6 Technical Tips to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
In addition to the “done with you” and “done for you” LinkedIn profile writing work I provide, I also offer a low-price LinkedIn course and a free online workshop called Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile.
(Follow me on Eventbrite to get notified about the next workshop.)
Even if you despise being on social media, if you are looking for new jobs and opportunities in the knowledge worker economy, LinkedIn is the place recruiters and hiring managers hang out to find top talent. In fact, 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates. LinkedIn is also considered one of the most credible source of online content.
Besides optimizing the keywords in your LinkedIn profile to be more searchable on the platform, I have six technical LinkedIn tips to consider.
1) Get a scannable LinkedIn QR code for easy connecting.
Inside the LinkedIn mobile platform, you can generate a scannable QR code that connects to your LinkedIn profile, making it easier for people to connect with you. This is way easier than repeating the spelling of your name and having those awkward moments of trying to find each other on the site.
To do it generate your personal LinkedIn QR code:
On LinkedIn mobile, when you're “Home," click the Search bar. You'll see an icon that looks like a QR code scanner. Click that and your LinkedIn QR code will come up. Save it to your photos for easy access.
2) Turn off “People Also Viewed” to stop handing recruiters the names of your potential competitors.
When you go to another person's LinkedIn profile, you'll see on the right side of the screen:
1) People You May Know
2) People Also Viewed
Think of “People Also Viewed” as people who are doing similar work as the person's profile you're looking at. These people are potential job competitors. If you're a recruiter, you just got handed names of other talent. (Lucky them). We don't want this.
To turn off “People Also Viewed” - head to Settings and then Account Preferences and toggle this option to Off.
3) If you're actively looking for a job and/or want to be findable by recruiters on LinkedIn, upload your resume on the backend.
Help recruiters find you on LinkedIn by uploading a copy of your latest resume under “Job Seeker Preferences" found in Data Privacy Settings.
4) Download a copy of your LinkedIn connections and be less distracted.
I immediately loved this tip when I first heard it because it means getting a sortable spreadsheet of my connections - that I OWN. I like sorting it by connection date as way to remember my career and when/how I met people.
By downloading a copy of your LinkedIn data (I recommend creating a quarterly reminder), you have a back-up list of all the people you know. You also can engage with this list OFF the platform, meaning you're likely less prone to distractions as you sort through to make use of the list.
5) Stay active and/or change up your profile so LinkedIn knows you're alive.
Just like every social platform, LinkedIn has an algorithm and prioritizes active users. So if you're just using the platform to sleuth and nothing else, you're missing out on being found for opportunities.
Some ideas on how to stay active on LinkedIn:
Update your profile. Change up your headshot, background cover photo, headline, a word or two in your ABOUT section.
Ask for recommendations from your connections.
Post something / contribute to groups.
Comment / ask questions on other posts.
Message contacts to check-in.
Bottom line: it’s not enough to have a static profile with a “set it and forget it” approach. LinkedIn is not like having index funds. You need to engage on the platform and create activity. This activity will be attached and searchable on your public profile (unless you change the settings).
Play LinkedIn Bingo for other ideas on how to stay active and engaged on LinkedIn.
6) Customize your profile URL so it doesn't have a gazillion numbers at the end.
Your resume is peanut butter. LinkedIn is jelly. They go together. For any resume I write, if the person uses LinkedIn 🤞, I always add their profile URL to the top of their resume as a “read more” option.
This means your URL needs to be clean and easy to navigate to. Like this: linkedin.com/in/lindseylathrop, instead of this: linkedin.com/in/lindseylathrop-1587573.
To customize your LinkedIn profile URL: view your profile and in the top right corner, find “Public profile & URL.” Click the pencil to edit and in the top right, find “Edit your Custom URL.” Click the pencil again to make changes.
Fingers crossed there's a tip or two you can implement today! If you find you don’t want to do this work yourself, I can help. Learn more about my LinkedIn services here.
And if we're not connected on LinkedIn yet, scan my QR code to connect.
