Is it Important to Have a LinkedIn Profile?
Is it Important to Have a LinkedIn Profile?
It’s 2023 and we can confirm that YES, a LinkedIn profile is a must if you are Looking For a Job; Hiring; Passively Looking for Opportunities; Staying up to date with new trends, or want to Learn and Develop; Growing your Professional Network; Starting a Bussiness or Maintaining an existing Bussiness.
How Imporant is it to Have a LinkedIn Profile?
Your LinkedIn profile is your professional work Landing Page.
LinkedIn has over 600 million users located all over the world.
The LinkedIn profile enables you to showcase your skills, past and current experiences, expertise, and projects, build connections with other mates from your industry or any other industry, research companies or people and message them to offer services, ask questions, ask for guidance, find and apply to jobs, hire and build a professional brand.
Having a LinkedIn profile confirms your Work and Professional Identity.
In order for your name to be found and stand out from the crowd you truly need to have a LinkedIn Profile.
Today, no matter where you are or what you do- your name will be searched on LinkedIn and people are more comfortable in working or doing business with you after seeing your profile.
Example of a Great LinkedIn Profile.
- Have a Professional Headshot or a good-quality photo on a simple one-color background with no distractions. No one will want to see your friends or how you drink coffee or a beer in a restaurant. We want to see the professional YOU.
Your Cover photo can be simple or in color, relating to what you do or your industry, anything but should not be blank. - Clear Short Profile Headline
It’s not about having a fun catchy line, the trick is to clearly convey the message in one sentence for what you do and how you help/expertise, the industry you are in, or what you are looking for.
Here is an example you can use and get guidance from:
Your Role | Your Industry/Area of Expertise | How you can help/Value/Looking For. - Your About Section is to tell people what you can do or have done; how you do it; and what are your skills related to what you do and can do for someone.
If you can define what you do and offer in 5 sentences then everyone will read that.
It is NOT about how many dogs you have and if you like hiking. Your personal business and hobbies should not be in your professional description and Resume. - Custom Button Section
If you are Looking for a Job then add the Button ‘’Open To’’ Looking For a Job
If you are Hiring then add the Button ‘’Open To’’ Hiring
If you provide services then add the Button ‘’Open To’’ Looking to provide Services
Make sure that the Button ‘’Connect’’ or ‘’Message’’ is visible on your profile
If you have a Website then you can add it in your Contact Details. - List your Experience, and make sure to enter the start date and end date if not a current/present position. State your Title and choose the Company from the List. Under each Experience you list, enter the particular Skills (tags) you had for that position or have gained; the Systems/Software; and the techniques.
Adding all of the Skills will enable your profile to appear in the searches whenever someone looks for that skill/keyword. - List the highest Education you have.
- In the settings add your Location (State and Country), not a full address.
This will help everyone who is searching and connecting to know exactly what or where you do business or offer services. - Activity Section is your Posts or reposted Posts. This is important since this is how people will know what you are interested in, what you offer, and confirmation of your skills.
For example: If you are a Freelancer, Virtual Assistant, Expert, Coach, Teacher, etc.. then add a post with a link to your Portfolio; Work; Collaboration; or write a Quote. - In the Skills Section add all of your Skills and they can be endorsed by your Colleagues; Managers; peers etc… Confirming and giving your profile more credibility.
- Give Recommendations and Ask for them.
Recommendations will be shown at the bottom of your LinkedIn Profile and they give you a high credibility that your Work experience and work traits are true.
How to get recommendations and endorsements?
Write a recommendation or endorse someone’s skills and that is how you are going to get your Recommendation or Endorsement in return. There is also an option in the Recommendation Section where you can invite someone to write you a recommendation.
Define what you do and what you want to gain from having your LinkedIn Profile.
Let’s say you are looking for a Freelance or Virtual Assistant Job.
It’s important to define and list your skills and define how you can work and help Businesses or individuals.
Be clear, and short, and provide details.
Your profile should have all the keywords necessary for your profile to be found, in this case, here are keywords examples:
Freelancer/ Virtual Assistant; Open to Work, Skills: Web Designer/Admin Assistant/Developer/Writer (whatever your skills are); Expertise (systems/software) (use all the keywords that are related to your industry/work.
Provide Links or attachments to your work, Portfolio, Resume, Projects, Blogs, or other profiles managed by you that showcase your work.
How do you make your LinkedIn Profile more visible and grow your Network?
Start with the people you know, and send them connections.
Use the People Filter, Location Filter, and Industry Filter- research for people and send them a Connection request.
Message your connection to thank them for the connection.
This leaves a good impression and makes them feel important to have you in their Network, they are more likely to help you in the future.
Create relevant posts to your Work or Industry.
This is how you will appear in people’s feeds and they are more likely to click on your profile. You also show them that you are active.
Who searches the most for your LinkedIn Profile?
Recruiters: They spend a good 10 to 30 seconds searching for the keywords they are looking for to see if you are a fit for a Job Role or Business Opportunities.
Business Owners: Business owners want to connect with like-minded people and grow their network so more people can hear about their business.
Managers and HR: These are hiring managers and individuals who want to create a network of passive and active candidates.
Service Providers: If you are a Business or a Startup you will most likely be contacted by Service providers offering you their services and wanting to work for you, partner with you, or even volunteer or intern.
In Conclusion
Your LinkedIn Profile builds you a reputation.
It verifies what you do and what you can do.
One more thing that confirms the success rate for your LinkedIn Profile is that LinkedIn has allowed Advertisements, bult in Job Board, learning and Development where you can take Courses, and be used as a Leads CRM.
If this has not convinced you to create your LinkedIn Profile then we want to advise you that our Platform and our Candidates have noticed a huge benefit from linking their portfolios with their LinkedIn profile.
When you Register and Create your portfolio on SkillSpotterZ, you can insert a Link to your LinkedIn profile and this radiates trust to the Employer that you just applied to their Job Post.
They will be able to see and confirm that you are not a scammer or a robot.
That your experience is up to date and true, which builds a connection of trust and they are more likely to hire you even if you don’t have enough experience.
So if you are a Freelancer and a Virtual Assistant, we recommend you to Create and Optimize your LinkedIn Profile.
Then Link it to your Portfolio and start applying to Jobs available worldwide and remotely!
And if you would like to learn how to Create your Portfolio check out this Article where we go in-depth on how to create a great portfolio!
Our recommendation is to stick to professional posts and to post if you have something real to say. Posting about your dog, kids, and hobbies it’s very irrelevant and it turns your profile into another social media profile that you use to just scroll through, and have a conversation…
Unless you are a Designer and want to show your skills through a photo you designed, shows a message, or shows a technical skill.
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