LinkedIn is a social network that focuses on career development and networking. It’s growing fast; every 2 seconds, two new professionals sign up for a LinkedIn profile. It operates with 500+ million profiles, out of which 250 million are active every month, with as much as 3 million people sharing content weekly!

While the popularity of using LinkedIn has increased hugely over the years, it can still be a challenge to navigate for those who are unfamiliar with the platform. If you have a LinkedIn profile, but you haven’t updated it in a while, here are our pro tips to getting the most out of it. So, how do you make your LinkedIn profile stand out amongst the masses? Dive in with Roomi.

Basics of a LinkedIn profile

A great profile begins with a smiling face – make sure your face takes up 60% of the space in the photo. Using a high-resolution image is an absolute must; you definitely don’t want to appear shabby or unprofessional at first glance. Include a short description about you, your current role, and what you seek in your career that can be read within 6 seconds. For example, are you an engineer who runs your own blog on the side, seeking a new position in 2020? Tell your network!

Tips for a LinkedIn profile

For a good LinkedIn profile, you have two options in the CV section: detailing your CV on the page or having a link to your CV, websites, and other online space. We recommend doing both as many recruiters like to export CVs to their system and have it in their database.

Here are some ways to impress potential employers with your LinkedIn profile:

1. Highlights

  • Talk about the value or budget of projects you managed or discuss the kind of revenue you generated at a previous workplace.
  • Include real figures and years worked to add authenticity to your claims.
  • It’s always a good idea to put links to your past projects or work. Transparency goes a long way!

2. Education

Highlight your academic achievements here, including the schools or universities you attended (who knows which recruiters or potential employers went to the same university? This could help you build instant connections.) You can include your grades if you were happy with them, but that’s up to you.

3. Experience

The next section in your LinkedIn profile is probably the most important one: your experience. It is important to use the available filters to place yourself and choose categories of Industry, Companies, Role, Position, Location, etc. You never know how it might match the recruiter’s requirements!

Related: What To Do When You’re Unhappy In Your Career But Don’t Know What Makes You Happy

How to personalize your resume before sending it to a potential client?

When sending out your resume to companies, you might find these organizational tips from Roomi to come in handy:

  1. A simple excel spreadsheet can be used to keep a tab of all your applications
  2. ‘Huntr’ is a simple program that is easy-to-use and syncs with your LinkedIn profile
  3. Use ‘Offr’ to customize your CV with the right keywords in your industry to appeal to recruiters

What are LinkedIn Learnings?

As a premium feature of LinkedIn, you can take the ‘LinkedIn Learnings’ course. This way, LinkedIn provides you with personalized tips for your CV and refers you to recruiters. Companies in the market then know that you are available for a new role, and this could really accelerate your job search.

Connect with industry professionals:

Connect with industry professionals, write to them to introduce yourself, and look for networking opportunities within their circle. You could even ask for their mentorship once you’ve built up a relationship with your connections. This is how you advance towards your future and push ahead every day guided by the forerunners of your profession.

We hope that our tips for a LinkedIn profile helped you optimize yours and get noticed!

D’you know what else Roomi does outside of helping its readers get their LinkedIn profiles in order? With our ever-increasing lists of rooms and roommates across the world, we help you find your perfect match! Download the app here and hop on the easiest ride home, ever!