CATS! + Getting Started on LinkedIn

With more than 660 million registered members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional network. In today’s recruitment world, managing your online profile is a MUST and LinkedIn is a great resource to get your name out to people in your industry, and start building those professional connections!

It can seem a little daunting at first – so we’ve put together a little checklist of tips to help you take your first steps into the LinkedIn world! And to make the process seem a little less intimidating, there are cat gifs – because really, who doesn’t like a good cat gif?

1. Profile photo

Having a professional profile photo is important to help your LinkedIn profile stand out from the crowd. If you can’t get someone to take a photo for you, don’t resort to a pic of yourself with your mates from last weekend! Throw on some professional attire and take a selfie with good lighting and your whole face in frame.

2. Headline

This is essentially the tagline that comes up alongside your photo and name. It’s pretty much the first thing potential employers see, so you want it to be engaging.  Use it to tell people what you are and why they should be interested in 120 characters or less. (Think: how could you benefit an employer’s organisation?).

(Check out this awesome article by The Muse for some headline tips!)

3. Summary

The summary is basically a space for you to give readers a good run down of your strengths, experience and expertise – remember to centre these elements around how they can benefit an employer. The summary should only be a few short paragraphs, with a couple of dot points thrown in to summarise.

If you’ve done creative work in the past, have a website, or another online space where your work is published, include a link in your summary so people interested in your profile can find out more about you!

(This article gives a few great pointers about summaries – and everything else!)

4. Experience and Education

Under the ‘Experience’ section, you can list your current and previous jobs. Go into a little detail, like mentioning the skills you acquired while at the position, any accomplishments you achieved there, your responsibilities, and your specialties.

For ‘Education’, mention where you’ve studied and your qualifications. Go into detail about what you accomplished, any groups or societies you were involved in, or any extracurricular activities you were a part of – this information can help former classmates or colleagues find you on LinkedIn to connect!

5. Skills

List the skills you have accumulated throughout your professional and academic careers. If you’re looking to work in a particular industry, list the skills that pertain most closely to that industry. As you gain more experience, keep your skill list up to date to reflect your achievements!

Featured image courtesy of Pexels