate degree you don’t need to list your high school. Also use the media section to showcase any special presentations or reports that you’ve completed.

Tip No. 6 – Emphasise Your Volunteer Experience

Now the next step, step number six is to emphasise your volunteer experience. The volunteer section is the perfect place to highlight your passions and demonstrate how you like to give back. You’ll find this section at the very bottom after your work experience and your education. Go ahead and click on the plus sign to the organisation, the role and even the cause.

Keep in mind, as you’re filling out your volunteer experience section, that research has shown 41% of companies find volunteer work just as vital as paid work. So if you have little or even no work experience, you really want to spend time in your volunteer section.

Tip No. 7 – Add Keyword Specific Skills

Then finally step number seven is to add key word specific skills. This section is found right below the volunteer experience and in what they call the “Featured Skills and Endorsements” area. You’ll go ahead and click on “add a new skill” or if you’ve already started your profile and you have some skills listed you can go ahead and click on the pencil icon to edit those skills. This section is a great way to showcase your talents, abilities and your strengths as a professional.