LinkedIn Professional Profile Checklist

LinkedIn is one of the largest professional networks, with millions of users globally. Sure, it is a platform to meet and connect with professionals.

So, to get the proper connection with other professionals, you must make your LinkedIn Profile very professional to match the standard of other professionals.  

True to your guess, a well-structured professional LinkedIn profile showcases you to the right people.

With this, they can easily see your skills, education, experience, and other unique attributes that ring a bell about you.

Having the right LinkedIn professional profile makes it super easy for you to learn and connect with the right people for career growth or self-development.

So, what are the checklists for a professional LinkedIn profile? That is exactly what this post will walk you through. Read on.

Related post: 17 Unique LinkedIn Post Ideas

What is a LinkedIn Professional Profile?

Image source: linkedin.com/in/priscillaoboh/

When discussing the LinkedIn professional profile, we refer to the tool that conveys your professional image to others.

Just like the home page of an organizational website, it is a page that tells recruiters critical things about you.

It is a tool you use to tell others about your skills, career experiences, achievements, and positions. When you do it right, it makes your profile stand out from others.

Can you imagine how much businesses invest in creating a strategic website? It is because the website is the image of the organization and potential clients use it to know who they are.

So, getting your professional LinkedIn profile attractive is essential because it tells others about you.

How do I Create a Professional LinkedIn Profile?

You must be intentional about creating an attractive and enticing professional profile.

You have to spend time drafting something that will help you stand out in your profession. The following steps will help you to create your profile.

1. Type LinkedIn.com on your browser and click Join now
2. Type your email or phone number. Then, your password of 6 or more characters. Click Agree & Join.
3. Fill your name in the spaces provided and click continue.
4. Do security verification using the puzzle box.
5. Fill in your country/Region and City/District. Then, click next.
6. Fill in your most recent job title and fill other spaces accordingly. Then click continue.
7. A code is sent to your email. Use the code to complete the registration process. Then, click Agree & Confirm.

Professional LinkedIn Profile Checklist

We have some recommendations to help you achieve the success you need in creating your profile.

You can use a free account to do it. Pay before accessing the professional LinkedIn profile feature is not mandatory.

1. The Use of Professional Name is Necessary

LinkedIn is now a trusted social network where businesses and organizations meet to connect and share things.

It is not a place to use gimmicky nicknames. Let your name look professional.

The search engine optimization of the profile name is vital. You have to be careful of the name you use on your professional profile.

The name should not appear cheesy.  The name should be in consonant with the tenet of this social media platform.

2. Create a Compelling Headline

The information on your headline should attract the attention of visitors. It triggers them to find out more information about you.

The headline appears clearly under your name and profile. The headline used to be 110 characters, but it has been increased to 220 characters.

Be selective in your words because they speak a lot about you. The headline should be captivating and clear in expression.

Let the wording be professional and well-branded without any vulgar words. The words should make visitors interested in knowing more about you and what you do. 

3.  Use a Clear, Simple, and Smiling Photo

The profile photo does not need to be decorative with much Photoshop on it. A simple plain background with an excellent outfit is okay. Give yourself a small smile without looking artificial. 

Though some people tend to hide their photos from the public, studies show that those with photos get a better click-through- rate.

When people search for them on the platform, it makes them comfortable to click on the profile.

You can use a professional photo that represents you. It will give visitors a sense of connectivity with you.

Do not ignore your profile picture if you want your LinkedIn profile to look professional.

4. Customize your Profile URL

There is a default URL on LinkedIn you can customize to your advantage. There are some SEO benefits to using customized. To customize it is not difficult.

You can use the following steps to get it done.

1. There is a Me icon at the top of the homepage. Click the icon
2. To the View Profile and Click it.
3. At the right rail, press Edit public profile and URL. The page will redirect you to the public profile settings page.
4. On the right side of the page, click the Edit icon under the Edit your custom URL.
5. Then type/edit the URL
6. Click Save to complete the process.

The URL should be 3 – 100 characters long without space, special characters, or symbols. 

5. Write a Professional Summary

The professional summary is where you explain your professional headline.

As we said earlier, the headline captures visitors' attention. It is the summary that will give them more information about you.

The professional resume should support what you said in the headline. Write a well-crafted resume to will convince the visitor about your headline.

Tell them what motivate you and the skills you have. It should end with an excellent call to action.

The visitor should initiate contact after reading the summary. The summary should be clear and simple to understand. Do not write it in a rush. Spend time writing it with clear goals in mind.

7. Detail Your Experience

Do you have any experience that can make someone believe in you? This is where you express yourself to your visitor. Write the jobs and the achievements you have achieved in those jobs.

Include every experience, both full-time and part-time, without any exemption. You can include pictures and videos of the tasks you achieved.

The LinkedIn platform allows one to add different items to the professional LinkedIn profile.

Under accomplishment, you can include items such as:

• Patents
• Honors and Awards
• Publications
• Courses
• Test Scores
• Organizations
• Languages

Leverage any of them that applies to you. Do not skip it because they are a key part of your professional profile.

8. Education and Qualification

It is essential to add your educational qualification to your professional profile. Start with the highest qualification.

Mention the school, course of study, year attended, and successes accomplished.

Make a list of the latest achievement to the earlier ones. You can also arrange it from the most relevant to the least appropriate.

Some recruiters or organizations will like to check if you qualify for the task based on your qualifications.

9. Write Keywords

Using the right keywords is vital when creating your professional LinkedIn profile.

The right keywords make the profile appear easily based on what visitors search on the platform.

There are different ways to leverage keywords. When you do it right, the profile appears at the top of search results.

Before you create your profile, I will advise you to do a search on LinkedIn for keywords that will appear in the top research result.

Check the frequency and location they place the keywords. Use the knowledge to create your profile.

Meanwhile, the search algorithm changes over time; You may not have complete control over it. Use niche keywords to differentiate yourself from others.

10. Make Use of Visuals

The good thing about LinkedIn is that they allow adding visuals. You have to leverage this opportunity to make your profile attractive.

The new feature section has visual elements that are easy to use. 

When you check the About section, you will see where to add images and videos to the profile page.

There are various sources you can upload your content on the platform and use to promote yourself.

Apart from the videos and the photos, there are other areas you can make your profile creative to suit your goal.

Contact a creative digital marketer to assist you if you cannot use these features.

Uploading a standard office presentation can also engage visitors and provide some business benefits.

11. Join Necessary LinkedIn Groups

As a professional, some groups can make you grow faster. When you join professional groups, you become more contactable Members of the group can use the group messaging feature to contact you.

Does it mean you should join any group that you see? The answer is No. You have to join groups relevant to your industry, location, or discipline Your Alumni groups and previous workplaces are also good to join.

Display the group's logos on your profile even if you do not have time to be active in those groups.

It is a creative way to attract members of those groups to your profile. With this, you become more contactable and accessible to more visitors.

12. Position Profile to Align with the Industry

The main idea here is almost the same as optimizing your location. What kinds of people do you want to see enter the industry?

It may look tough when considering an organization that enlists in different industries.

The advantage of paid LinkedIn account here is that you can use the Who's Viewed Your Profile feature.

The feature will have data that best show visitors in the industry that visit your profile.

It may require you to do some experimenting work because some people do not use filter search results.

However, by aligning your profile with the industry, you are better positioned to appear high in the search result.

13. Build Reliability with Recommendations

Recommendations are important ways of building credibility. Visitors who see recommendations from reliable organizations will feel comfortable transacting business with you.

For instance, if you check LinkedIn on an excellent profile you see one with zero recommendations, another with two suggestions, and another with 15 recommendations; which one will you contact? You are most likely to contact the one with 15 recommendations.

You don't need to have 20+ recommendations to convince a visitor. A few recommendations from dependable entities can help you to build your credibility. You can leverage them to build more credibility in the field.

Would you like to know how to ask for recommendations on LinkedIn? Then check out this video from Mark Warncken. He'll show you how toite effective requests that will get results.

14. Cherish endorsement and manage them

Endorsement is one of the features that have a lot of controversies in the professional community.

You don't have to involve yourself in anything that distracts you. Leverage the endorsement using every available way that you have.

There are ways endorsement can affect how you appear on the search result. Make sure that you update your profile to suit the relevant skills you are endorsed.

15. Be contactable

Irrespective of how you create your professional profile, it is not complete if you are not easily contactable.

How easy can someone contact you. It is essential to ask yourself this question You need to be accessible for business opportunities.

As you may already know, there are degrees of connections that can make one easily contactable.

So, it is advisable to be on the 1st or 2nd-degree connection. If you are on the 3rd level of connection or more, it will be difficult to contact you.

Many people will not like to go through the hurdles of buying an InMail to contact you.

Leverage the contact details space LinkedIn provides so visitors can contact you. There are spaces for websites and Twitter handles on the platform for you.

Fortunately, there is Advice for Contact [Name], Fill in your phone number or/and email address for people to contact you. Utilize the space very well. It will make it easy to get in touch.

Do not make it difficult for one to get in touch with you. If it looks complicated, they might move to the next available person in the same profession as you.

This content was created by socialweb.marketing. If you see this on another site, it has been stolen.

Interestingly, your services may be better than theirs at a lower price. If they make themselves more contactable, they might patronize them more than you.

Take Home - 15 Helpful LinkedIn Professional Profile Checklist

In a nutshell, it is important to intentionally create a professional LinkedIn profile with a specific goal in mind.

Do not do it in a rush because it represents your brand and your personality. You will get connected to the right people when you do it right.

We have fantastic features that can help you get it right. We advise you to make good use of them.

Moreover, the above recommendations will help you create a perfect profile. We hope to connect with you on LinkedIn soon.